Please recommend a good firewall

I have been using the same firewall for quite some time and have decided to try somthing new. I know there is alot of information in this Firewall section of the forum but there is almost too much information. To point me in the right direction, could sombody recommend 3 or 4 really good firewalls to choose from. Thanks.

Barney

 

Hi, you can choose Online Armor or Comodo Firewall or Outpost... look at this site you will find here actual Firewall ranking: http://www.matousec.com/projects/firewall-challenge/results.php

 

Thanks Creer for the info. I am checking that site out now. I think I will give online armor a try first.

Barney

 

using Vista ultimate here and Comodo, and i highly suggest it.

 

Barney, Hello
My advise for you is find a few you like and 'trial' them
pick one that fits your needs, but right now one of thee
best is offering a 'lifetime offer' and ends the end of this month
Outpost firewall darn good and highly rated.
Has a thirty day trial period so take that leap you may be happy you did


http://www.agnitum.com/lp/lifetime_for_1year_price_2008.php

 

Windows Firewall and your hardware firewall are comparable to commercial products.

 

You may want to give PC Tools firewall a look as well.

 

I tried Jetico. That is an impressive firewall but it conflicts with my AV (DRWEB). I am moving on to Outpost then Comodo. Does anybody know if Comodo can be installed without the AV. I see that they are together in the same download file.

Barney

 

yes you can install comodo without the Antivirus, just untick that option during the install.

 

Thanks. I am now trying online armor. Has anybody here had a good experience with that. Is comodo better?

Barney

 

I was using Comodo, but after few inconviences with this software i give a shot Online Armor and now after over 6 month i am still happy OA user. From my experience i recomend you this firewall, but it will be good idea if you try few high rated fw and choose this one which will the best for you.

 

If the firewall is for you, and you are want to make decisions about your connections, and your are knowledgeable enough about networking and windows to make these decisions (assuming your even talking bout windows) any of the outgoing HIPS related firewall will do (Comodo firewall comes to mind) If not, the windows firewall with no exceptions would do just fine (unless your running some servers). If your interested in what is going on in the networking stack, and executing processes these are great.

If the horse has already left the barn, your %&*%^. You must be knowledgeable enough to make the right decision with most of these firewall/HIPS applications, which can be difficult after the fact. I think if you go back and make sure all software is updated, and systems hardened (permissions, etc.), and an updated AV you would be fine. From my experience adding more software to a box does not make it secure, but add more potential issues. For example, misconfiguration, vulnerabilities in the software itself, or conflicts with other software on your system.

 

I have used both OA and comodo No problems with either one.I prefer OA the gui is very easy and small enough to toggle through quickly and its Easy to access all of its settings.Also the run safer=lowered privs is a nice touch IMO.The hips is also Nice the popups are there when needed other wise its quiet.I had a conflick with DW and OA other wise OA would still be aboard.Hope this helps somewhat.

 

OA + DW here, running together without any problems.

 

Yes I see many others with no issues either.I may give it a go again but pretty content at the moment with SB and DW.Besides I am behind NAT with windowswall.I used OA not so much for its wall but the Hips/program guard and run Safer option.

 

I'm using the paid Online Armor for my big desktop where I do most of my work -- it's terrific; I'm using Comodo (free) for my laptop that I use occasionally for school work -- it's great for a freebie. Currently I use Windows firewall on my new little netbook since it needs to be kept slim & trim. I keep a close check on Matousec.com and their ratings on firewalls and act accordingly. I do have F-PROT Antivirus installed on all computers tho.

I used to swear by ZoneAlarm, then ZA Pro, but found too many instances of my PCs getting thrashed by their seemingly untested updates and zero help from their alleged tech support. Finally got rid of ZA on all PCs but one -- and I never update the running version that's stable. I have had no problems with OA or Comodo.

BTW, does anyone know of a good tech web site that can tell me the footprint of various free firewalls? I'm kinda interested in a better one for my netbook, since it is used out in the world, usually via wireless, and I am worried. I would like something with a high rating on Matousec's site but as small as possible for the WinXP SP3 netbook. And yes, I've got it down to bare bones using nLite and disabling as many services as I can get away with. It's really kewl!

 

I'm also firewall "shopping" as well. My old HD ended up being toast and so with new HD , have to start anew. I did have OA free for a while before the hd went down. Comodo also intrigues me. Does Comodo have any conflicts with Drive Sentry? I'm thinking of trying out Drive Sentry.

 

I bought a two year licence of Online Armor. After two months I realized what a bloated firewall it really is and uninstalled it. I'd go for Windows Firewall and be sure I was behind a decent hardware firewall combined with a good antivirus (why use HIPS when you can prevent the virus/adware/trojan from getting to your computer in the first place)?

 

What do you mean? Have you been having problems with it?
If yes, have you tried contacting the support?

 

I agree, I think Windows Firewall is really underrated.

 

After playing with many firewalls I love Sunblet Firewall, it has a lot of features especially for web site content filtering.

 

Wish I could use Online Armour on my x64 PC

 

A while back I found that running Comodo and Drive Sentry together caused my system to fail a Zemana test (keylogger) that it previously passed with Comodo alone.However this issue may well have been addressed now.

 

Online Armor is about to release a new version 3.1.0.16 at any time now. Maybe it's out as we speak. I upgraded to it a few days ago, and I think it's a real keeper. It might pay for you to wait for it.

 

Same here