Among the FREE firewalls which is best? [with poll option]

[eurekamind]

Could u suggest me which FREE firewall is best among the given list:

[1] Zone Alarm free
[2] Kerio free
[3] Outpost free
[4] sygate personal firewall free

For the users: Please provide pros & cons of each firewall software also, if possible, it will be highly appreciated.

[Mrkvonic]

Hello,
If you are willing to go for Sygate, do it. In my experience, it's the best free (and maybe more) firewall available. Light, robust, secure, highly configurable, simply excellent.
Second place goes to ZoneAlarm; it's solid and very simple to use.
Kerio (4.2.3) is third, it's a bit bloated and kinda rusty along the edges. But it's a solid and promising product.
Free Outpost is an old, outdated version.
Mrk

[Jarmo P]

Well, just my simple opinion.
I did use kerio 2.1.5 and it was good.
Kerio 4.2, I liked the interface, though much memory usage and occasional, still don't know why, but my internet connection got stopped? Nothing else helped but to reboot.

No experience on ZAF.

But I was always a sygate user, not the latest, but 5.5.2710 you can find in this link:
http://207.33.111.31/spf/spf5.5b2710.exe

From that site you can also find later versions, but IMO I stick with that one.
There came problems with having a XP SP2 security center regognizing version.
So it was not working well, late starting and all, but not the previous versions.

Kerio 2.1.5 is also a good firewall, just not easy as Sygate and a few glitches wth it :)
And Kerio 2 not for newbies since it is a simple packet filter.

Jarmo

[Chuck57]

There's just no comparison between ZA free and Kerio free. Kerio in the free version just offers a lot more.

If ZA ever started including NIPS and behavior blocking in their free package, I might consider ZA free as my favorite. Right now, I'll stick with what I have.

[BOCTOK]

IMHO, you can't beat iptables. Now before you write me off as a Linux freak.... All of my PCs that I use, run WinXP. I have a standalone firewall that I made from an old Sony Vaio laptop and a linux firewall distribution called "IPCop". I love it. I understand that not everyone has an older computer sitting around, but if you do, put it to work. IPCop is an offshoot of Smoothwall (mentioned to be fair), but I like IPCop a little better.

BTW, Chuck57, I hope you plan on using the PM at a very close range. They're not very accurate outside of about 15 meters. ;)

[Alphalutra1]

From THOSE choices, Kerio free(either the old version or the new), are the best. The old version is light, and a great straight forward packet filter with minimal app control. The new version is heavier, but offers advanced application control, IDS, and unlimited advanced packet rules which none of the others provide. Do not use Outpost free, it is SADLY in need of an update. Sygate has a proxy problem, and ZoneAlarm free offers minimal control.

Alphalutra1

[eurekamind]

hi,

Extract from the kerio free download page (http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Kerio.cfm) :

... "Looking for the FREE Kerio Firewall? You have found the right page. Just like the original, the Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall will keep on working after the first 30 days, only in a more limited mode." ...

Kerio FREE provides:

NETWORK SECURITY:


Packet filter
File integrity control
Application communication control
Application launch control
Network Intrusion Prevention System


STATISTICS, LOGGING


Statistics of attacks and blocked ads
Automatic update checker
Extended logging


...So, in a limited mode what remains active from the above? and does it solves the purpose of a firewall?

[pilotart]

24 votes but only 8 comments:(

I changed from a 'six months to go' Norton Personal Firewall to ZoneAlarm Free and much prefer the ZA.

So I ticked a vote for ZA, but have no experience with the other three options.

It is rumored that ZA will soon have an updated Version out, nice to know about the other options,
should that not go well.

Thank you for all the knowledge about those Firewalls:)

[trickyricky]

-{ Quote: "
...So, in a limited mode what remains active from the above? and does it solves the purpose of a firewall?" }-
All of those remain active with the free version, since that is the list of free version features. The paid-for version also has HIPS, Internet Connection Sharing, Web filtering and so on, but as a free firewall, Kerio is very competent, better than ZA Free in my opinion (which is why Kerio got my vote).

Having said that, the current price of the paid-for Kerio is only $14.99 (until the end of this month) and it's well worth it. But even as the free version, it's superb.

[TOMxEU]

Outpost Firewall Free is not just old (2002), using it is a security risk.
Thanks to a bug in this firewall, hacker can gain administrative privileges.

[metallicakid15]

jetico seems to the best free firewall although alot of pop ups

[Ga1tar]

Surprised no-one mentioned netveda, which is not bad and also allows you to block sites deemed not for minors

[mercurie]

O. K. I have to be honest and admit I cheated. :shifty: I could not decide between Sygate and Kerio :-[ so I went to see who had the most votes of those two.

Well...so, if I were looking to make a choice I would come to Wilders and ask for opinions anyway....;D

[trickyricky]

-{ Quote: "O. K. I have to be honest and admit I cheated. :shifty: I could not decide between Sygate and Kerio :-[ so I went to see who had the most votes of those two.

Well...so, if I were looking to make a choice I would come to Wilders and ask for opinions anyway....;D" }-
In my opinion, either of those would be a good choice. So just try them both and see which one suits your setup and usage, then go with that choice.

[Chuck57]

-{ Quote: "IMHO, you can't beat iptables. Now before you write me off as a Linux freak.... All of my PCs that I use, run WinXP. I have a standalone firewall that I made from an old Sony Vaio laptop and a linux firewall distribution called "IPCop". I love it. I understand that not everyone has an older computer sitting around, but if you do, put it to work. IPCop is an offshoot of Smoothwall (mentioned to be fair), but I like IPCop a little better.

BTW, Chuck57, I hope you plan on using the PM at a very close range. They're not very accurate outside of about 15 meters. ;)" }-

I've been curious about Linux for a while, even bought a version of linux a few yrs ago but finally gave up and went back to Windows. If linux ever becomes as user friendly as Windows or Apple, I might reconsider.

Also, if I ever have to use my PM, it'll be well within the 15 meter distance. I don't expect that to ever happen, but who does. Great little pistol. Very rugged and reliable.

[aigle]

Jetico if u can manage it.

[Paranoid2000]

-{ Quote: "Outpost Firewall Free is not just old (2002), using it is a security risk.
Thanks to a bug in this firewall, hacker can gain administrative privileges." }-Would you care to explain this? Outpost Free does not run as a service so could only have Admininstrator access if you were logged in as Admin (which would allow anything Admin privilege anyway).

As for choosing from that list, Kerio would seem the best choice capability-wise - Outpost Free is dated, Sygate can't filter localhost traffic, ZA Free (the last time I checked) did not include "Expert Rules" allowing you to restrict traffic by port or address. Of course, user experience/preference comes into play here and for a new user, ZA's super-simple interface may make it a better choice. Also, as others have pointed out, there are other free firewalls worth considering.