WAMP Server security question

Hi,

I recently downloaded and installed WAMP from http://www.wampserver.com/en/ on my XP machine for web design purposes. Mainly I want to use it so that I can run a test bed for php/MysqL database driven websites and do CSS formatting in Dreamweaver 4 for php/MySQL based sites including shopping carts.. I also like the ability to use phpMyAdmin locally to learn the application and get better versed in MySQL. I am not using it for serving up websites from desktop machine, just for local machine design and testing.

I am concerned about running this application safely while having a live internet connection on the same machine and wanted to get expert opinion(s) on this.

Questions are - should I even do it? Would it be safe to run while NOT connected to internet? Is it possible to secure my desktop so that I would be safe running WAMP during a live internet connection on the same machine?

Having a live net connection while using WAMP is convenient because usually when I'm using SFTP to upload files to web server, I'm also doing other design work and surfing informational sites, and i'm wondering if there is a way to setup my machine safely to be able to do this, and if so, what measures can I take to secure WAMP as far as port monitoring, blocking, hacking etc is concerned?

Or should the WAMP machine be completely isolated and disconnected from my router when using it?

Thanks for any insights on this.

 

I'm also wondering if a good firewall application would be suffient to block hack or malware attempts that could get in via the apache server? Does having the apache server running on a machine connected to the net via ISP compromise the firewall?

I use Avira firewall now, and have a router built in firewall as well, used to use Zone Alarm...