a duffer's firewall trials

Notes from firewall trials by one ordinary user with a Windows 98 PC

Percentages are readings from the Resource Meter taken under similar conditions on one Windows 98 PC. Higher is better.

Kerio Personal Firewall 2.1.4
(+) 80/91% resources free
( ) 2.1 MB download
(-) Reportedly has a problem with Unix SMTP/POP3 servers---they ask for IDENT; Kerio filters IDENT requests and never sends back a reply, resulting in a delay while connecting to the mail server. See
http://www.blarp.com/faq/faqmanager.cgi?file=kerio_other&toc=kerio#q2
MTS.net, M.B.'s primary mail server, uses Unix apparently.

Sygate 5.0
( ) 79/88% resources free
(-) 5 MB download
(-) Rather complex UI
(-) Registration (mild)
(-) Interferes with ScanDisk, which restarts ad infinitum. ZoneAlarm doesn't. Don't know about the others.
(-) A security hole requires manual patch
(+) Otherwise, works perfectly on M.B.'s PC

Look 'n' Stop Lite 1.04
( ) 78/90% resources free
(+) 356K download; 340K installation folder
(-) No application filtering; incoming only. Cf. WinXP's firewall and BlackIce.
(-) PCFlank showed ports "closed," not "stealthed."
( ) Consider as better-than-nothing option for (a) people with old PCs, small hard drives, and no budget, and (b) people who don't want "learning mode" queries from a firewall.

Look 'n' Stop 2.03
( ) 78/89% resources free
(+) 459K download
(-) Shareware
(-) Doesn't retain settings re. logging options.

Outpost Free 1.0
( ) 78/89% resources free
( ) 2.8 MB download
(+) Many features
(-) Effortful setup
(-) In M.B.'s trial, no program was able to connect to the Net.
(-) Dirty uninstall. To clean up, you obtain a .reg script from a message board and run it--if you dare.

ZoneAlarm (free) 2.6.88
(-) 70/82%; resource hog
( ) 2.8 MB download
(-) Slow?
(-) Tricky uninstall; read the manual
(-) v3.x said to be slower and use even more resources.

Tiny Personal Firewall (not tested)
(-) Shareware

So Sygate it is.

 

Interesting Will you supply us with your opinion of Sygate when you have tried it out? and was it free or pro?

 

You might want to add very dirty uninstall to Sygate. I have come across numerous people with serious problems trying to uninstall Sygate.
You can check the firewall forum at Beckys and the forum at Sygate.
I think you will find it very hard to find many programs that uninstall without leaving trash all over the place. Also not many have an aditional cleanup available such as Outpost and ZA. Sygate could use one.
Interesting look at firewalls from your point of view. Thanks for the effort.

 

Interesting & useful info, Achy. I look forward to reading how things work out for you.

I guess each individual's box/OS combo makes a difference. I run WinME, which is generally held to be less stable that Win98. OP has given me by far the best stability.

I have tried several FWs, ergo uninstalled OP at least 3 times I can recall. No problems -- but then I used OP's own uninstall followed by a *2nd uninstall* using Total Uninstall [it found several left-overs].

By the way [if this isn't overly off-thread], let me add that Total Uninstall is superb and free...
http://users.rol.ro/g/gmartau/download/download.html

Shaloha.......Bellgamin

 

Tinribs, root, and bellgamin, thank you for your comments and interest. It is Sygate free, not Pro, and it's been humming along smoothly. Yes, root, the comment about the uninstall issue was unfair.