The right FW for a gaming PC?

Hello folks,

I have a real decision problem:
Outpost Pro FW or Online Armor or sticking with ESS + any HIPS?

I try to find the right security solution for my gaming PC, but it's really hard to decide. Beside gaming I do some office and multimedia on the PC.

I have an ESS license, but I'd like to improve my system's security with a FW which has more settings...
I like ESS really but I had to uncheck a lot of IDS functions to let it work with my crappy router. ( I had to exclude the router's IP from IDS totally, had to disable IGMP filtering,....)

So I tried Outpost Pro FW with NOD32 and I was impressed by it's lightness and because of the fact that you can define a rule for everything I got it even to work with my router.

I tried OA, too, and beside the fact that I like Outpost's UI more, it is a very good FW, in my opinion.

The one thing I really want the most, is almost no impact on my PC's performance, because, you know, I don't like lags or sth like that in my games.

maybe someone can enlighten my confused brain or recommend, what would be the best solution for my purposes.

 

If lightness is the main concern , windows firewall control is the lightest, or u can try LnS

If u want fw+hips , the lighest would be private firewall...
And
Paid alternative like OA or Outpost shouldn't be a problem for gaming rig

 

Windows Firewall Control is not a firewall. Its a configuration tool for the built in Windows FW.

LnS is hands down the lightest FW out there with the exception of Windows own and even then LnS is so close you wouldnt be able to tell a difference on a gaming rig.

Id go LnS with some of the plugins and maybe Phant0ms rule set.

 

I'd go with Windows 7 Firewall Control with the Windows fw running.

LnS is a rule based fw.

 

Yeah and it offers exactly what the OP is looking for. Its far superior to anything Windows FW can do.

 

LnS is very light and very good.

Personally, for online gaming I turn off AV and third-party firewalls. By far, the lightest solution I've found. BTW - I'm behind a router and have never gotten an infection while gaming, ever.

 

Hi, have you tried the interactive mode of ESS's firewall?

Setup > Advanced Setup > Personal Firewall > Filtering mode drop down

 

Why do you turn off your AV and FW? Is it a speed issue during gaming or something else? This is the first time I've ever read about someone doing this. I'm curious because I also play a lot of online games but have never turned anything off.

 

I can't answer for Infinity, but I always turned my AV off when playing a game that was resource intensive. Depending on the AV, it could easily affect the game's performance and "smoothness".

It will, of course, depend on the computer, the av, and the game.

 

Turning of all security programs is quite common especially in competitive multiplayer gaming, where every ms can mean the difference between death and victory.

 

I did a "Google" search about this and sure enough a lot of people turn off their AV and/or firewalls. Damn, I must really be behind because I honestly never heard about this until I read it here.
I haven't experienced any problems and both of my kids are hard core gamers, one on XBOX360 and the other on PS3 both running at the same time on multi-player and not one word about any problem from either of them. Maybe a dropped connection error but this is like once or twice every couple of weeks.
Now I need to get my fix, time for C.O.D Black Ops. Anybody up for some Zombie mode?

 

This is exactly why I turn off AV/firewall. It reduces lag and there is a noticeable difference. I also run Gamebooster, although not a big Iobit fan, to turn off unnecessary Windows services, etc. (this also makes a noticeable difference).

 

I sometimes turn off my AV (or KIS' scanning components) while gaming, depending on the game and how it'll be played (for competitive gaming I always turn those off - often makes a noticable although small difference). I haven't noticed any difference with the firewall, probably because my connection is slow to begin with.

 

For ultimate-speed online gaming:

1- Image your system drive (usually drive c)

2- Disable ALL security

3- Play your game

4- Restore image made at step 1

 

5 - lose your game progress because you restored an image.

It's a good routine but one that would only work for games that store data in the cloud.

 

the only time this kind of performance matters i when playing online, doesnt really matter much in a singleplayer, so ur not storing any data anyways

 

There are some multiplayer games which store data client side such as ranks, unlocks, etc. Other online games will have settings for UI features/addons.

 

true, i suppose settings do matter. every game i have tho stores ranks and unlocks online alongside ur account info

 

I just run sandboxie and use the windows firewall on my gaming rig. Light and fast.

 

First of all, thank you all for your answers.

Yea, I played a lot around with ESS but my router doesn't like it. The router does host scans and I have to deactivate this feature in my router, to prevent ESS thinking my router is an attacker. And Battlefield Bad Company 2 doesn't like it.
First there was the problem with false ping in BC2. Then I read that this is a known problem since ever.
So I tried other solutions and none of them had any problem neither with my PC, my router, nor my games.

I don't want to say that ESS is a bad product. It runs very well on my mother's and my gf's PC, but I can't use it the way I want.

I really want to have HIPS included. I like the idea behind it. Per example the Outpost HIPS prevented 2 programs which where marked as "spywarefree" by several known software sites from installing bundleware and crapware.

I forgot to mention that my system runs on x64. So I heard that private firewall is very good for 32bit, but doesn't come with a good protection for x64.

I have sandboxie, too, and it is very cool for trying out software that doesn't go too deep into the system and doesn't need reboot. But there is no point in running a defragging tool inside a sandbox, per example. Besides that there are many programs that are not compatible with Sandboxie.
iTunes... I use an iPhone and my gf has an iPad. We need iTunes. But I want to prevent Apple to change certain things just because they think I am in huge need of some Quicktime services.
And even if you browse only with sandboxie wrapped around your browser and open the files first in sandboxie before copying them to your real HD a HIPS sometimes may do a better job.

 

Luckily I have a second computer which I install all the crap on for my iPad, cell phone etc... It's not a gaming system so doesn't matter if I bloat it up lol.

 

I have not heard that. Where exactly did you read/hear this?

 

My guess (did not actually hear this) is it's for similar reasons why a security software product like Sandboxie, for example, can't protect as well in a x64 platform as explained here. Kernel Patch Protection being the x64 culprit. Please note I'm not trying to turn this into another product's thread, only citing it as an example

 

Are you using a desktop? If you have a spare HDD unplug you main one, plug the spare one, do a clean OS install and install you game there. Whenever you want to play the game, unplug your main HD and plug the MMO one. Not practical as you need to open the case, but both will surely be isolated.

 

It is a forum in my language where ppl say that and I read about it on another page but I cannot find it yet.
Yes, it has to do with Kernel Patch Protection.

Every FW developer has problems with it, but they told me that on 64bit Personal Firewall cannot protect more than Windows FW.

[QUOTE_Drakar] Are you using a desktop? If you have a spare HDD unplug you main one, plug the spare one, do a clean OS install and install you game there. Whenever you want to play the game, unplug your main HD and plug the MMO one. Not practical as you need to open the case, but both will surely be isolated.[/QUOTE]

I appreciate your help, but this is too complicated for me. Yes I have a Desktop PC but your way of protection is like sleeping in my car to protect it from being stolen.