AnthaFirewall

For Windows Mobile Pocket PC is a packet filtering firewall that examines all traffic to ensure it is permitted based on access control lists that are selected from a set of predefined filters. The firewall parses packets as they come in (or go out) on the wire and matches the data against a ruleset.

General Description

PDA security should be a serious concern for every handheld device user. PDAs are very portable, making them easy targets for thieves and are easily misplaced or lost.

A personal firewall gives the user the power to decide what connections he wants to allow or not allow into your computer or mobile device. When the device is connected to a wide area network it uses ports to communicate with the other computers. These ports are like doorways to your computer or mobile device. A hacker could possibly break into your mobile device without your even realizing what has happened. If your organization has not taken PDA security into consideration previously, now is the time to do so.

It is important to use a firewall on all devices that connect to the internet. A firewall not only acts as a lock to these port doors. A firewall allows you to choose what connections you will allow in, and what connections you want to refuse.

People assume that a portable device does not need a firewall. A portable device generally can benefit from a firewall to protect the data on any other devices that may be networked to that device. If a PDA is connected to a work network and you don't have protection on your PDA this is one of the weakest links to your security.

Best Practices, According to Stanford University:

Use a "personal firewall". A personal firewall is a complex but inexpensive program that can be installed on PC or Mac systems. [Unix/Linux systems also generally include some firewall capabilities.] Both Microsoft and Apple provide simple firewalls on their latest operating systems. Windows XP SP2 automatically enables the firewall. Windows XP SP2 users may access the firewall in the Control Panel item, Security Center. Mac OS X users may access and enable the firewall by opening the System Preferences menu and selecting the "Sharing" item, then clicking on the Firewall tab. Users of older versions of Windows, Mac, and Linux users should consult with Helpdesk staff for details on setting up vendor-provided firewalls. Several third party vendors (e.g., Symantec, Zone Labs, Sygate: www.symantec.com, www.zonelabs.com, www.sygate.com respectively) also provide easy-to-configure free and inexpensive firewalls. Use of a personal firewall is strongly recommended. It will effectively defend a computer from many of the most pervasive and dangerous network attacks: an intruder will have a much harder time getting into your system if a firewall is installed, configured and running.