I know that BI has an advanced intrusion detection system... but how good is it's firewall (the new version) in comparison to other firewalls?
Black Ice is a very very oldschool app. I always appreciated this nice gui. It´s IDS detected the bodyless virus SQL Slammer, it was together with DrWeb the only capable tool that was able to detect this little beast. Nevertheless I guess this firewall is also very vulnerable to attacks and circumventions.
BlackIce is an IDS not a classic firewall although it has packet filter ability, It concentrates on content of the packet.
BlackIce can't handle the most important intrusions of all, which is drive-by download. It does attempt to detect them, however it they are obfuscated even slightly say using Javascript, then they sail right through. Dont waste your time with this product anymore, its way too outdated in terms of technology.
Hi, folks: I have used BI for a good long time. I use it to complement firewall(ZA Pro), its IDS(or IPS) ability does block some intrusions before ZA. User can trace the intrusion's origin. But I will not use it alone as a FW. It also updates rules at least once a month. I find its other features such as application control, working like a whitelist app. After enabling it, BI will scan your computer to build a baseline(as a whitelist), anything not on that list will be terminated upon execution. It has few options allowing user to configure personal settings. I think this feature is a big plus that BI can bring to user. BI, IMO is not a must-to-have app, however, it is very nice to have it aboard. Now IBM owns it, that means it does have some corporate values and a good position in IBM's next 10 year's plan. It has an evaluation copy available, try it, you may just like it.
