Firewall for new University Laptop?

ive already decided on an AV i will be using on my new university laptop but since i will be on a wireless network with many people connected to it, i feel it will be necessary for me to have a decent firewall installed, any suggestions?

 

Zone Alarm is a nice one and it has wireless protection. light and secure.i am using it right now

 

On my laptop I opted for the Comodo Complete Internet Security which normally costs but is/was offered for free on their forum to anyone who asks. I liked the extra features available in CIC Complete, especially the trust connect encrypted wi-fi. If interested just check out their forum. I decided to use Avast instead of the Comodo antivirus in my set up.

 

Why don't you use the Windows FireWall 2-way when you are not at home. With the new deny access filtering tips provided, it is real simple to setup

See thread https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=239750

See specific post https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1717632&postcount=135 and https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1718232&postcount=142

regards

 

I agree with Kees, and then just put "Public" as the active profile and you're basically set.

 

I'm in the same situation as the OP but the hand-me-down notebook I'll be getting has XP pro installed instead so no benefits from windows firewall profiles that vista or windows 7 has. Do you think XP's firewall, coupled most likely with SRP and LUA, will be sufficient in a university environment? Otherwise, any firewall suggestions?

 

Hi,
If you want program control and protection against zero day threats I would suggest zone alarm pro firewall.

 

hmm, idk, but i think i will be going with PC Tools FW.

 

I was browsing for some firewalls I could try out. Kinda surprised that comodo and zonealarm comes at a hefty 56 and 44 megs respectively.

Has anyone tried out ashampoo's freebie firewall recently? Looks simple enough for an average user.

 

Oh yeah, I'd like to see this post, so I can get it for free too?


THANKS

 

IIRC- the Ashampoo firewall has not been updated in years. If it were me, and I was going to use a "legacy" type firewall I would definitely go with the old Kerio, Sygate or Jetico well before trying the Ashampoo firewall.

 

With regards to Universities (UK), would the connection be considered public or otherwise....I have no idea how universities would allow students to connect to the net ( with a port in every residence)?

 

well i think its a public network, because altho at my school u need to login to ur student account to access the internet, it is an open wifi network as in there no password to get on the wifi

 

Thanks for the fast reply.

I guess that means allowing nothing to be downloaded. If she wanted to download something then she would have to change profiles (talking about PCTools FW atm)

 

thats what i do, i play on the safe side and treat everything i connect to, even the secure wireless network at my school which u need to enter ur security key to access at all as a public network. better safe than sorry i suppose

 

Thanks for the replies Firzen, how you getting on with PC Tools FW?

 

np, but im currently using Comodo Firewall, ill probly try out PCT FW once v7 is released tho

 

what here in your case is you more need wifi protection than that of internet so you need a firewall which filter wireless connection as well

i suggest you if you can invest some money go for KIS or kis pure or NIS norton 360.....etc some other full security suite for all in one they are capable of blocking all kinda attacks including launch be wifi or lan types they block your network

also if you looking for pure firewall then i suggest you zone alarm pro and outpost firewall pro firewall both of them are very strong and good firewall

http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/compare-anti-virus-spyware-software.htm

 

ive always thought of dedicated "wifi protection" as gimmicky and just marketing hype, because wouldnt all network traffic pass through my firewall anyways, what does "wifi protection" do differently, only thing different i could possibly imagine would be a VPN like function and thats not something im looking for. but if u can explain further what exactly "wifi protection" is, maybe ill reconsider

and i dont like Zonealarm, and although i do like Outpost, im currently trying out Comodo, might try out outpost later on as well