Best Firewall: Vote Here!

[hawkburn]

Rate the best firewall out of:

ZoneAlarm Reg/Pro
Norton Firewall
McAfee Firewall
Sygate Firewall
Other (specify)

[wonderboy2005]

right now i use tiny personal firewall, cuz ive heard good things about it. i used to have zonealarm, but when i upgraded it, it wouldnt allow kazaa to start up. unless somone can sway me otherwise, (more features, more p2p progs that can be used with it, etc) im sticking with tiny. i have had problems with a few p2p progs tho. i cant get these prgrams to work: blubster, edonkey, filenavigator, filespree, filetopia, overnet, xnet. i would really like to be able to use these, so im open to suggestions.

[Sassanak]

I use 'zone alarm' and 'blackice', its like having 2 doormen instead of 1.
If 1 is busy, then the other stands guard!:wings

[jonny5]

hmm.. i've heard having two firewalls might actually make you vulnerable (conflicts of having 2 firewalls). Anyway, I use sygate pro. It works :)

[DrEaMs In DiGiTaL]

right now im usin ZoneAlarm Pro and the Windows XP firewall, they make a great team! :-D

[Wings_of_Azrael]

I use Kerio, which is pretty much the same as Tiny Personal Firewall, for now anyways. I used to have ZoneAlarm, but it gave me many illegal operations, as well as slowed my entire system down. Kerio uses little RAM, has yet to give me an error, and I feel safer with it. The only thing is that you actually have to configure it properly for it to do any good. Not for novice computer users, I don't think. I've been considering switching to Outpost Pro, but I've spent too much time configuring Kerio to start over from scratch. Kerio for firewall and Proxomitron to block ads.. that's good enough for me, especially with my measly 128 MB of RAM.

[Wings_of_Azrael]

To use eDonkey, I just opened up local and remote ports 4660-4669 on TCP, going both ways; 4665 on UDP going both ways; and I blocked everything else, including port 80, to keep the ads from loading. I don't know if my settings are too lose, but I haven't been hacked yet.

[Ken17625]

I use Norton Personal Firewall. Its easy to configure. I like it.

[TwoZigzagColt45]

I like NeoWatch

its not the best in the world

but it keeps the script kiddies out

http://www.imagemagician.com/images/twozigzagcolt45/smokin[1].gif

[Nothingface5384]

i posted a thread like this awhile back....always good to compare results:D

[TwoZigzagColt45]

I've just posted in that thread

its getting a bit like Groundhog day

LOL

http://www.imagemagician.com/images/twozigzagcolt45/smokin[1].gif

[MoonMan]

Personally I used to love ZoneAlarm. Since I have recently put Windows 2000 on my computer and reinstalled everything ZoneAlarm has caused me nothing but trouble. Sometimes when I connect to the internet it restarts my computer!

[Juggalo15]

This is dum,jus experiment

[Azo-999]

Voted Sygate's Pro, cause I now have it.
After being bored with nortons internet security and firewall (they block too much and are hard to configure all the time) I got ZaPro and it seemed to be good, but it wasn't - too much monkey bizz. with it...
Then I found Sygate, Installed It, made some good rules for the traffic and everything's now ok - no more intruders and I can even block out kazaa leechers by IP, which is maybe the best thing for me (leecher.hater.man) .... ;-)

Peace !

:sw :sw :sw :sw

[Juggalo15]

I use Nortan,Bullgaurd,and WindowsXP built in firewall,there;s been no conflict,so its alright.

[MorningSon]

norton is da shit

[Azo-999]

Originally posted by MorningSon
norton is da shit
Hello and congratulations - U just earned Your supreme level at Zezopaid with a $kit message ;-)
I try to follow U (with a little less S$it), still having to "Spam" 20 messages more... :wings
Norton is not Sh..., it's suitable for most of the users, who don't have much Know-How with manual configs. The only sh$t thing with it is the fact, that by default it bans many xxxx and hacker-related webpages and puts their (mostly Cydoor-like) cookies banned, so that the whole page won't open anymore ...
Now - how to "enlarge your penis" anymore or find crack to a cute app...?
Yes, just analyze "THE Pages" U visit and see how much Cydoor there is in those tiny banners and popups. Run ad-aware allways after these kinda visits and it'll find something "nice" at Ur registry all the time...

P.S. Sygate Rulez (and ZapPro after it...)

Peace ! (now and forever)

:sw :sw :sw :sw

[guzze]

Kerio Personal Firewall

[blury]

I was just about to say that too, guzze. Yes, Kerio is easy on cpu resources and doesn't involve a lot of crap. I opted for Kerio after realizing that there was no benefit to having ZoneAlarm. ZoneAlarm, with its many features, did not make my computer anymore safe.

[Azo-999]

Originally posted by blury
I was just about to say that too, guzze. Yes, Kerio is easy on cpu resources and doesn't involve a lot of crap. I opted for Kerio after realizing that there was no benefit to having ZoneAlarm. ZoneAlarm, with its many features, did not make my computer anymore safe.

P.S. ZoneAlarm Pro-version does make Ur PC safer than U can even think. Maybe so safe, that U just are enabled to look at decent nice sites with no cookies or "certified cookies".
Just configure at ZaPro all the sliders up to maximum. Ban all known ports, disallow apps to go to net and few more bits and U R safe as bird in a gage : No way out, no way in...;-)

Can U tell me a bit 'bout that Kerio-case, interested, because not having it - does it really beat Sygate at all 5 facts important to me. (They all exists at Sygate's)

1. Easy to use and very auto-configuring by default.
2. Extremely safe and if so, how do U prove it..?
3. Extremely FAST, not taking much bandwith, when filterering web-traffic!
4. Good log-files for EVERY-situation, givin' U guidelines and automatic suggestions for further configuration...!
5. Da Price - nooooh, who'll buy - we share?

Peace (and safe Firewalling against the "cruel world") !

:sw :sw :sw :sw

[Siagne]

I use Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro Solo Antivirus and Norton. And that's good for me.

[Azo-999]

Originally posted by Siagne
I use Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro Solo Antivirus and Norton. And that's good for me.

More new : "Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro", the rest I've used and Norton Antivirus 2003 professional Edition with internet / e-mail scanning enabled is on allways witth my Sygate's Pro.

Explain me the "Agnitum ", it's benefits, where to get and so on....!

P.S. Search da new Norton's AV with KaZaA, released this month....

Peace !

:sw :sw :sw :sw

[nasrules]

zapro rocks

[kazall]

the best i have found is Sygat Pro firewall it's ezy and no problems at all. i used to use a ZoneAlarm but that mother F...gave me so many problems and i throw that piss of shi...t out of my CP, ZoneZlarme is OverRetad if you ask me.

i'll stay with Sygat Pro it's sueet, works good so far and no problems

[deftonefan]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hawkburn
[B]Rate the best firewall out of:

ZoneAlarm Reg/Pro
Norton Firewall
McAfee Firewall
Sygate Firewall
Other (specify) OTHER

[Jared592]

Originally posted by Azo-999
Voted Sygate's Pro, cause I now have it.
After being bored with nortons internet security and firewall (they block too much and are hard to configure all the time) I got ZaPro and it seemed to be good, but it wasn't - too much monkey bizz. with it...
Then I found Sygate, Installed It, made some good rules for the traffic and everything's now ok - no more intruders and I can even block out kazaa leechers by IP, which is maybe the best thing for me (leecher.hater.man) .... ;-)

Peace !

:sw :sw :sw :sw
So when you block out an IP is it instantaneous? By that I mean, if a convicted leecher is downloading from you he/she'll just be dropped?

[duey]

Explain me the "Agnitum ", it's benefits, where to get and so on....!

I'm using Outpost Firewall as well. "Agnitum" is just the company that makes it. You can get it at http://www.outpostfirewall.com/

Other firewalls I've tried are ZoneAlarm (always have had trouble with it, I don't know why), Tiny Personal firewall (before sandbox) and Kerio.

What I like about Outpost is that it gives me the power of Tiny/Kerio but in an easy to use interface. It uses a wizard interface to define rules for a program. You can define those rules at any time. Before you run the internet program, at first internet access (the wizard will pop up automatically and suggest some common rules), or you can add rules afterwards. It will also detect changes in a program when it starts up (even before it accesses the internet).

The main window has lots of useful information. You can see all of the apps that are accessing the internet or view the ones that have outgoing or incoming connections. Shows local/remote IP and ports and also the amount of traffice sent and received.

Oh, almost forgot the coolest part. The plugins. :) You can create your own plugins if you want, but it includes some great ones already. It can filter ads, block dangerous email attachments, stop java/javascript/activex/cookies/popups on all or chosen sites and has a content filter that I've never used. I also use a user-made plugin called Blockpost that allows you to enter a IP or hostname and it will block all traffic from that IP. You can even block ranges with it.

Cons: a bit buggy :( It doesn't save settings right away, so if you setup stuff and then your computer crashes, it will be lost. The applications list needs to be moved somewhere else or optimized. I have a lot of apps that access the internet, and the list of apps is slow to load and I can't sort it or anything. For some reason (after installing SP1 for WinXP), sometimes the firewall doesn't load with Windows??? It also doesn't block apps that only use localhost (for example the Frost app for Freenet).

But, I can live with those shortcomings. It has the almighty "stop all traffic" that I liked since ZoneAlarm (althought it's not as cool a ZA's big stop sign). All-in-all I think it's a great firewall. All they need to do is patch up the bugs and I'll be able to recommend it to everybody without having to explain them all the time.

Uh, sorry for the long post. :D

Duey

P.S. also forgot to mention that it has both a pro and free versions, but there's nothing in the pro version that I'd find useful (you do get tech support for paying, though).

[dverma75]

Originally posted by jonny5
hmm.. i've heard having two firewalls might actually make you vulnerable (conflicts of having 2 firewalls). Anyway, I use sygate pro. It works :)


you are absolutely right.

[PorkSwordsman]

zonealarm pro and blackice 4 me works a treat has done for years :)

[Bullet27]

i have one convinction ,supported by tests,
the sygate pf rules in system nt
n tiny pf2 is good in system like win 9x

i have xp with sygate pf5 n i can to say ,honestly, thats very cool
,many features in security n easy to understand any function.

[Jared592]

I wish banning IPs in Sygate was simpler. I want to be able to right-click and ban with ease....I know you can right click and ban on the main screen if you change the view, but that bans the entire program (kazaa).

[Azo-999]

Originally posted by Jared592
I wish banning IPs in Sygate was simpler. I want to be able to right-click and ban with ease....I know you can right click and ban on the main screen if you change the view, but that bans the entire program (kazaa).

U don't need the FW feature to bann an IP. Just edit Your hosts like this :

# Banned IP's !!!!
127.0.0.1 80.133.231.26
127.0.0.1 128.113.34.211

I have a link to my Hosts-file at Desktop and edit it, when finding a BAD leecher or possible intruder. After that I add them to Sygate's advanced rules for twice-a-secure...

The Hosts-case takes effect almost immediately. The "man's gone" somewhere incide my loopback and won't appear again!

For duey : Your list of Outpost Firewall's features is quite a similar to Sygate's Pro v5.0. I will stick with it, because it seems to do all the needed things correctly and does not have many bugs. (The lost settings at system craches is maybe the only one that I have found at SG too...)

Peace & Happy Banning for a safe PC!

:sw :sw :sw :sw

[Aaron73153]

Zone Alarm was good until 3.0. It crashed alot on my XP system. I got Mcafee wfirewall with virusscan and it does a good job without taking up alot of resources

[Jitway]

I have used all these at one time or another and I like Sygate Pro the best.

[Psilaxs]

I use Sygate and Zone Alarm pro on top of my hardware firewall.

No need to run 2 software firewalls I know, and most of the time I don't since i prefer Sygate. It was able to stop a trojan where as Zone Alarm couldn't.

[hawkburn]

Originally posted by Psilaxs
I use Sygate and Zone Alarm pro on top of my hardware firewall.

No need to run 2 software firewalls I know, and most of the time I don't since i prefer Sygate. It was able to stop a trojan where as Zone Alarm couldn't.


Does you computer restart randomly?

Mine did when I had more then 2 software firewalls installed. Just a thought.

And, where did you dig this thread up from?

[callz]

atgaurd 3.22
notron ruined it the original is still the best

WRQ's AtGuard is software that runs on your PC and monitors network
traffic going in and out of your computer. Depending on how you have
AtGuard configured, it can also step in and intervene in network
connections and block data on your behalf. Specifically, it can:

· Block images (usually advertisements) that you don't want to see
· Speed up web page loading
· Block refer field and cookies to reduce the amount of targeted advertising you receive
· Enhance your browsing privacy by blocking the User-agent and From fields sent to the server by your browser
· Allow you to customize what is shown on web pages that you visit often
· Prevent web pages from running Java applets, JavaScript, and ActiveX controls to reduce the number of advertising scripts that run and to increase your protection from potentially invasive programs
· Stop animated GIFs from cycling endlessly, reducing cache disk thrashing
· Keep track of various statistics as you surf the web, like how much data you've downloaded and how many cookies you would have sent back to web sites
· Prevent software from communicating with your computer or with remote computers without your knowledge or permission
· Uses very low system resources , fits on a floppy


http://www.gpick.com/agnisrules/
http://www.kfa-juelich.de/zam/docs/tki/tki_html/t0349/t0349.html
http://www.cryogenius.com/atguard/atfaq.htm
http://www.capimonitor.nl/niscrc.htm
http://home.debitel.net/user/svenschaef/logview/index.html
http://web-hack.balthost.ee/download/AtGuard.exe
ed2k://|file|AtGuard%20v3.22%20(Full).exe|1549408|b6421e7 ef34642658a23cede30931097|/

ENJOY
share the knowlage , stay free , keep your guard up & your rules good!

[Ardor]

kerio for all the basic-intruder crap & Mozilla-Firebird for the fancy browsing crap. It works for me, whilst using the least amount of resources... :hole + it's 100% legally free :wings

[Malakai1911]

Outpost Firewall Pro v2

It's by far the best firewall available.

[Brycen257]

I have used Sygate Firewall for the past several months and it has worked great . I used to use zone alarm for some time but recent versions locked me out of playing games on the internet and almost totally fried my internet connection resulting in hours with tech support to restore it. I have had no problems in blocking unwanted intruders or in connecting to internet games or other sites I want to use since installing Sygate . :gj

[hawkburn]

Well still a classic thread I see....

Anyway... Just now realized I never told anyone what I use...

I use Outpost Firewall Pro 2 with Blockpost
Blockpost is like PeerGuardian but its an integrated plugin.

I also have a firewall hardware router.

[Kevin06906]

I use Zonealarm and i think its the best one that i have used. Last year, it calculated over 30,000 intrusions, and about 13000 of them were high rated. Zonealarm has never caused me any problems with the internet connections. For games, i have to exit out of it, to play online games only.

[Captain_FLX]

Personally i use the Windows Xp Firewall. I noticed it can be a bitch sometimes but i'm getting how it works already so that's enough protection for me but I do have Sygate Personal Firewall just incase i decide to switch.

[Mothium]

Originally posted by Captain_FLX
Personally i use the Windows Xp Firewall.

wow you are a brave man....

i had that on temporily for a few days... i got hacked!

it screwed my PC up so much i had to get it "Professionally" fixed, god knows what they did to it

Currently i got Norton Internet Security... i hate it! RAM EATER! and slow to configure... i want to ZApro on here but i have 1 years subscription for it...(it came free) so until then....


Mothium

[Ea$y_E]

i vote for sygate pro.

ever since ive been using it not a problem has occured

its running as a service and will restart itself if something fails

btw.

http://sygate.com/news/pcworld_wca2003.htm

[MoonMan]

Originally posted by hawkburn
Does you computer restart randomly?

Mine did when I had more then 2 software firewalls installed. Just a thought.

And, where did you dig this thread up from?

Zone Alarm alone did that to me. I haven't used it since.

[rainbowdemon]

I got Mcafee wfirewall with virusscan and it does a good job without taking up alot of resources This is my choice too! Just bought and installed it a couple of days ago. It works well!!

[mrdingaling]

I've always used ZA Pro, never had a single problem with it. And it always gets very good reviews, so plenty others think the same as me.

If you've never used ZA 3, I suggest you try it, it now has a lot more options to block cookies, ads etc. :gj

[RACKnRAIL]

Originally posted by Sassanak
I use 'zone alarm' and 'blackice', its like having 2 doormen instead of 1.
If 1 is busy, then the other stands guard!:wings

I have also heard that two firewalls can conflict. I also heard Leo Laporte from TechTV say that BlackIce was not a good firewall, like it was once known to be. I don't know to what extent, but nonetheless, they did not give BlackIce very good reviews. I also heard recently that ZA had a major security flaw that Zonelabs was going to fix in their pro version, but decided not to fix it in the free version. Since all the feedback from people, they have decided to fix the free version also. Go figure!

I'm currently using Sygate Pro myself. I have wanted to try the Tiny Personal firewall for some time, but will wait until Sygate expires.

[nasrules]

Originally posted by RACKnRAIL
I have also heard that two firewalls can conflict. I also heard Leo Laporte from TechTV say that BlackIce was not a good firewall, like it was once known to be. I don't know to what extent, but nonetheless, they did not give BlackIce very good reviews. I also heard recently that ZA had a major security flaw that Zonelabs was going to fix in their pro version, but decided not to fix it in the free version. Since all the feedback from people, they have decided to fix the free version also. Go figure!

True. From what I have heard, BlackIce is not what it once was, now lagging behind the competition significantly.

I've always used ZAPro apart from a brief spell with NPF, which left me craving RAM!

[vipp]

I still have my Tiny from way back. Has worked well, so I see no reason to change.

[perljavageek]

I use Outpost Firewall Free 1.0. I will eventually upgrade to the Pro version. Outpost is better than any other firewall, overall. Some of the other offerings provide distinct features that Outpost doesn't, that might prompt one not to choose it, but I wouldn't recommend anything else. If I needed the additional features, I would use a different utility. The following page displays a chart comparing:

Agnitum Outpost Firewall PRO
Agnitum Outpost Firewall FREE
Norton Internet Security
Norton Personal Firewall
Kerio Personal Firewall
Tiny Personal Firewall
Zone Alarm Pro
Sygate Personal Firewall PRO
Sygate Personal Firewall
McAfee Personal Firewall
Black Ice Defender
Zone Alarm

http://www.agnitum.com/php_scripts/compare2.php

For a freeware firewall, if Outpost was no longer available, I'd choose Sygate, Kerio, and Tiny, in that order. I found Zone Alarm too simplistic and limiting, and I haven't had good luck with Norton products (they've failed me more than once). My theory is that Norton tries to do too much with their software, instead of just being really good at doing one job.

Anyhow, I've tried numerous firewalls and Outpost is hands down the best. The free version works very, very well, and doesn't really seem like a freeware product.

For antivirus I use AVG Anti-Virus, which includes free regular virus definition updates via the internet. It has caught and cleaned several infected files downloaded via P2P, and it's very easy to use. The website is www.grisoft.com

[grab]

Originally posted by vipp
I still have my Tiny from way back. Has worked well, so I see no reason to change.

If you have an old version of tiny it is probably a good idea to upgrade to the latest version of kerio (2.1.5) which is basically an updated version of the same thing.

Older versions of kerio, and presumably this will apply to tiny as well had vulnerabilities which were only fixed in version 2.1.5

you can read here if youre interested: http://www.net-security.org/vuln.php?id=2649

[Malakai1911]

Originally posted by RACKnRAIL
. I also heard Leo Laporte from TechTV say that BlackIce was not a good firewall, like it was once known to be

Firstly, let me say that Leo is an idiot. Please do the world a favor and spread that news.

But, you are... basically right. BlackICE Defender was an IDS with inbound-filtering only. BlackICE PC Protection adds outbound filtering, with component control.

Its not as good as it used to be. (Outpost is currently my #1.)

[zllac]

atgaurd 3.22.11

[Hysales]

Kerio Personal Firewall is the best. I have tried the others, and dealt with most of their tech support (if even available). Kerio makes high-end Mail server, firewall, and other network softwares. The personal firewall is free to download and use if its not for business use. Also, if you do purchase it (only about $40), you get free tech support. The software is simple to use, and I have it working on over 50 machines of all different platforms and uses. No problems at all. The only small "glitch" is that if you have a dial-up connection, and do not uncheck the "auto update" box, it will attempt to connect when you start up your computer.

Do not use Zone Alarm. If you question this, please see their website, look under "uninstall directions." When your done the 5 page process of deleting files, and editing the registry, consider why every other program can use an uninstall utility...

www.Kerio.com
2 meg download, totally free...

[12345678910]

Looks like you hit the New Thread button instead of Post Reply button. We all were new once. Welcome to ZeroPaid and thanks for the review of Kerio.

Lata,
12345678910

[mojo-ris-in]

I merged it back in to the other thread

[nyvocals]

I go with Zone Alarm Pro 4.0.123.012, on XP Home, it works great and has never given me a single problem. I usually take what Steve Gibson says as good advice! :blah

[yzarc140]

well, i've pretty much used all of these progs and more to see what is the best and i'd have to say probably zone alarmis the best.
norton just blows all together, with the resources it takes and not to mention it doesnt give you the option of keeping a trojan if it finds one (i had one in a important file that it "automatically deletes if it cant fix it", that if deleted, the only prog on my comp that open was explorer, dont ask me how i created the maricle of getting norton to spit it back up from its quarintine without being able to get the prog itself to work) then mcafee is okay and i used it for a while but it gets in the way of my file sharing progs to damn much, i'd stick with zonealarm pro for the fact alone that its so customizable.

[Power Penguin]

WHY have one? I don't run one now and I've never been hacked.

[rainbowdemon]

Originally posted by Will Rae
WHY have one? I don't run one now and I've never been hacked. I have not wrecked my car, but I have insurance on it.

[Power Penguin]

Originally posted by rainbowdemon
I have not wrecked my car, but I have insurance on it.

Firewalls are like insurance policies?!

Very technical. I don't even think you know why you run one.

[rainbowdemon]

Firewalls are like insurance policies?! In terms of analogy, yes. Insurance protects your car from something that has not happened, but could. A firewall protects your computer from unforseen damages also.

[Malakai1911]

Originally posted by Will Rae
Firewalls are like insurance policies?!

Very technical. I don't even think you know why you run one.

Breaking the need for the firewal into simpler terms for n00bs. Whats wrong with that?

Maybe a poor analogy. How about "Its like a condom for the internet".

Edit: oooh, he was talking to you. So what "unhackable" OS do you run? Or maybe you have a router?

[Power Penguin]

Originally posted by Malakai1911
Breaking the need for the firewal into simpler terms for n00bs. Whats wrong with that?

Maybe a poor analogy. How about "Its like a condom for the internet".

Edit: oooh, he was talking to you. So what "unhackable" OS do you run? Or maybe you have a router?

The trouble with these forums, is that it's like getting computer advice from a 13 year old retard. Condoms are in no way like firewalls. Period.

I don't install programs I don't understand the use for. I'm certainly not putting a "contraceptive" on my PC.

BTW your unreadable signature is ridiculous. How's anyone supposed to know what that actually is.

[Malakai1911]

Okay, that was a bad analogy too. Computer != babies, but condoms also protects from disease. Thats what I was getting at.

But you didnt answer my question. Do you have a router? And what OS do you run where you havent been hacked yet?

Btw, my sig is perfectly readable to anyone who knows what it is... Maybe someone else would like to take a stab at it?

Edit: Nah, I couldnt wait. My sig lists the optimizations that I use for my desktop linux box (Kernel 2.6.0-test2). I have built the whole system using them from the bootstrap, upwards.

I find it ironic that someone who is attempting to lecture me on how firewalls are useless and that I am a little kid, doesn't even understand my sig.

[Lehk]

I use zone alarm 3.7 it works good for me and yesterday i started getting a flood of hits on ports i shouldn't have and realized i had forgotten to take myself off the DMZ host on my NAT switch

[NightZombie]

I like Panda Platinum dual Anti-Virus/Firewall Updates are weekly which is a plus. Most I belive are monthly Updates on other aplications nothing but good results with this program.

[Cunning Linguist]

One of the best firewalls out there, my University Firewall.

[muffenme]

:fire

A good router with build in firewall is the best like the one that comes on the newer D-Link Router.

:hole

[MonkeyMadness]

It always amazes me that people never make the distinction of incoming and outgoing firewalls... there is a huge difference in effectiveness of the various products, depending on which direction you're evaluating. Personally, I have a hardware NAT box (my router) the deflects pretty much anything coming in from the outside. For outgoing, I just keep an eye on whats going on. I don't allow spyware-ridden applications on my machine(s). I do have a second machine, with ZoneAlarm on it to filter outgoing, for the wifey. Incoming is taken care of for everything on my home network, thanks to the NAT box / router.

[rctempire]

Why was this thread resurrected first post was 2 years ago

[g-smooth2k]

Several good hardware routers with firewall protection would be D-Link, LinkSys, Netgear, and Microsoft.

As for software firewall protection would include Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Pro, Sygate Personal Firewall Pro.

[que-em]

Agnitum Outpost

[Malakai1911]

que-em is right.

Agnitum Outpost is the best.

[XtraNtnse]

2Wire Home Portal for my wireless network

[RJ5500]

I use both a D-Link broadband router and Zonealarm pro 4 and they work great.

The router keeps me safe from the outside and Zonealarm keeps bad things from communicating with servers from the outside.

Not that I have any trojans running right now, but it could happen someday.

[Kyle06]

I use ontracks firewall it is working good for me

[aboi]

Sygate firewall. its much ezer for beginners

[ATLien]

Since my router has ZoneAlarm already installed in it, I run Norton, on the computer.

Can you say, "overkill?"

[Mels_Smileys45]

Best firewall i've seen was on a Dodge Charger.


The worst- Ford Pinto

[bobhss]

Kerio Personal Firewall is my choice if I'm not behind a router's firewall. Outgoing connections are not my worry, I keep the computer(s) clean with Ad-Aware and SpyBot Search & Destroy. If anything else is going out, it's probably ok to go out. (And at home the Linksys logviewer shows me the outgoing connections and I haven't seen anything I didn't want so far except that annoying search assistent of Windows XP which I've since put an end to)

[m-mouse]

I been real happy with Netgear Gateway Router (or NID) hardware firewall.

[bmc152003]

im using mcafee firewall and antivirus and its great

[hawkburn]

Best firewall i've seen was on a Dodge Charger.


The worst- Ford Pinto

Uhhhh.... what? and why do new ppl constantly bring back things from the archives?

[Mels_Smileys45]

Firewall comes from a term used in cars, which is a insulator used to protect you from heat from the engine. Plus ive doubled up on my meds. Please frogive me

[eBwoy]

WHY have one? I don't run one now and I've never been hacked.
Obviously, I can't be sure, but I can hazard a guess that you are a 56ker (a dialup modem user)

I could be wrong of course, but if I'm not, then that is why you never get hit. I too, in about 3 years, never got one problem at all from the internet . . but once I went broadband, that all changed.

The reason ? . . Hackers are only interested in decent connections, it takes them too long to do anything otherwise.

The other reason ? . . Everytime a modem dials up, the associated ISP dishes out a different IP address for your machine every single time. Now that's like constantly moving house, when someone is out to get you, it makes you very difficult to target.

If you are on dialup, you PROBABLY don't need a firewall. However, if you have broadband, you are absolutely mad to risk internet life without one.

Recently, for example, I reformated my drive etc etc and just minutes (yes minutes, about 8-10) after re-registering my broadband modem, and before I setup my (ZAPro) firewall, I was infected ! The virus in question stifled my upload stream, it was an outgoing denial of service virus. I sorted it myself without too much trouble, and learnt from it.

As mentioned previously, all firewalls are pretty much constantly hit by KNOWN dodgy IP addresses etc, it's a piece of piss to infect an unprotected PC (especially Microsoft oriented), but virtually impossible to bring any kind of firewall down at all, due to the very limited tricks a hacker has in his armoury.

My 2 pennies.

[CosmicV]

Checkpoint, granted its a bit pricey for home use, but when your a security consultant, you get copies :)

[Zecretagent]

I use Mcafee personal firewall, so far so good. It says it has a "netmask" which was a different IP from my actual IP,I wanted to see what my IP said so I turned on netmeeting and it said what the net mask was transmiting. Maybe it's actually working ?

[kiwibank]

windows xp firewall, DCOMbobulator 2.0 from gibson research and black vipers` Windows XP Home and Professional Service Configurations...works like a dream.

http://grc.com/dcom/

http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

[MAtT_Zero]

Most firewalls these days (zonealarm, mcafee, and even the new tiny and kerio versions) are bloatware - full of stuff you don't need if you've got half a brain, and more likely to have bugs and weaknesses than a simple functional firewall.

The best I've used is Kerio 2 and Tiny 2 before it (kerio took it over after tiny went bloatware).

That's the best free software (and it's better than most of the software you pay for too) - there are of course better expensive solutions.... like the guy who uses checkpoint!

[muffenme]

:fire

BlackIce but my High Speed does change the IP address when I connect.

:hole

[RJ5500]

Checkpoint, granted its a bit pricey for home use, but when your a security consultant, you get copies :)

Checkpoint is a grand firewall and then some, but it can be a real pain to set up.

[dharma_bum]

what about freeware.. which is the best..

BUM

[Sk8er Boi]

I used to say Sygate until I took a security test and found that it was leaving a bunch of open doors on my PC. Not cool. Since then I have switced to ZA and have yet to take a test where I did not achieve "Stealth"

[Lord_of_the_Dense]

I didn't see this anywhere else today but Zone Alarm has an upgrade:

ZoneAlarm 4.5.538.001

[hawkburn]

I didn't see this anywhere else today but Zone Alarm has an upgrade:

ZoneAlarm 4.5.538.001

Yea, thanks for the information... but uh.. you brought back a post from the dead.. how'd you manage to dig this up?

[Killawat]

Hardware Based OWNS U ALL

[NoursoN]

I'm using Outpost Firewall Pro 2.1 . One of the most effevtive (after had tested about 5/6 others ... ;-)

Remember that even you've got a router/firewall that you need a personnal firewall.
Indeed it's so easy to bypass a firewall form inside your network ...
A trojan with TCP/80 for outgoing and its done ...

Most of pesonnal firewall are rules based and take care about the hash of each application connected .

So in few words :
a router/firewall in order to block incoming
a personnal firewall for outgoing ... ;-)

[nasrules]

I didn't see this anywhere else today but Zone Alarm has an upgrade:

I don't see any difference, but with a version number like that it must be a minimal change.

And Hawkburn, take a look at the dates of the posts above it.

[PhR34x0r]

i use MyBrainTM, worx just fine. at least better than any dtfw.

[matrix2003]

OK, well alot has changed since when this poll was started, some time in 2002... anyway i use Norton personal firewall 2004 you can download the free trial here (http://download.com.com/3000-2092-10260993.html?tag=lst-0-7) it does a great job... also another good one is BlackICE you can download a free trial here (http://download.com.com/3000-2092-10175148.html?tag=lst-0-1) even though its a year old, once you have downloaded it, just download the updates by going to help or tools or something.. its FREE

[nasrules]

BlackICE has gone downhill in the past year or so. Personally, I still use ZAPro as it does exactly what I want it to and I have had no problems with it. Of course, I'm running through a NAT as well :)

[Lord_of_the_Dense]

Yea, thanks for the information... but uh.. you brought back a post from the dead.. how'd you manage to dig this up?

I used that handy little box in the upper right corner of the screen called "Search Zeropaid." It actually works!!

[goweropolis]

I use the WinXP firewall. Don't know if it's the best, but it's the one I use.

[RACKnRAIL]

I use the WinXP firewall. Don't know if it's the best, but it's the one I use.

I would upgrade!

[MusikBeatz23]

I recommend Sygate Personal Firewall Pro it's the best that fits my needs...

[dbcalo]

Kerio personal firewall. that or a hardware one.

[RACKnRAIL]

So what's the verdict? Currently, I use WinXP Firewall and Sygate together. I recently got Outpost though, and was wondering if I should use it. Which do you prefer? Sygate or Outpost?

I tried Agnitum and I prefer Sygate myself. IMHO

I thought that WinXP's firewall can conflict when used in conjunction with other software firewalls.

[LordNIkon]

Norton Internet Security 2004

[jimmy90]

Kerio Personal

[matrix2003]

I use the WinXP firewall. Don't know if it's the best, but it's the one I use.

That's not really a firewall to use on its own, i suggest you go buy a proper firewall like Norton or download the free Zonealarm.

[woohoo]

Tiny Personal Firewall, been running it for a few years. Disabled the internal one from microsoft, more annoying than anything

[Stownplayer]

Kerio offers more control over your programs and internet than zonealarm. And of course it's free .

[Stownplayer]

Winxp's firewall is not enough. It is a shell of a real firewall. Do yourself a favor and get another. Besides, they are free. I use kerio, but zonealarm or many other free ones will work


I use the WinXP firewall. Don't know if it's the best, but it's the one I use.

[Nightcreeper]

I like BlackIce by Network Ice... it is a good customizable firewall, not an application inhibitor like Zone-Alarm, but I good firewall, configurable for all you filesharing ports... IMHO....

[kiwibank]

I use the WinXP firewall. Don't know if it's the best, but it's the one I use.


as i have said before...win xp built in firewall, steve gibson`s dcombobulator, unplug 'n' pray and shoot the messenger, used with black viper`s excellent Windows XP Home and Professional Service Configurations

http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

http://www.grc.com/default.htm




__________________________________________________

on zeropaid, it pays to be "flame resistant". it`s a matter of survival.

[WRFan]

how about the worst firewall? the worst one is zone alarm - the zone alarm reserves the registry hives for itself and never lets them go, the consequence is the total corruption and destruction of the registry, in other words, you have to reinstall windows, unless you have a recent backup of your %systemroot%\system32\config folder somewhere.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q307545

Even if zone alarm doesn't kill the registry immediately, using windows is impossible as long as the zone alarm service is running. you can't even restart IIS properly, and that's once again due to zone alarm - it controls absolutely all services and the whole registry, you can't make a single step without zone alarm intervening and denying you the rights. It's a phucking pain in the ass!

Every advanced professional windows user knows that, but the zone alarm developer has never done anything about that. That's why no technologically experienced windows user would EVER use zone alarm, it's crap for newbies. When I was a newbie, I used that damn firewall, and of course it killed my registry, had to reinstall windows.

The best firewall is sygate pro, but it eats 15% of my cpu if I have many connections at the same time (let's say kazaa+emule+2 or 3 servers and 3 channels on irc), sygate tries to control all connections and then the pc phucking dies. That's why I am going to uninstall the firewall from my puter as soon as Windows XP SP2 comes out, cause it's got an inbuilt firewall, which works as a windows component and not as a programme, in other words, the cpu usage will decrease dramatically. and since I've already got a hardware firewall to control the inbound connections, all I need is a basic firewall for outbound connections (to deny internet access to programmes that phone home to check the serial numbers, for example, lol)

[RJ5500]

My broadband router stealthes everything except open P2P ports and of course port 21, since I run a FTP server.

To avoid Windows problems altogther I use either OpenBSD, Apple Darwin, or Xandros Linux.

[kiwibank]

how about the worst firewall? the worst one is zone alarm - the zone alarm reserves the registry hives for itself and never lets them go, the consequence is the total corruption and destruction of the registry, in other words, you have to reinstall windows, unless you have a recent backup of your %systemroot%\system32\config folder somewhere.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q307545

Even if zone alarm doesn't kill the registry immediately, using windows is impossible as long as the zone alarm service is running. you can't even restart IIS properly, and that's once again due to zone alarm - it controls absolutely all services and the whole registry, you can't make a single step without zone alarm intervening and denying you the rights. It's a phucking pain in the ass!

Every advanced professional windows user knows that, but the zone alarm developer has never done anything about that. That's why no technologically experienced windows user would EVER use zone alarm, it's crap for newbies. When I was a newbie, I used that damn firewall, and of course it killed my registry, had to reinstall windows.

The best firewall is sygate pro, but it eats 15% of my cpu if I have many connections at the same time (let's say kazaa+emule+2 or 3 servers and 3 channels on irc), sygate tries to control all connections and then the pc phucking dies. That's why I am going to uninstall the firewall from my puter as soon as Windows XP SP2 comes out, cause it's got an inbuilt firewall, which works as a windows component and not as a programme, in other words, the cpu usage will decrease dramatically. and since I've already got a hardware firewall to control the inbound connections, all I need is a basic firewall for outbound connections (to deny internet access to programmes that phone home to check the serial numbers, for example, lol)


if you download xp sp2 beta installer you can try the new xp firewall configuration now and the new popup blocker built into ie6...i`m using the new xp firewall now and it is a much more comprehensive design...it`s very good.


http://www.softpedia.com/public/cat/13/9/13-9-177.shtml



__________________________________________________

on zeropaid, it pays to be "flame resistant". it`s a matter of survival.

[RACKnRAIL]

as i have said before...win xp built in firewall, steve gibson`s dcombobulator, unplug 'n' pray and shoot the messenger, used with black viper`s excellent Windows XP Home and Professional Service Configurations

That stuff is good, and I do like both Viper's and GRC's sites, but if you really want to know what's up take a look at snort. The Open Source Network Intrusion Detection System. http://www.snort.org/

[kiwibank]

That stuff is good, and I do like both Viper's and GRC's sites, but if you really want to know what's up take a look at snort. The Open Source Network Intrusion Detection System. http://www.snort.org/

very interesting site...i`ll check "the pig" out and report back...thanx for the url...



__________________________________________________

on zeropaid, it pays to be "flame resistant". it`s a matter of survival.

[«°¤§téålth§t®îk餰»]

if you download xp sp2 beta installer you can try the new xp firewall configuration now and the new popup blocker built into ie6...i`m using the new xp firewall now and it is a much more comprehensive design...it`s very good.

That's a good idea...I'm using Zone Alarm Pro w/ Web Filtering and it SEEMS to be doing good, 99.9% of my ports are stealthed and secure, and there aren't any annoying pop-ups. Then again, after reading WRFan's post I feel kinda at a lost at what to do now...so maybe I'll uninstall ZAP and get the sp2 firewall and use that.

Thnx!

[RJ5500]

Keep in mind that XP SP2 is still in beta.

Every time I installed it, it completely screwed up the 'Windows Update' feature of XP.