Originally Posted by
Stu666
1) There is no such thing as a free lunch. Free antivirus is OK, but it is always better to have a full blown security suite.
3) Windows Firewall is in general easy to defeat, regardless of version.
I don't have issue with any of the other items you mention, however the two quoted above need comment.
As regards 1) you need to be clear on what you're saying is better than what. A full-blown security suite versus a free antivirus & windows firewall has a big pros vs cons argument. Surely you've had people come in your shop saying "my PC is deathly slow and i'm having problems with some programs that won't work". That's because configurable firewalls should NOT be given to numpties, and they've inevitably blocked something they shouldn't, or fiddled and left a security hole. Compare that with a free antivirus product that has 110 million users giving 110 million instances in the field with which to collect virus variants, and a 'set & forget' firewall, and you'll see how i'll disagree with your stance.
As regards 2) All firewalls are easy to defeat from the inside. Windows Firewall and all other firewalls don't have any faults from the outside.