Firewall and AMD question

[andrewsdw]

I have a question about firewalls. I have a Netgear router that has a NAT & SPI firewall built in. Do I need to run a software firewall such as BlackICE? I don't have one on my computer but my roommate does. Also first off I have a P4 so not to up on the AMD side but what would be better for him to run IF he needs the software firewall: BlackICE which he has or the NVidia firewall that I can install for him that came with his board. Does the NVidia firewall use hardware on the nForce chipset to reduce cpu usage for it or no? His board is an Asus K8N. Any help would be much appreciated. Personally I hate software firewalls but I wasn't sure the hardware blocked all it needed? The router BTW in case it matters is the Netgear MR814v2. Thanks again

 

[Nothinman]

Your router uses software for the firewalling as well, just because it's contained on firmware doesn't mean it's hardware or even any better.

Most Windows spyware, trojans, viruses, etc propogate via things that you'll be asking for like websites, email, warez, etc so the protection from the Netgear box is only moderatly useful. To control outbound traffic per-process you need software on each client, there's no way around it.

 

[andrewsdw]

OK and what about the question of whether the nVidia firewall using less cpu cycles? Anyone know?

 

[Nothinman]

I highly doubt it, at least in the context you're talking about.