W7 64 Bit Firewall

Okay, I'll start off by apologizing if my question has already been asked an answered, but I've searched the forum most of the day and can't find anything that definitively addresses my problem.

I will be purchasing a new laptop soon, which will be W7 64 bit. I don't fancy myself an expert on any level, especially with firewalls and 64 bit OS. So, I lurk here and pick things up.

I can say I will be running NOD32 as the AV, with Prevx. My normal firewall is OA, but as yet no 64 bit support.

I would like input on how NOD and Prevx runs with some other free firewalls from folks that use/have used them- to do me until OA comes out reasonably bug free. I'm considering PC Tools, Comodo, and Outpost- however all suggestions of free firewalls with NOD32 (including Windows Firewall) would be appreciated.

I've researched PC Tools, and while it seems to be OK, apparently there are some LAN issues, and problems staying connected in WiFi.

Comodo used to be noisy, and while I can usually work with that, my wife won't.

Outpost- good helpful forum, but I am unsure as to the status/reliability of the W7 64 bit current release. I think it's working by the forums, but unsure.

I guess more succinctly: Who uses what free firewall with NOD32 on a W7 64bit platform?

ALL responses are greatly appreciated.

Jim

 

I have been searching for a while now for a good 64bit firewall. I have not found anything other than Comodo which is way too heavy on the popups. There are some firewalls like Privatefirewall that install but they run in 32bits rather than 64.

 

I was using PC Tools Firewall free up until about a week ago. It kept having random lags when I would navigate the GUI. I dont need HIPs protection so I went with a very light firewall. I decided on Privatefirewall. The GUI is something to be desired, but its very light, fast, and bug free from my experience.

 

Were the lags just in the GUI? I mean no loss of connection or anything?

 

Comodo shouldn't give you many popups if you run D+ in Safe Mode and the firewall in Very Low alert mode. It's pretty configurable as to how many popups you get. You can probably turn off some of the D+ monitor settings like Keyboard and Computer Monitor to cut down the number of potential alerts even more.

 

I would five outpost free a go. I liked OA over Outpost and Outpost over Comodo (reasons are the pop-ups, when you turn Comodo down as suggested by some. it has weaker protection compared to Outpost)

Regards Kees

 

I didnt have any connection loss or lag. Just navigating throughout the different areas of the firewall were laggy. I also gave Outpost Pro a try and thats buggy and caused my system to lock up more than once. I had to uninstall in safe mode to remove it. I couldnt access anything in the regular desktop with Outpost running.

 

Thanks for the input. I appreciate the insight. It seems like 64 bit is somewhat of a wildcard still.

 

It is, but it will be the future.

Is there a specific reason you want something that will run in x64 mode?

 

Other than I agree it is the future, I can't seem to find a new laptop that comes in a 32 bit config. The probably are there, and honestly I may have seen one, but I don't guess it made an impression.

 

I also have Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit, in combination with ESET NOD32 antivirus. Next to that I have Hitman Pro on-demand as second-opinion.

I am just using Windows 7 Firewall, i really like it. It is extremely light, no pop-ups (after you set exceptions). Also it is quite strong, there are enough reviews online stating that the Windows 7 Firewall makes 3rd party firewalls redundant.
Do any leak test on the internet and you will find out your ports will be perfectly stealthed by the Win 7 Firewall.

With Win 7 Firewall, ESET, and PrevX you will have a great, light and powerfull layered setup. Especially if you use Windows security options like DEP and UAC on default.

 

A stealth test is not the same as a leak test. Vista/Win7 firewall does not perform well on leak tests.

 

Also there's no way to see open ports and traffic/packet count on any of the services etc. which makes the buil in firewall only good for noobs.

 

Windows has no open ports by default, unless you run/install an application and allow it in firewall. You can use other software to watch traffic/packet flow.

Leak test shows, how would already infected PC react, if no other security software would be able to stop it. I prefer prevention and Windows Firewall is good at that. As for detection, I think that there are better security products than firewall like AV, AS, HIPS and so on, I would not rely on a firewall to detect mallware.

 

just the opposite for me. Privatefirewall dragged my pc, where as PC Tools is actually very light. I really think it is a nice firewall.

 

HIPS and firewall are joined at the HIP these days. Firewall is the passive component - HIPS feature is what prevents "leaking" through surreptitios means, whether you want to call it a HIPS or firewall.