Would like firewall recommendation

Hello folks,
Can someone please recommend a firewall? Here's my situation:

I'm currently using Norton Internet Security 2002. I'm concerned that Symantec will eventually stop supporting (i.e. updating) 2002 some day. Because of their new "activation" policy and weak incremental features in new versions, I don't care to buy 2005 or patronize Symantec. I want to reinstall the product as-needed, reliably, without hassles. All of the new features being added to NIS are just bloating the product-- I don't need spam filtering, protected recycle bins, parental junk etc. I just need a good firewall.

The key feature in NIS that I seriously need in a replacement product is the ability to catch outgoing access on a per-application/process basis, and define granular access rules for each. For example: my mail client is 'allowed' to access mail.thisdomain.com and pop.thatdomain.net, but all other access is 'denied' (result: no external graphics loaded or web bugs triggered in mail). I want to prevent some applications from 'phoning home' to their parent site, but give them free reign to the rest of the internet. And some apps such as remote access, I need set to allow incoming/outgoing only to specific IP ranges.

Does anybody make a firewall with features similar to NIS, but without the bloat or hassle?

To be honest, I haven't looked at any competing firewall products in over ten months. The last time I did, I tried Kerio, Sygate and McAfee, and ended up with XP getting hosed by one of them.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Boson

 

Hi Boson, Take a look at Zone Alarm . Its a free download from Zone Labs. I've been using it for a while and seems to be very secure. Stops traffic incoming and outgoing without permission. I recently bought ZA Pro which has many more privacy features than the free version. Happy I did. Hope this helps.

 

I'd guess a number do, but my only experience is with Outpost. A quick peek into the application rules looks like it can handle your basic needs. Ingoing/outcoming by IP range looks like it needs to be done by list or wildcards (or a combination). This might get unwieldy in some circumstances.

Anyway, I've used it for a little over a year. It's been stable on my machine. The place to get detailed information is the Outpost firewall forum.

Blue

 

Try sygate personal firewall, it does an excellent job too.
You can download it from: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3356.html
This is the sygate product forum: http://forums.sygate.com/vb/

 

1st choice....older version of Zone Alarm 4.5.594.000. You may want to check out the current version of Zone Alarm 5.5. Go into Program Control\Programs and right click the program that you want to modify. Select Options\Expert rules.

Outpost Pro 2.5 is another capable firewall. Glad you are walking away from piggy Norton.

 

Hi Boson & welcome to Wilders,
Previously I had NIS2004, but it was pre-installed when I bought my PC.
Changed it to Sygate Pro afterwards, but it didn't play nice with the Avast updater.
OutPost is the one I eventually settled for, which is an excellent firewall where you can create the rules YOU want. They even have a forum in case you've questions about rules or anything else.

It's up to you to find the one which you like best, like I did. Try some out.
Of course opinions from other firewall users help you in your final decision.

 

Hey folks,
Thanks for the recommendations! I'll give those packages each a try after the Christmas holidays. I just got DSL service installed & am learning to live with it. The DSL modem has a firewall built in (and it's router does NAT), but I still need application control. For now, I've got Zone Alarm(free) loaded while I get the bugs out.

Thanks again!!!

 

boson3,

If Outpost is still in the mix of products that you're considering, please be aware that licenses purchased from Agnitum from Dec 20 to Jan 10 will receive lifetime free upgrades. See here for more information. Unlike many applications, firewalls really don't require constant upgrading, nevertheless, it's a fairly nice deal. You may have already seen this - just making sure with this post.

Blue

 

http://www.routix.net/