Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Steven Champeon <schampeo AT hesketh.com>]

on Wed, Aug 27, 2003 at 11:22:26AM -0400, Craig Duncan wrote:
> With the recent spate of virus attacks, my parents are afraid to turn on 
> their PC, let alone connect to the internet, thus defeating the purpose 
> for which they purchased it. They use via dial-up modem to connect to 
> the internet.
> Does anyone have any recommendations for firewall products compatible 
> with Windows XP(Home Edition or other) and is there something better 
> than Norton anti-virus. I would also be curious to know if there are 
> any hardware firewalls that use dial-up for home use that they could 
> use.

Sorry, but Windows is an insecure OS, especially so when in the hands of
novices. If I were you, I'd install Linux or buy them a Mac if you're
worried about them getting infected (or infecting others). If nothing
else, at least get them to stop using IE and Outlook, the two most
common avenues for infection. And turn /off/ any services they don't need
to be running, which Microsoft helpfully left on and wide open to cut
down on their tech support costs. 

Perhaps it isn't obvious, but running firewall software on an insecure
OS is kinda like taping a deadbolt to a screen door. 

We run Linux as a firewall/masquerading intermediary between our internal
network and the Internet; at home, I use my Airport base station as the
"firewall". Any separate box between the Internet and unsafe OSes should
do the trick, whether it is a base station or cheap Pentium running Linux
in a masquerading configuration. But trusting firewalling software on the
very insecure OS it is trying to protect? Folly, pure and simple.

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