Norton Personal Firewall 2001 3.0 (5-pack)

Norton Personal Firewall 2001 3.0 is part of a family of Norton products designed to offer the home user the protection enjoyed by corporate networks. These include Norton Internet Security, the highly respected Norton AntiVirus package, and the Internet Security Family Edition, which offers parental controls.

Most Internet users these days use dial-up accounts, and the random nature of connecting and the dynamically assigned IP addresses offer them a modicum of protection against the misguided souls who derive pleasure from hacking into PCs. The risk is much greater if you have a permanent connection, and that's why most corporate networks employ protection tools known as firewalls to keep out the bad guys. However, soon many home users are going to enjoy continuous Net connections, thanks to flat-rate, unmetered phone charging and permanent high-speed ADSL or cable modem links. And these unwary users will be very vulnerable to external attack. To put it another way: home users are going to need firewall protection very soon.

Norton Personal Firewall 2001 3.0 is a hybrid package, combining firewall functionality with privacy controls, and runs under Windows 95, 98, 2000, and Me, as well as NT Workstation 4.0. At its heart, Norton Personal Firewall is a rule-based interactive "learning" firewall, supporting both inbound and outbound filtering. The firewall itself will block ActiveX controls and Java applets, as well as more basic TCP/IP attacks, and has special built-in rules designed to block hack attacks or other intrusive spyware.

The big problem with firewalls is their unbelievable complexity--normally, configuring one makes rocket science look easy. However, Symantec has hidden many of the complexities of a firewall behind a simple front end: users can simply choose between low, medium, or high levels of protection. But if you do want to tweak, you can still drill down to fine-tune Norton Personal Firewall's security configuration. If you spend a lot of time online, sooner or later you'll need firewall protection, and Norton Personal Firewall 3.0 is arguably the best on the market. --Roger Gann

New to this edition:

• Enhanced intrusion protection alerts you when a hacker tries to scan your PC for vulnerabilities
• AutoBlock feature automatically blocks the malicious system that's trying to scan your computer
• Security Assistant makes it easy to set up or modify Norton Personal Firewall settings
• Norton's exclusive automatic firewall configuration recognizes common Internet applications, minimizing disruption to the user
• Internet Zone Control offers simplified firewall protection for home networks
• Alert Tracker informs you of important activities, such as port scan attempts and security alerts
• Implementation guides and interactive tutorials make setup easy

Norton Personal Firewall provides comprehensive protection against attacks by hackers and other Internet threats to your privacy and system integrity. The Intrusion Protection feature in version 3.0 alerts you to all invaders, including port scans. AutoBlock works with Intrusion Protection to stop systems that are trying to probe your PC. Your credit card number and e-mail address will be kept secure from those systems that try to access them. You can also decide which applications should be allowed to access the Internet, and receive guidance about which ones can do so safely. Norton Personal Firewall lets you block Java applets, ActiveX controls, and cookies on a site-by-site basis, permitting you to use your favorite Web sites without hindrance while protecting your PC from unfamiliar sites. The Security Assistant makes it easy to customize the program to suit your needs, and the Internet Zone Control feature simplifies firewall protection for home networks by allowing you to easily assign computers to a trusted zone.