The firewall question

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"Do I need a physical firewall and a software firewall?"

My answer would be a straightforward yes. A physical firewall is cheap, and effective. It will keep a lot of junk out - and it gives you an easy way to share your internet connection.
If you have a physical firewall and a software firewall, you should run them both. After all, if you had two locks on a door would you just choose one of them? People have deadbolts for a reason.
And the last one - do I need a software firewall at all? Well, we wouldn't have spent years writing Online Armor if we thought you didn't :)

Mike Nash
Founder and CEO of Tall Emu, creator of the awarded Online Armor Personal Firewall