Windows Security Lax, Gartner Says; Recommends Wide Deployment Of Personal Firewalls

July 14, 2003 (10:59 AM EDT)

Windows Security Lax, Gartner Says; Recommends Wide Deployment Of Personal Firewalls

With Microsoft security vulnerabilities coming fast and furious, Gartner has recently recommended that at the least all enterprise laptops, and ideally all enterprise computers, be equipped with a personal firewall.

With a dozen Windows vulnerabilities that require patching of all enterprise PCs disclosed in the last six months, said Gartner's John Pescatore, it's crucial that companies deploy personal firewalls on as many machines as possible, particularly those used by remote workers connecting through broadband connections.

Not only are Windows flaws fast become the norm, but because enterprises struggle under a 6- to 18-month lag time between vulnerability discovery and patching, systems are often at risk for extended periods.

While Windows XP includes an integrated personal firewall, it's not up to snuff, said Pescatore. Instead, businesses should install personal firewalls on laptops first, then desktops, to limit exposure to the Internet and prevent unauthorized executable files from running.