Quote:
Originally posted by juju
[b]Wrong, wrong, wrong.
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No. Yes its possible for hackers to take advantage of an unprotected system but the odds are still quite low. NetBIOS is a common entrance point but if your running XP and you patch when neccessary the threat level is really low. I never said having a firewall is a bad thing, its more good than bad, but major worry about hackers obsessively is not warranted. If you use a dial-up connection the risk is very low. If you have a broadband connection (cable modem or DSL) its recommended you maintain a firewall (as broadband is online always). I personally use a router, but thats just my preference. Software routers such as Zone Alarm and Norton Shield gave my system problems so I made the switch.
Firewalls are important to your computers security, but they shouldn't cause more problems than they prevent. If I had to make a recommandation, I would say keep the firewall and remember to properly configure it. Most firewalls have a built in list that you can add programs to, giving them access, and not setting off the firewall.
My apologizes. I should have made that more clear in my last post.