Can't decide where to go with this firewall decision and does bellgamin still post?

I built a PC at the end of May and installed 64 bit Windows 7. I have not heard a peep from its firewall. Over the years I've used Zone Alarm, Online Armor. Comodo and most recently PrivateFirewall. I Poked around W 7's today and there were a lot of log files. It took a while to find out how but I've reduced the amount it can log from 4xxx kbs to 1000 kbs. I'm thinking about adding TinyWall. I am behind a router bye the way! I haven't been on the FW forum for a while and I'm amazed not to see any posts by bellgamin.

 

get a professional to rebuild that system!

or learn!
eg http://www.top-windows-tutorials.com/windows-7-firewall.html
or buy a windows 7 book.

for me its hard to explain lot of experience collected over the years. you need to learn is my only advice.

 

I too have a similar system and am following this thread with interest, as my last thing I am not 100% sure about is the firewall. I too have a 64 bit win7 system. I am waiting to see what others are going to recommend firewall wise.
I am sure I have seen some Bellgamin posts around and not too long ago, so I am sure he is still around.
From reading the original post, I feel that the poster was looking for some idea's and I am not convinced that he was looking to be told to get a professional to rebuild his system for him and to read and learn
Most of my learning over the years has come from the great advice that others on here have been able to share.

 

If you just want an opinion I'd say that unless you specifically want to learn about the Windows 7 firewall use one of the others you mentioned that you're already familiar with. The Windows 7 firewall does not have any secret sauce that makes it worth the effort to figure out IMHO. Currently I'm using Comodo FW in Win 7x64, which has a useful network traffic indicator (tray icon) along with all the usual advanced program control features.

 

as i wrote somewhere here before the windows firewall is good as any pure firewall (without additional features for hips)

maybe - but dont wait for him here to answer - write him pm if it is such important

well, not him - but i had a closer look at it - not complicated but it need too much single rules which i cant really group. so i took another for faster decisions.

windows event logfiles dont change that much since windows nt4, just bigger.

anyway my magic bullet is actually out of order

MS Support: event logs
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427

 

"...revuild that system" ugh?

 

Ratch,
What exactly are you asking? What firewall to use?
What are you looking for in a for in a firewall? Do you need HIPS?

 

I guess I'm thinking out loud! First of all, I've been panning the www since the mid to late 90s and have never had one problem with any type of malware that I'm aware of. Having said that, I still like the idea of being behind a software firewall and not just the router's. Over the years, both Online Armor (even the year I had a free license) and PrivateFirewall, a number of times have not adequately remembered my settings, especially after updates, even though they were supposed to. Comodo has always seemed to be the most logical and stable (relative to remembering settings) but even though I do disable Defense+ it still installs it (all those extra files!). So after a few weeks I decide to investigate this W7 firewall, which has been quite as a church mouse, and discover that if I do want some control, it seems pretty complicated. I'm just having a hard time deciding if I want to just go on ignoring the fact that there doesn't seem to be anything to ignore (no pun intended) with W7's FW, or go back to one of the FWs I've used before! By nature, I'm kind of a freeware junkie so that may be part of what is going on here with several decent free FWs available. If I learn more about TinyWall I may try it.

 

The good part is that Comodo doesn't hook the corresponding kernel methods id Defense+ is disabled, unlike almost every other HIPS, which is a big plus for me. And I believe it installs all the files because it allows you to enable the D+ anytime

 

You can try zonealarm free, pc tools firewall or even windows firewall control. If you want to shell out some cash you can try look n stop. I also feel a little more secure with a software firewall. Since I mostly use my laptop and I'm on a lot of open wifi connections. Also being on a VPN is very helpful as well.