is there a way to keep firestarter (a gui firewall) always running? i always have to relaunch it whenever i close session and restart a new session (i.e. swtich from kde to gnome or logout of kde and back in). thanks. btw, how is firestarter different from the default firewall that comes w/ mdk 10 (where i turned everythign unchecked except ssh). does firestarter modify those settings? thanks.

There's no such thing as a "gui firewall". Firestarter is a firewall generating application that includes a gtk2 front end. the gui is NOT the firewall. Closing the application window will not affect the firewalling features, they are inserted into the kernel, and will stay there until you change them, or reboot your system

hi,

so what's the purpose of it then? would i be better off (saving memory/cpu time) not running it and let linux run w/ the default settings (firewall on w/ everythign turned off but ssh). if so, how do i uninstall firestarter? thanks.

the front end is used to configure teh rules that make up the firewall.....crap i dunno.... like tuning an engine, it runs fine by itself, but sometimes you use a spanner or large length of timber to make adjustments to improve it.... just becuase you can't see it, doesn't mean the engine has dissapeared! (i need to cut down on the poor metaphors i know). Realise that most distro's don't have notions of "default" firewalls. Mandrake have simply integrated their own front end into their control centre gubbins. you should use what ever front end you wish to administer the IP tables settings. One thing to watch though is that if you have two seperate programs that both believe that *they* are the only firewall, things might be a little messy. Personally I like Firestartter, and still use it when i need to, but i've never touched the MDK firewalling tools.