2006-07-30 06:46:41 · 7 answers · asked by Sameera D 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Security
a firewall is a piece of software or hardware that prevents unauthorised access to your computer by hackers and other dangerous programs, an antivirus program focuses on stopping viruses, trojan horses and often spyware from infecting the computer and doing damage to files
2006-07-30 06:50:24 · answer #1 · answered by barhud 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A firewall simply blocks and allows access to incoming and outgoing traffic between you and the outside world. Also, any program that wishes to use the explorer shell will also ask for permission, whether or not it requires Internet access or not. You basically allow only what programs you want to have access within and outside your system. It does not protect you from viruses. It's a 'wall' between you and the outside world, essentially. It keeps out what you don't want in, and allows thru traffic for what you do allow.
Antivirus simply protects your PC from code-manipulating invaders. Trojans, phone dialers, etc. Some anti-virus programs do not offer the additional protection against malware such as the aforementioned phone dialer, but there is also malware protection as well.
I recommend using Panda Anti-Virus. They are the best in my opinion. They've received more awards than anyone, they clean up what McAfee and Norton leave behind. I stopped using McAfee in 2000 when, after installing Panda as a trial, it found all kinds of issues that McAfee simply missed. It runs seamlessly in the background and doesn't not hog resources, slowing your system down. Of course, this is all dependent upon what state your system is in and how much physical memory you have and what your virtual memory settings are set to. Hope that helps!
http://www.pandasoftware.com
2006-07-30 13:55:47 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A firewall is a fucntion that keeps hackers out of your computer. An antivirus keeps virus off your computer. No they are not the same. And yes you need both.
2006-07-30 13:51:09 · answer #3 · answered by Soren 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A firewall monitors connections on your system, an anti-virus scanner scans the incoming data for comparison to a virus definitions signature database.
2006-07-30 13:51:50 · answer #4 · answered by Delfin 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
firewall blocks bad files
2006-07-30 13:50:49 · answer #5 · answered by ceg2581 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no.. fire wall and anti virus are not the same.. but u need to have both for security..
2006-07-30 13:50:28 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
fire wall is a filter of acess
antivirus, a filter of posible threat
2006-07-30 13:56:22 · answer #7 · answered by Henry W 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋