I've seen FWs like this before and yes it is built into the MB. I've never really tested them but I would doubt they could pick up on higher level/layer (OSI model) attacks. I would think it would lose its effectiveness above the transport or session layers....

Like I said I've never tested one but I would think it has to be somewhat limited if it isn't involving higher level filtering....

 

Depends on how much intelligence is built into the app. It says its a stateful inspection firewall which is very clever. It can offload all the inspection duties from the PC (albiet this isn't much work) but I guess in a bandwidth intestive network I could see the benefit. In the big picture of pc security it really doesn't amount to much by itself, but doesn't add a nifty little peice to the puzzle. Remember, layered security is best!!

Anywho - interesting article Bill. I kinda hope this crap does't catch on too much and we can move towards an evolution off of the x86 instruction set. We are screwed until we do... down with x86!!! Stop trying to keep it alive!!! Kill it and let's move on people!!!

 

Jamz, I haven't gone down the 64 bit road yet, either hardware or software.

The few folks I know that have played around with it say it's a pain to find drivers or software that is ready for 64 bit yet.

 

boy....that statement could be used in so many instances......

 

Good find Bill.

The only problem I have found so far is installing Norton. I just might scrap it and go with F-Protect....but I'm not sure yet.

Everything else seemed to install fine...nic, video card, and CDR. As far as software goes, I only install Office XP, Winamp, and my keyboard drivers.

I will for sure play with it tonight some more, and hopefully get the bish up and online tonight.

 

first of all Norton is CRAP!!!!!

...it uses too much system resources.....I do not recommend Norton to anyone...

.....Symantec Enterprise......now that is a different story....

....as far as Anti-virus for a personal PC.....I do not have one on my laptop....and I have been virus free for 2 years.....

 

Oh, hell I agree 100% as far as Norton being crap, but it was free....when my subscription ran out, I just un-install and re-install, and I'm good for another year...he he he

 

well as thread drift continues...

I'm testing System Mechanic 6.0 right now and so far seems great. Anyone use their AV product?

 

I didn't read through all the stuff on this thread, so sorry if I repost anything:

Basically Xp64 is a beta. There's not much support for it. You can get 64 bit drivers from most fo the hardware vendors sites now. As well AMD has a page somewhere on their site that has a list of drivers for major hardware. It's been gettting better but it's still a ways off from being "good". As far as I know there are no firewall or antivirus software packages out that can run on 64 bit. Most 32 bit apps will run on 64 bit, exception being antivirus and the like that need direct access to the os. So, all in all XP64 is more of a 2nd os to run in conjuntion with 2000 or regular XP. XP64 can be used for day to day stuff, but has obvious limitations as stated above. Not to mention it's a trial that will eventually shut down and give you the finger.

 

XP64 is great if you have the hardware and drivers needed, it will spank a like machine running 32 bit O/S and even typically will run most 32 but apps faster on WOW than standard 32 bit XP will... (go figure...) Anything written for the 64bit O/S will fly.

Most people running XP64 are running Avast antivirus, it's a 64 bit version made just for XP64 and it's free...

I have yet to find any software made within the last 5 years that won't or can't be made to run on XP64. Only ones that gave me problems were a few games and a binary newsgroup program.

Good Luck!

XP64 is also no longer a "Beta", it's been out for some months now. If you were lucky enough to be running the beta late last fall, you could actually upgrade to the Full licensed XP64 version if you already had a version of XP pro (had to ditch the XP pro license for the 64 license though, no going back...)

 

It's gonna ROCK when you boot that sucker up and the lights in your house dim.

 

That explains why they put all the neon signs on it.

 

I wouldn't say it spanks a 32bit os. Some things run a tad smoother. With games it's hardly any difference. 64bit isn't "faster" it "more capable" is the best way I can put it. Better use of memory and virtual memory, not to mention the shear quantity it can use wich is great for memory intensive stuff like CGI work.

 

So, would you say the same thing for WFW 3.11 (16 bit) vs oh, say 2000 (32 bit)? Hardly... On a machine that is capable of pushing more data around everywhere due to bandwidth capabilities of the memory/cpu/etc., most of the newer high performance systems have been limited by XP itself and the 32 bit architecture. Yes, granted not many people will take advantage of the 64 bit architecture fully, or even close to fully for now, the benchmarks on my system shows that XP x64 runs quite a bit better all around than 32bit XP. Basically, if the system can support 64bits of data on the bus, a 32bit OS is choking it and you're selling yourself short and not allowing that full potential of your hardware. I'd say it's "faster" because it's "more capable"...because specs and time slices speak for themselves no matter how you want to say it. In the end, the 64bit OS runs better, and faster, for me, on my machine than the 32bit XP.

 

I can say this....Apps load faster, and smoother. I haven't had any problem with it yet (it has only been 3 days). I got all my normal apps on it already (Office, winamp, etc. They all seem to work just fine. I only had a problem with Norton, which is crap anyway.