What is the strongest free FW for security/protection?

Discussion in 'other firewalls' started by php111, Oct 10, 2012.

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  1. php111

    php111 Registered Member

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    Hey everyone,

    I use Avast for my AV, and besides Comodo FW which causes problems with Avast. What free FW is known to be the strongest for security/protection? I'm also a uTorrent user. I'm on a Win 7 32-bit (x86) desktop PC.

    I appreciate any info.

    Thank you,

    I also don't have a router.
     
  2. Woody777

    Woody777 Registered Member

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    Private Firewall has problems with Avast & Win 7 last I heard. That leaves online Armor, Outpost SS but you have to disable the AV & Malware protection . You can also try Zpne Alarm Free. It is becomeing difficult to put stand alone AVs & Firewall together unless they are in a suite. At least that is what I feel.
     
  3. php111

    php111 Registered Member

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    Thank you! How good is online armor free? Are there any configuration tutorials to make the protection more stronger?
     
  4. kdcdq

    kdcdq Registered Member

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    I am a strong believer, user, and promoter of Private Firewall. :thumb: It is, however, quirky :)o ) when first installing, but after you get past that, it works well. If you are interested in PF, I strongly suggest you read the PF postings in the Firewall section here at Wilders before you install it.
     
  5. NormanF

    NormanF Registered Member

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    ZA Firewall Free or the ZA Free AV/Firewall suite.

    They're easy on novice users and once you have your trusted applications configured, its secure.
     
  6. Woody777

    Woody777 Registered Member

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    Online Armor Free lacks a few items, the most serious being Registry protection & dns spoofing protection. It has a very good hips component, & seems to me to be a very Good Firewall itself. You can run internet facing Applications safer which reduces their rights for more protection. I have used Online Armor free with Avast & it works well for me. If you decide to use Private firewall then make sure you back everything up first. My history with PF is that it either works incredibly well or causes problems. If you do get PF working you will need to make up special rules in the networking area to try to prevent it from allowing Avast to tunnel through the network with its internet shield, thereby negating PFWs protection. this is the same problem Comodo has with Avast. If you wish to invoke registry protection you can use the free program Registry watcher. I suppose you could also install the Comodo Dragon Browser as it uses Comodos Dns settings. Sandboxie might also help if you want to run your browser in a safe space. Toolwiz has a free program called Time Freeze which will freeze you system until you reboot, You can the pretty much do anything & on restart all malware will be gone. There I told you all my secrets.
     
  7. Sm3K3R

    Sm3K3R Registered Member

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    On Windows 7 you don t have to many options.

    You have :Zone Alarm free , Comodo :) ,Private Firewall , Online Armor Free , Outpost Firewall Free (random order).

    Or the free Windows Firewall interfaces like Tinywall.

    Zone Alarm free has no HIPS (but has nags at start up) ,Private Firewall has a HIPS that can t be disabled ,Online Armor Free may generate issues with HIPS on ,Comodo (sucks for me) ,Outpost Firewall Free usually freezes your PC in various scenarios.

    You know already Comodo try the others. :)

    You should get a router , as except the build in W7 firewall none of the free above features good inbound protection ,but i may be wrong.
     
  8. NormanF

    NormanF Registered Member

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    If you have a broadband modem - you already have a hardware firewall in place that's very effective.

    But installing a software firewall increases the scope of that protection onlne.
     
  9. vojta

    vojta Registered Member

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    Sorry, Im not sure if you mean "can be disabled" or "can't be disabled". If you want to disable PF's HIPS just move the slider in the "Process Monitor" tab to "Off".
     
  10. Sm3K3R

    Sm3K3R Registered Member

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    The graphical interface may show you that ,thats not what i ve experienced.
    For me it can t ,it would ask HIPS questions right before shut down or restart not connectivity related.Why it does that to me i don t know.Maybe for a short period of time it wakes up :)
     
  11. The Red Moon

    The Red Moon Registered Member

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    There is nothing wrong with the firewall you already have installed.What is it you want from a firewall?
    They more or less do the same job as each other although in different ways.
    There is no such thing as a "best" firewall and i wouldnt pay too much attention to the stealthing nonsense either.
    But yes the firewalls mentioned here are all ok except perhaps for privatefirewall which has caused countless issues and you can see this in the PFW threads here.:D
     
  12. JoeBlack40

    JoeBlack40 Registered Member

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    Have you tried it lately?I guess not,otherwise you wouldn't make such a statement.Its OS firewall is included now in the free version (now it's called Application Control).Not a full blown HIPS,but surely safe enough to use it along with an AV and SBIE if you like.So i do recommend ZA free.
    And in about 2 month of use,i've seen only one time one nag.But not on start up.
     
  13. The Red Moon

    The Red Moon Registered Member

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    Have you tried the zone alarm with AV.o_O
    I presume that is free.
    What is the resource usage like with zone alarm please?
    Thanks.:D
     
  14. JoeBlack40

    JoeBlack40 Registered Member

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    In my post i was referring to ZA firewall free,which doesn't use huge amount of RAM like the full free suite.The free suite for me uses 280-300 MB RAM,and i hate this btw.:D
     
  15. The Red Moon

    The Red Moon Registered Member

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    i would go for the free version myself then,suite seems a bit high.
    Why do you hate it?
     
  16. JoeBlack40

    JoeBlack40 Registered Member

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    Because it uses huge amount of RAM.It's the only suite,free or paid i have ever used who behaves like a RAM "sponge".And i simply hate this thing.But overall,a strong and a very good suite for free.
    Go for it,i think you will be pleased by ZA firewall free.Or maybe not,you'll decide.
     
  17. php111

    php111 Registered Member

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    Thank you for the replies everyone!

    I heard Comodo Firewall known to have issues with Avast Antivirus? I really want to use both, but I won't because of problems. So, should I just use Comodo and find another AV? Or should I continue to use Avast for my AV, and find another FW, but not Comodo?

    Also, I'll give everyone the model to my DSL modem. May someone please confirm if its a router as well?

    I forgot to give the model. It's SURFboard SB5101.
     
  18. The Red Moon

    The Red Moon Registered Member

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    Im not certain if comodo has altered there firewall in the new version.The problem you mention is due to the avast web shield although comodo is not the only firewall that has been affected.
    Privatefirewall.
    Windows firewall.
    These two have a known issue also.
    Why dont you give the entire comodo suite a try?
     
  19. php111

    php111 Registered Member

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    How good is Comodo AV? I mean is rated good, or decent to clean up the entire PC? There is nothing wrong with my machine. I'm looking for something that could get the job done.
     
  20. The Red Moon

    The Red Moon Registered Member

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    Ive always found the comodo AV to be very good.It hasnt been tested by any testing organisations but it does do a very good job in my opinion.Plus you will not find a lighter security suite out there.:thumb:
     
  21. php111

    php111 Registered Member

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    Thank you!
     
  22. The Red Moon

    The Red Moon Registered Member

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    Your most welcome.:thumb:
    Ive seen comodo internet security running at 5mb on my computer at times.:thumb:
     
  23. DIgiDis

    DIgiDis Registered Member

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    I know it's not free, but you can find the Avast Internet Suite for 20 bucks. The firewall isn't so bad at all and the suite works just fine.

    That being said, I use the Comodo Suite and feel like it protects me more than when I had AIS. Even though the AV component isn't one of the heavy hitters, it works just fine. It never really comes into play as the Defense+ system is the real heart of the suite and goes far beyond what an AV can do. The idea behind CIS is to never get infected in the first place. The AV is better viewed as an additional layer and as a decent scanner.

    Anyway, if one doesn't feel safe with the AV they can always install MBAM for a second opinion.
     
  24. Sm3K3R

    Sm3K3R Registered Member

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    I doubt you will keep it more than 2 weeks in your PC with HIPS or not :)
    It must have even more start up freezes now with the HIPS.
    How long does it take for the PC to boot up when there is no internet connected to the PC ?
    Banners will come don t worry ,they need time to show up.
     
  25. php111

    php111 Registered Member

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    Speaking of slowing down systems, I know the latest version of CIS with AV is slowing down my system. Maybe I should find another free FW with free AV since it's not working for me? In that case, maybe I should try putting Avast free AV, and try OA for free FW? I don't know.
     
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