Subsonic Radio

as far as I've heard, a firewall is a firewall, and it should be enough (the software version). But, keep in mind that the software could become corrupted and/or fragmentated so things may not work properly after a while. Just make sure you keep some antivirus software installed and do a regular defragmentation every so often.

You can get a wired router pretty cheap these days since wireless routers are all the rage.

Bottom line is, a software firewall is good, but combining it with a hardware firewall is better.

Remember This:
Hackers can figure out how to get past a software Firewall.
If you get spyware or a virus the first thing they do is punch a hole so they can send and recieve info on you system

Software firewalls are only as useful as the user is puter savy. Lets compare it to your house which is in a gated community. You have the option to lock your doors (software firewall), while your gates are always closed unless opened with permission. You may either forget to lock the door, or.... you teenage kid brought over some scumming friends and these friends leave the door unlocked and propped open, allowing any of their other scumming friends in. You made sure the house was safe, but from the inside someone disabled the effectiveness of your locks. The gate however keeps the rest of the scumming friends from even getting to your door.

If you are using Windows or Outlook, you will want a hardware firewall (and not a crappy one). They are very prone to "propping the door open."

Personally I do both, hardware and software, but I don't pay much attention to the software one, as nothing makes it to it. I do configure it on my laptops though. Hotel, School, HotSpot, etc WiFi is not safe.

I'm not paranoid, but I do have a good track record.