voip/firewall question

gavstar69

Hi, can anyone tell me if theres a conflict when using zone alarms (free version) and skype? I tried to use a voip fone and it dropped the call after only a few seconds (maybe thats normal?), thought it might be firewall kicking in but didnt get warning...im new to this stuff.
Also is it enough to just have a firewall without anti virus software too?! I'm running xp pro, using bt's crappy 1megabit broadband. Many thanks in advance to anyone who might ahve some advice.

Foxwood

gavstar69 wrote:

Hi, can anyone tell me if theres a conflict when using zone alarms (free version) and skype? I tried to use a voip fone and it dropped the call after only a few seconds (maybe thats normal?), thought it might be firewall kicking in but didnt get warning...im new to this stuff.
Also is it enough to just have a firewall without anti virus software too?! I'm running xp pro, using bt's crappy 1megabit broadband. Many thanks in advance to anyone who might ahve some advice.

A Software firewall is of limited value if you've got a decent NAT router and up-to-date AV software. The hardware firewall in your router means the software firewall shouldn't have any inbound traffic to deal with, and decent AV software should mean that you don't need the software firewall to stop any outbound connections by worms or other nasty stuff.

Of course if there's 4 other PCs in your house, you might need a firewall to protect yourself from them, but that's another story.

Do you know if the skype call was dropped by your end, or the far end?

probe

gavstar69 wrote:

Hi, can anyone tell me if theres a conflict when using zone alarms (free version) and skype? I tried to use a voip fone and it dropped the call after only a few seconds (maybe thats normal?), thought it might be firewall kicking in but didnt get warning...im new to this stuff.
Also is it enough to just have a firewall without anti virus software too?! I'm running xp pro, using bt's crappy 1megabit broadband. Many thanks in advance to anyone who might ahve some advice.

Skype generally doesn't have a prob with firewalls and if the firewall was the culprit the call would not have connected at all.

Most likely a problem with your internet connection. If Skype encounters a problem during a call within its own network or downstream thereof, you generally get an apology page and an opportunity to provide them with feedback on the problem.

probe

gavstar69

Foxwood wrote:

A Software firewall is of limited value if you've got a decent NAT router and up-to-date AV software. The hardware firewall in your router means the software firewall shouldn't have any inbound traffic to deal with, and decent AV software should mean that you don't need the software firewall to stop any outbound connections by worms or other nasty stuff.

Hi, i'm a little confused. So are you saying that because the router has its own firewall and asuming i have AV software (which i dont) that there would be no need for the firewall software?
I think Probe must be right about Skype not dropping the call alright...

Foxwood

gavstar69 wrote:

Hi, i'm a little confused. So are you saying that because the router has its own firewall and asuming i have AV software (which i dont) that there would be no need for the firewall software?

What do you want the firewall to do for you? Will it do anything that your router and a decent AV package doesn't do?

A software firewall is more versatile than a hardware firewall, and can alert you to both incoming and outgoing traffic (the hardware firewall in your average residential router only cares about the inbound traffic). But for 99.9% of users, that extra versatility just means extra hassle, constant pop-up messages saying "XYZ application is accessing the internet, do you want to block it or not?". Usually, the only applications you want to be asked about are going to be viruses that shouldn't be there in the first place if you've got an AV package.

While I might want to use a software firewall to prevent RealPlayer "calling home" while still using it to listen to media streams on RTE, it's just not worth the hassle of dealing with the all the other crap that a software firewall brings, and a software firewall doesn't offer any other advantages. (Note for the dialup users out there - this doesn't apply to you. You need a firewall because you don't have a router providing hardware firewall capabilities).

Get yourself an AV package, tonight. There is absolutely no excuse not to. There are a number of widely respected free AV packages avaiable:

AVG
avast!
BitDefender

gavstar69

Many thanks for clearing that up. I dont mind the alerts really but i guess its better to just have AV software and be done with it. Hadnt heard of the freeware you mentioned so thats a plus too. Cheers.