XP ICF vs. McAfee Firewall question

Question

I have a Dimension 8300 running XP Home SP1

My system came with McAfee's firewall, and I've been quite pleased with it. But I see that Windows XP comes with its own "Internet Connection Firewall" (ICF). Moreover, ICF is apparently enabled, because in my network settings, under the "Internet Connection Firewall" heading, I see a check mark next to "Protect my computer..." - i.e., protect it with ICF.

So my question is: Are *both* the McAfee firewall and XP's own ICF active on my system? If so, what is the relationship between them?

Thanks

--Lumper

Denny Denham · Answer

Lumper,

If the ICF is enabled (as it is, based on the information you provided) you should disable it. It is poor practice to have more than one active firewall on a computer, as they tend to interfere with one another.

fireberd · Answer

To add, the Windows XP firewall only protects incoming only.  Most commercial firewalls protect both incoming and outgoing.  The next SP for Windows XP will have a full feature firewall but the existing one does not.

Lumper · Answer

Denny, Thanks. That certainly makes sense. --Lumper

Lumper · Answer

fireberd, Thanks. That's a useful and important distinction, which had not occurred to me: Namely, incoming only vs. both incoming and outgoing. --Lumper

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XP ICF vs. McAfee Firewall question

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