Firewall for xp x64

[FatCamel]

I have just installed Windows xp x64 edition and can't find a firewall that works. I tried my favs like sygate and nod32 and neither work. Any help would be wonderful thanx

[neonlazer]

Kaspersky has some very nice apps..though not free if your looking for free software..I use their Internet Security 7...very nice ;)

[FatCamel]

That is a little expensive for my taste but thanks anyway I am looking more for freeware firewalls I guess I should have said that in the original post. sorry.

[FuerteStuart]

Have you found one yet??
Im using Zonealarm at the moment, on XP 32bit. But I am upgrading to XP 64bit next week, and will need to do the same.

[Ebola]

Just use the built in firewall. Unless you're doing something bad, you shouldn't need anything more than that.

[FuerteStuart]

:cool:What if i want to do something bad??:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Seriously, id like more control that Microshaft lets you have.
Im old enough to tie my own shoelaces, so I should be able to decide which companys are collecting data from me everytime I start one of their programs up (seriously, read the EUA´s of some of these guys, its scary).

[=ACID RAIN=]

tiny firewall still around? Looks like it's shareware now though. Oh well.

[FatCamel]

The windows firewall make my COD4 lag while I'm trying to play and it's from microsoft so can it really be trusted?

[=ACID RAIN=]

That, if it is indeed the cause, has nothing to do with security though.

[FatCamel]

No but I still need security because my wife does online banking and I don't want to leave any doors open in case someone does want to try and steal my stuff. And I can't think of anything else it could be when I turn off the Windows firewall the lag goes away and my ping goes down.

[=ACID RAIN=]

Well, while I understand your concern, I want you to see it the way I see it for a second.

We do banking on both my computer and my wife's computer.
We don't save the passwords for those sites.
We use firefox for those sites where possible (FF is default browser).
I don't run windows firewall on vista (mine) or xp (wife's). In fact the service is disabled.
I do use a home router. In fact 2 routers, with border router for wireless and next one inwards for LAN.
I use avast! free home antivirus. Works as good as symantec corporate, and I know because I had that too, through work. In fact I co-managed the symantec server.

Is this bulletproof? No. But is someone coming after my home network? Very unlikely, and even if they did they wouldn't have banking info available to them.

What I'm getting at is nothing is bulletproof, and if you want to be concerned, be concerned more for the bank's security than your own. If hackers come knocking, they will be knocking on the bank's firewall, not your's.

I'm not going to tell you I am a networking "expert", but I am ~8 weeks away from my CCNA, and I do have several years experience in business-class networking. There are things you can do and things you can with much more work. In this case, I think you are overworking it, honestly. If you want firewalling at the PC level, pay for it. Otherwise don't sweat it, because spyware, while nasty is much harder to get now if you use the right tools.

Use spyware removers
Use live-file antivirus (avast! is great at this)
Use a router, don't worry about outbound
Use firefox, and if you really want to lock it down, use noscript on the banking PC
Use common sense, don't save passwords for banking

The rest is optional.

[FatCamel]

Thank you Acid I never really looked at it that way. I am just a security nut for some reason that is the main reason I use FF. Well I guess I have all the info I need, but I am still open for suggestions.

[=ACID RAIN=]

Hey you never can be too careful. I just wanted to show you my perspective on this topic. I am all about security but I like convenience as well. It has to be a balance for me, with the limits subjectively based on the need for security, ie. business vs home use :)