08-13-2003, 01:20 PM
Something like Zone Alarm can detect strange activity on the local system
(inbound or outbound) which is very useful. The disadvantage is that if
the machine is compromised (via a trojan or virus), the personal firewall
can easily be circumvented. A dedicated firewall requires a little
more effort to circumvented. They can also take the load off the PC in
the case of a DOS attack so the PC and LAN are still useable. Many
dedicated firewall appliances are designed with the assumption that the
local machines are trusted and the outside world is not. For most users
this kind of security is good enough.
(inbound or outbound) which is very useful. The disadvantage is that if
the machine is compromised (via a trojan or virus), the personal firewall
can easily be circumvented. A dedicated firewall requires a little
more effort to circumvented. They can also take the load off the PC in
the case of a DOS attack so the PC and LAN are still useable. Many
dedicated firewall appliances are designed with the assumption that the
local machines are trusted and the outside world is not. For most users
this kind of security is good enough.