I'm just wondering how effective 3rd party firewalls are. Can they keep everything out by themself or are they prone to certain things? Thanks.

The best hardware and software firewalls can be breached. It is that simple. Give someone enough time and they will breach it. It happens everyday to the US Government and larger corporations. So use them wisely but if someone wants in, they will find a way. KTTD

If you are asking if you need a firewall, the answer is yes. If you are asking if a 3rd party firewall is better than XP's, the answer is yes. If you are asking what is best, the answer is a hardware AND a software firewall is best, specifically with NAT. If you are asking if you should keep on researching firewalls, the answer is yes. If you are asking how to find out if you are protected, the answer is http://grc.com

Sorry, but Steve's scan at grc are known to "weak" but they have value but I would not rely on them alone. Instead use the security scans at www.pcflank.com and www.lockdowncorp.com and www.symantec.com Use a software firewall like ZONE ALARM PRO for your OUTBOUND protection and then get a ROUTER with Stateful Packet Inspection for the INBOUND and keep up-to-date with antivirus, trojan scanning, ad/malware detection, frequent security scans on the PC, frequent WINDOWS updates, turn off unneeded services.

EC ~ I was unaware that grc has been downgraded. I appreciate your input on that. Can you please direct me to some documentation that supports that? I would hate to rely on a rumor.