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Firewall Selection

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got an old computer lyin around collecting dust?
they make great firewalls
if not, i have seen a lot of people recommend comodo
 
smokie mcpott said:
got an old computer lyin around collecting dust?
they make great firewalls
if not, i have seen a lot of people recommend comodo


I had problems with Comodo. It was conflicting with my modem's software and at random points my PC would shut down for no reason. I have Zone Alarm right now but I just don't feel satisfied with it. And no, I don't have an old computer lying around lol.
 
Whats wrong with Windows firewall? You have XP SP2 so it comes free. Coupled with Windows Defender and AVG you have a pretty effective free security system.
 
fabulouscoops said:
Whats wrong with Windows firewall? You have XP SP2 so it comes free. Coupled with Windows Defender and AVG you have a pretty effective free security system.


I prefer to have a better firewall then Windows Firewall. I mean I do have Windwos Firewall but I would like something better you know what I mean. But I might try that. Any more suggestions. I don't have AVG I have Avast which I have to reinstall but I tright Kaspersky and I didn't like how it worked with my PC.
 
asusradeon said:
in my opinion the windows firewall is awful.. its only there to make the less expierienced computer user think they are protected.

I guess I never noticed because I use a router with a hardware firewall.
 
ophiodon18 said:
Hey everyone, I am looking for a free, reliable firewall that I can download to my PC. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Since your using XP, you have many choices for a software based firewall, the two highest rated free firewalls are ZoneAlarm and Comodo.


http://www.zonealarm.com/store/cont...y/trial_zaFamily.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en

http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

If your using Vista, Free Zonealarm and Free Comodo WILL NOT work since they are not Vista compatible. There really is no decent free firewall for Vista users at this time. Yes Microsoft gives you a free firewall with Vista, but as far as firewalls go, it aweful. What most people are forced to do is pay for Nortons or Mcafee's security suite or pay for firewall. Both offer a superior firewall than what Vista gives you.

Hopefully, Zonealarm and Comodo will release a free firewall for Vista in the future.
 
Silversinksam said:
Since your using XP, you have many choices for a software based firewall, the two highest rated free firewalls are ZoneAlarm and Comodo.


http://www.zonealarm.com/store/cont...y/trial_zaFamily.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en

http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

If your using Vista, Free Zonealarm and Free Comodo WILL NOT work since they are not Vista compatible. There really is no decent free firewall for Vista users at this time. Yes Microsoft gives you a free firewall with Vista, but as far as firewalls go, it aweful. What most people are forced to do is pay for Nortons or Mcafee's security suite or pay for firewall. Both offer a superior firewall than what Vista gives you.

Hopefully, Zonealarm and Comodo will release a free firewall for Vista in the future.

What's wrong with XPs and Vistas firewalls?
 
Jetico PF looks like a great firewall. I haven't tried it yet, but it's free. The other free one, that I currently use, is Sunbelt Kerio PF. The full version is a 30 day trial, but afterwards, it converts itself to the free version.

But I think I might recommend Jetico over KPF, even though I haven't used Jetico. From what I read, Jetico has features that KPF has in the full version, for free.
 
johnz said:
What's wrong with XPs and Vistas firewalls?


First. Vista has had massive problems from what i hear
Second. Windows firewall is basic no added features and it wont protect you fully. I want something that protects me fully but not the original stuff from Microsoft.
 
I gotta say, my vote goes to Zonealarm free edition - it is VERY good. The 'free' version is the full-fledged firewall - the paid versions are for added features such as virus scan and spyware protection. It's got an easy interface, and you can see all traffic in and out of your computer. I have a router also which has a built in hardware firewall, which I would certainly recommend also. Zonealarm is also pretty lightweight so an older (PIII) system wouldn't be slowed down by it.
 
ophiodon18 said:
First. Vista has had massive problems from what i hear
Second. Windows firewall is basic no added features and it wont protect you fully. I want something that protects me fully but not the original stuff from Microsoft.

I've had 0 problems with Vistas firewall. It's more configurable than almost any firewall I've used. XPs firewall works fine. It doesn't have outbound blocking afik, but that's not necessary if you take care of your machine.
 
johnz said:
XPs firewall works fine. It doesn't have outbound blocking afik, but that's not necessary if you take care of your machine.

I would assume you'd believe an anti-virus isn't necessary, if you take care of your machine. A software firewall with no outbound filtering is pretty much useless if you have a router or hardware firewall. You'll be surprised how many applications will try to phone home, after you install them. This is why a good software firewall is good for those nefarious people among us, who don't pay for their software hehe
 
TempliNocturnus said:
I would assume you'd believe an anti-virus isn't necessary, if you take care of your machine. A software firewall with no outbound filtering is pretty much useless if you have a router or hardware firewall. You'll be surprised how many applications will try to phone home, after you install them. This is why a good software firewall is good for those nefarious people among us, who don't pay for their software hehe


Well, ok then ;) None of those issues here. I used to use Sygate when I was on 56k because I played UT2k4 online with that connection. I needed every bit I could get to go to the game so I blocked software from phoning home. Now that I have cable I don't have bandwidth problems so I don't worry about it.

Outbound protection isn't necessary for malware security. It may notify you of kiddie scripts trying to phone home, but I assume you're running some kind of anti virus that'll take care of the light work. Anything serious that gets through your anti virus will get around a software firewall, and you won't know it's sending information without monitoring your network.

I guess there's some special circumstances where outbound filtering can be useful, but for most people it's just a nuisance.
 
johnz said:
Outbound protection isn't necessary for malware security. It may notify you of kiddie scripts trying to phone home, but I assume you're running some kind of anti virus that'll take care of the light work. Anything serious that gets through your anti virus will get around a software firewall, and you won't know it's sending information without monitoring your network.

Actually, you'll be surprised again on what outbound filtering can do to improve security. Anti-viruses rely on virus definitions to catch a virus or malware. Even if your AV doesn't detect malware, an outbound-filtering firwall, in many cases, will detect the malware trying to phone home.

In fact, a sophisticated firewall, such as Jetico and the full version of Kerio, include Host-Based Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS). On top of outbound filtering, these firewalls can catch, and in most cases, prevent a program from injecting malicious code into some other application. Though it may not always prevent hijacking, it will notify you, and that is VERY useful. My firewall will actually let me know if an application changed since the last time I used it (usually after I install a patch), and it will prevent it from accessing the internet until I approve it. I can see this being very useful if I know I didn't update the program recently.

So IMO, a software firewall without outbound filtering, and even HIPS for that matter, I won't touch. The only free firewall I know of that has HIPS is Jetico. I don't really know how many AV's have HIPS though.
 
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