Re: FIX for ZoneAlarm & KB951748 issue released
Kayman wrote:
> On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:43:26 -0300, John John (MVP) wrote:
>
> <snip for brevity>
>
>>>>Before Windows XP what were people using?
>>>
>>>I don't know but *I* was using a 3rd party (so-called) firewall application
>>>and (incidentally) Registry Cleaner 
>>
>>What do registry cleaners have to do with firewalls? Why are you even
>>mentioning them here, if only as a feeble attempt to muddle the issue?
>
>
> John, John (MVP), as I mentioned in a preceding thread, you can't be very
> intelligent and your lateral thinking capabilities are vitually not
> existent! Prior NT these apps were basically regarded essential tools.
> Don't you you know the meaning of *"incidentally"*?
The best you can do now is resort to personal attacks, says a lot about you.
The point to be made is that before XP was released third party firewall
products were the only alternative to hardware firewalls, many of these
third party firewall products were good and many were free. These were
trusted applications from trusted companies. Then, overnight, just
because Windows XP was released, in the eyes of a zealous few these
companies became villains peddling worthless products! A couple of
individuals decided to tar and feather a whole ISV group with the same
wide brush! That is wrong, absolutely wrong, and the attack on some of
those ISVs is completely unwarranted, those ISVs were trusted companies
the day before XP hit the market and they were no less trustworthy the
day after XP was released. Much of the hype against those ISVs is
nothing more than blind zealotry!
There is also a developing and troubling trend in this whole debate, one
that some people are bent on spreading at all costs, that because
software firewalls are not immune to exploits by malware attempting to
send data to outside networks, then by simple deduction any and all
egress filtering as a security concept is unnecessary. Egress filtering
at the perimeter, done by reliable network appliances, is a vital part
of network security, without proper egress control your network security
is incomplete, ignore egress traffic at your own perils! Maybe you do
not value your data, but others do! In a perfect world there would be
no pests, no virus, worms, or trojans. No one would try to pry at your
private data and malicious attacks against computers would be non
existent. Of course we don't live in a perfect world and people are
going to continue to get infected with all kinds of pests and some of
those pests will attempt to steal private data, the value of egress
control has not diminished when Windows XP was released, over the years
the need for proper egress filtering has not diminished or vanished, it
has increased.
John