What good is a firewall?

From: Lorenzo (lorenzo_at_excitement.com)
Date: 04/27/05 

Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2005 18:10:47 GMT

I'm doing a paper on home internet security and wanted to ask network
gurus a couple questions about firewalls:

What is the real benefit of a firewall for a home internet user? If the
only thing a user does is surf the web and send/receive email. What
protection does it provide? I know the Windows service port can be a
target, since it can't be disabled, but that notwithstanding, what does
a user risk?

I think people see the firewall as a panacea. The problem for most home
users is not what they block, but what they allow. Email attachments,
malicious activeX scripts, etc. are the real cuplrits, correct?I know
that packets arriving at the computer are processed, but if the
destination port they target has no running service, they're discarded.
Of course, DOS attacks can be launched that overwhelm a system but that
can still happen with a firewall, right?
So whats the benefit? 

-- 
"My Break-Dancing days are over, but there's always the Funky Chicken"
--The Full Monty

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