Best free firewall

[daf]

I'm looking for the best free firewall software there is. After reading a few threads I can see that it's difficult to rate and say which is the best as you might like the interface more on some than others.

That really doesn't concern me too much. I'd like to know the most secure free firewall availble? I understand buying one is better but not wanting to go into too much detail for what it's for, it's not possible to buy one.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[se7engreen]

In my opinion:
Kerio 2.15
then
Sygate
But, of course, the best thing to do is see what works best for you and your system.

Hi my friend, I think this free ones are very good:
1.- Kerio 2.1.5 (with SSM or AbtrusionProtector)
2.- Jetico (it has sandbox)

[se7engreen]

Jetico looks real promising and I agree it could be one of the best, but keep in mind that it's currently a beta and it may not be free forever.

[Slovak]

I 2nd the vote for Kerio

ZA 4.5. Free, simple, and it works right out of the box (download). Set it up and forget it. What more could you ask for?

[daf]

Why not Kerio 4 assuming I only want it for 30 days?

Is 4 better than 2.1.5 for just 30days?

Apart from a firewall, AV, what other software do I *really* need to stop persistant hackers?

Please reply!

daf

[rdsu]

Best freeware firewall about what?

GUI, protection, easy to use, resources or all of them?

It would be nice to make some difference here...

[daf]

To VaMPiRiC_CRoW

Originally Posted by daf

After reading a few threads I can see that it's difficult to rate and say which is the best as you might like the interface more on some than others.

That really doesn't concern me too much. I'd like to know the most secure free firewall availble?

[rdsu]

I'm not a pro about firewalls, but if the ZoneAlarm Free have the same protection against the leak tests (Firewall Leak Tester) of the ZoneAlarm Pro, this should be the best freeware firewall in relation of protection...

The rest I don't think that exists a lot of differences...

[Meltdown]

Kerio 4 has an additional security feature in that applications have to ask for permission before they can launch other applications, that's the same protection offered by SSM. The advantage of using Kerio 4 over another firewall + SSM is that you would then be able to run Prevx as well for added protection; Prevx and SSM have been known to conflict, so should not be run together.

The downside is that Kerio 4 runs at 20 mb. I wouldn't use it, but if you're looking for maximum security over a short period, why not.

BTW, I'm getting curious as to why the secrecy over your short-term security needs.

[Capp]

I run ZoneAlarm (free version) on a lot of computers and I've never had a single problem. The interface is very easy to use and hasn't let anything through yet.

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...ulist_download

This takes you to a link where you can get the basic firewall or the firewall +AV.

[tahoma]

cant believe nobodys mentioned outpost 1 (which is free) imho its second only to outpost pro

[daf]

Anyone know of a very secure ruleset for kerio 4?

[MadBob]

The latest Zone Alarm seems buggy and unstable. I have had to remove it from a clean XP2 install, kept failing to start and locking PC. Now using Outpost free and all's well.
Bob

[bellgamin]

Originally Posted by tahoma

cant believe nobodys mentioned outpost 1 (which is free) imho its second only to outpost pro

I use Outpost 1 + router. Works for me.

I have tried several. The least intrusive but powerful firewall is Sysgate pro version5.0. It has many features useful, like port scan detection, stealth mode browsing,NETBIOS,anti-IP spoofing,anti MAC spoofing, Dos protection etc. Too many too list here. You can also set up advanced firewall rules. Honestly, I would not trade my firewall any any other one...Tried at 15 before I bought it. There is a free version also, but limited on the features. Feel free to email me and discuss further
Captaincarl
lots_of ids@yahoo.com

[Kerodo]

Originally Posted by captaincarl

I have tried several. The least intrusive but powerful firewall is Sysgate pro version5.0. It has many features useful, like port scan detection, stealth mode browsing,NETBIOS,anti-IP spoofing,anti MAC spoofing, Dos protection etc. Too many too list here. You can also set up advanced firewall rules. Honestly, I would not trade my firewall any any other one...Tried at 15 before I bought it. There is a free version also, but limited on the features. Feel free to email me and discuss further
Captaincarl
lots_of ids@yahoo.com

Sygate is very good, but I wouldn't say it's the least "intrusive".. I've tried most of them also, and Sygate used the most CPU% of them all. It also used a fair amount of RAM as well.. That said, it IS a good firewall otherwise...

[Honyak]

I agree that it is not the least intrusive but I use it on my box because it seems to work best on my box. Advance rules are fairly uncomplicated to set up.
I really like the new OP build and am taking a good look at it now. Seems to be very effective and light on resources, and so far no conflicts or bugs on my comp. May be switching soon.

[daf]

Anyone know of a very secure ruleset for kerio 4?

[snapdragin]

Hi daf,

I'm afraid I am not going to be much help with rulesets, or Kerio firewall (I use Sygate myself), but you may be able to find some information on setting up rulesets for Kerio at that user forum:

http://forums.kerio.com/

Edit - I just went through some of the pages there and it looks like they have an on-line library for their firewall too:
http://www.kerio.com/manual/kpf/en/

If you scroll down to System Security, they have Application Rules and also General Rules listed. Then the one below that there is a listing for Internal Firewall Rules with several more links where you might find what you need.

Hope that helps.

Regards,

snap

[daf]

Thanks snapdragin!

I'm quite lazy so if someone could just point me to a very secure ruleset for kerio 4 then it'd be awesome, else I might have to start reading!

[snapdragin]

LOL..well, I know what you mean, daf. Rules can get quite involved and do need to be set up correctly. I use Application rules because they're the easiest. It does help to have a router too.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable in rulesets will be able to give you a bit of a hand with Kerio.

Good luck!

snap

[ronjor]

See if this link will help you get started.

http://www.geocities.com/yosponge/firewall.html

[deceptionuk]

For Kerio 2.1.5 rulesets, I've used this one :
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/rema...3708~mode=flat