Do I still need a 3rd party firewall with Windows 10?

[carnage4771]

Ever since I used Windows XP, the first thing I always install on a fresh install of Windows is an antivirus and a firewall. However, most modern firewall software is too bloaty, and if I do find a firewall that is compact and lightweight, it's very complex to configure most of the time leading to tons of connection problems because it blocks things it shouldn't be blocking. The only thing firewalls are doing for me anymore is frustrate me tremendously.

I figure that Windows has evolved a lot since XP, and Windows 10 has a built-in firewall (well, XP had too but it was still new and I didn't trust it a lot back then). So maybe Windows has come to a point where a 3rd party firewall is no longer needed? Or is it?

What is your opinion on this? Do Windows 10 users still need to install a 3rd party firewall or not?

 

[Ralston18]

I am not using a 3rd party firewall. But my requirements, overall, are probably different.

My suggestion would be to google "Windows 10 Firewall Tutorial".

You will find quite a bit of information about the Windows 10 firewall. Some of the links are from/within this forum.

No harm in setting up the Windows 10 firewall and trying it directly. See if the built-in firewall meets your requirements.

Then you can compare that experience with what you have had to deal with in the past.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

I don't use a software-based firewall at all, but I have other measures in place to protect me. Every account besides mine is a standard user, so nobody besides me can install software. My SSID is hidden and uses MAC filtering. My router's firewall is set to block all incoming traffic except that which I explicitly allow. My browser also requires Active X and Flash plugins to be started manually.

My OS is on its own physical drive and I take a system image frequently, so if my PC does go belly-up, I can restore it easily with no significant data loss.