Firewall??? Which one is best???

Hi everyone.

I have a firewall question so I am asking it here instead of putting all my questions in one post. I figure this way it is easier for you to answer. I am presently using windows firewall and so far it has served me best. But I here that it just isn't safe enough and I'm sure it's not. I had used ZA Pro in the past but all these firewalls are too invasive, sluggish and I never know what to allow and what not to.

Can you help me in deciding which is the best firewall for my little pc. Thank you kindly for your replies.

Melle

 

Best? Well that's a matter of opinion and eveyone has theirs. All I can suggest to you is try a few(one at a time) and use what works best for you. I have tried many(not all) and have always(so far)come back to Look N Stop.
For that is what works best for me. Good luck in your search.

 

Hello,
The Windows firewall is a one way firewall that only provides inbound protection. If there is an attempt to dial out from your computer, the Windows firewall will be unable to block it (this is often referred to as leakproof protection). A firewall takes up memory as well as filter all communications on your system. There are many who feel that the prompt messages are too unclear and you can't determine if a communication attempt is valid or not. If you don't do any kind of risky surfing or open suspicious emails, the Windows firewall will be OK. I have used it on a laptop since 2005 with no major problems. If you wish to have a "stronger" firewall, then you can consider any of the major vendors offerings. Zone Alarm has many users and is considered a relatively easy firewall to configure. There are many others that offer varying degrees of difficulty to set up their programs. For simplicity, the Windows firewall is the lightest and easiest of them all, but of course, it is not the "strongest". The answer sort of depends on how you use your system.

 

The SANS institute wrote this about the Windows XP firewall:

Assuming your computer is not a server, the primary failing of the Windows XP firewall is that it doesn't provide outbound protection. If you become infected by a virus or a trojan, it will be able to access the Internet to (a) spread by e-mailing your friends, (b) send out your passwords, (c) post your files on the web.

Great complements to the Windows XP Firewall are 1. Common Sense - only open e-mail attachments and run software that you believe are safe and 2. A strong anti-virus program to stop 97% of malware before it can hurt your system. See http:///www.av-comparatives.org.

How many virii/trojans have you caught in your life? How much would it cost you if a virus or trojan took over your system? If you really need better security the next step up is a firewall with outbound filtering. You have to tell it which programs can access the Internet and which can't--by it's nature, it's chatty. If you decide you want one, here's a review of the top products. I would avoid anything rated Poor, Very Poor, or None.

http://www.matousec.com/projects/windows-personal-firewall-analysis/leak-tests-results.php

 

I agree. Only way you can find out what is best for you and your system is to try several firewalls. Like wantsprotection said, Matousec site is very good, atleast it gives you some idea what to try

Kristian

 

Hi msmelle

Look at this "sticky" post: I guess you'll find all information needed to decide which firewall is the best for you.

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=24415

 

Thank you all very much for your replies. I've clicked on links below your sig and am going to look into what you are all using. I will try at least one of th ose to see how it goes. The only thing is that when I try something, don't like it and uninstall, the more I do that, the more junk gets left in the computer. Even with scanners, cleaners and everything else, junk always gets left behind in an uninstall. Any comments on that would be welcome as well. Thank you.

Melle

 

That is true that a lot of "debris" is left behind when you uninstall a program. In order to avoid having to use hard drive file deletion programs, a disk imaging utility could be used to save off the image of the drive before you install the new program. Should you not like it, then you would just reload the saved image back to the drive. Some others may use different techniques to restore a system in order to remove a test program. Most cleaning programs are not 100% effective in getting rid of what you don't need.

Ideally, I wish the PC was similar to the way it was when I started using one back in the 1980's where the only applications in use were a word processor, spreadsheet, and database program. The only utility programs that I downloaded came off a BBS or were on diskettes.

 

Thanks again for your replies. I will take all this into consideration and try out a few. Melle