Routers and Software Firewalls.

Hi All,
This is my 1st post so if I get it wrong sorry.
We have a Virgin Media Cable Modem connected to a Linksys Wired Router
and then connected to 3 PC's.
Do we need to have software firewalls running on the PC's?I need
to set up File Sharing on all 3 PC's.They are all running XP.
Drew

nospam writes:
> We have a Virgin Media Cable Modem connected to a Linksys Wired Router
> and then connected to 3 PC's.
> Do we need to have software firewalls running on the PC's?I need
> to set up File Sharing on all 3 PC's.They are all running XP.

The Windows firewall isn't strictly necessary when your PC is behind a
NAT firewall & router. A third-party firewally is usually never
necessary except for those who are very curious about what happens on
their PC. Most average users would be unnecessarily alarmed by all the
"oh no you are under attack by 212.104.130.9 on UDP port 53!" kind of
prompts. The first thing any sensible worm/virus/malware would do is
disable every firewall anyway.

However, it may be useful just in case one PC is infected with a
worm/virus, though since file sharing would be allowed through the
firewall anyway, any work still might be able to do its thing.

Having the firewall enabled on the PCs may be of benefit in certain
circumstances. For example, you take your PC to someone elses house and
their router is configured to use the IP you get as the DMZ address. Or
maybe you have to use a dial-up modem in an emergency while your ADSL
connection is broken, and you forget to turn the firewall on. There may
be other circumstances that other people can think of.

Some people on here would recommend that the Windows firewall should
_always_ be enabled. I'm of the belief that it's just not necessary when
behind a NAT firewall & router - BUT, when I fix other peoples PCs I
make sure to enable it, as I am quite paranoid

Hi Kris,
Thanks for that it was just what i beleaved to be right.I will
leave the Windows Firewall running on all 3 just in case.
We have anti-spyware and AV software running on all the PC's,for
safety's sake.
Cheers,
Drew