Freeware firewalls

J

Jack Purvis

Please let me have a recommendation for a freeware firewall I can use
on XP Pro with SP2 that doesn't slow my dial-up connection to a crawl
and works efficiently.

Thanks to you all
 
C

Conor

Please let me have a recommendation for a freeware firewall I can use
on XP Pro with SP2 that doesn't slow my dial-up connection to a crawl
and works efficiently.
[/QUOTE]
Sygate Personal Firewall.
 
D

derek / nul

Please let me have a recommendation for a freeware firewall I can use
on XP Pro with SP2 that doesn't slow my dial-up connection to a crawl
and works efficiently.
Click to expand...

XP sp2 has its own firewall that should be ok for dialup.
 
S

SpaceCadet

Does it have highly configurable control of incoming and outgoing
traffic?
Click to expand...

No matter how many times I re-read the OP's post, I just can't see where he
asks for this bit.
 
J

jo

SpaceCadet said:
No matter how many times I re-read the OP's post, I just can't see where he
asks for this bit.
Click to expand...

I went with the 'works efficiently' thing.

Your interpretation might vary.
 
S

scootgirl.com

Jack Purvis said:
Please let me have a recommendation for a freeware firewall I can use
on XP Pro with SP2 that doesn't slow my dial-up connection to a crawl
and works efficiently.

Thanks to you all
Click to expand...



I recently installed ZoneAlarm 5.5.062.004 from here:
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp and
it doesn't hog my CPU like earlier versions did. It seems pretty stable. The
regular ZoneAlarm product (not pro) is free for individual use.

Karen
http://scootgirl.com/
 
E

elaich

XP sp2 has its own firewall that should be ok for dialup.
Click to expand...

Works only one direction (incoming) which is exactly the wrong direction.
The best use of a personal firewall is to alert the user to outgoing
connection attempts by malware he isn't aware of yet. XP's firewall is
useless for this.

I used Kerio 2.1.5 for years, but recently switched to Sygate after the
malformed packets vulnerability was discovered. I like Sygate just fine so
far.
 
K

Kerodo

Works only one direction (incoming) which is exactly the wrong direction.
The best use of a personal firewall is to alert the user to outgoing
connection attempts by malware he isn't aware of yet. XP's firewall is
useless for this.
Click to expand...

If people were more careful about what they downloaded and installed,
then outbound control wouldn't be so necessary.. I currently use CHX-I,
which has no outbound control. Don't need it...
I used Kerio 2.1.5 for years, but recently switched to Sygate after the
malformed packets vulnerability was discovered. I like Sygate just fine so
far.
Click to expand...

Sygate is nice. I purchased the Pro version some time ago. The only
thing I don't like about Sygate is that there's too much info in the
logs. It'd be nice to be able to filter some of it out like Outpost Pro
let's you do. But Sygate is a good firewall..
 
X

xmp

If people were more careful about what they downloaded and installed,
then outbound control wouldn't be so necessary.. I currently use CHX-I,
which has no outbound control. Don't need it...
Click to expand...

i could play Devil's advocate and say you don't need inbound control
either. inbound traffic requires a running service to do any harm.
that would mean a core Windows service, linux daemon, trojan, etc. if
you are careful with what you download, patch your system, and disable
unneeded services, then an inbound FW is as seemingly as useless as an
outbound FW.

however, firewalls add an additional layer of defense and are a good
thing. with Windows 9x, there are hardly any running services, so there
is little to go wrong. with Linux, you can harden your system by
shutting off unneeded daemons and keeping X from listening on TCP. with
both of those OS, i've run occasionally sans firewall. Windows NT adds
more services, and to fully prevent enumeration attacks, a firewall is
an easy route. obviously the sanitization of traffic e.g. AIM packets
is an additional good thing.
Sygate is nice. I purchased the Pro version some time ago. The only
thing I don't like about Sygate is that there's too much info in the
logs. It'd be nice to be able to filter some of it out like Outpost Pro
let's you do. But Sygate is a good firewall..
Click to expand...

there are various tools (some freeware too) that can analyze personal
firewall logs. this automates the task of sorting through all the data.

michael
 
X

xmp

Works only one direction (incoming) which is exactly the wrong direction.
The best use of a personal firewall is to alert the user to outgoing
connection attempts by malware he isn't aware of yet. XP's firewall is
useless for this.
Click to expand...

i agree controlling malware, spyware, etc, is important. but firewalls
(particularly non-free ones) perform additional scrubbing. in it's
simplest form this is packet filtering and blocking connections to core
OS services. in a more complex form, this can be filtering through AIM
traffic to prevent a buffer overflow. firewalls really vary and there
is some overlap between them and IPS (intrusion prevention system).
some security software e.g. Prevx and Qwik Fix can proactively thwart
previously unknown exploits (basically using heuristics and pattern
matching).

michael
 
K

Kerodo

i could play Devil's advocate and say you don't need inbound control
either. inbound traffic requires a running service to do any harm.
that would mean a core Windows service, linux daemon, trojan, etc. if
you are careful with what you download, patch your system, and disable
unneeded services, then an inbound FW is as seemingly as useless as an
outbound FW.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting thought.. I just may try it sometime... :)
 
R

REM

i could play Devil's advocate and say you don't need inbound control
either. inbound traffic requires a running service to do any harm.
that would mean a core Windows service, linux daemon, trojan, etc. if
you are careful with what you download, patch your system, and disable
unneeded services, then an inbound FW is as seemingly as useless as an
outbound FW.
Click to expand...

I've read of trojans that can shut down firewalls. It shouldn't be
difficult to start a service running if this is true.

As to being careful... not connecting to the internet is being
careful. Once connected and bits start flowing you're on your own. A
trojan is something you thought was safe and wanted to grab. Cunning
and trickery are utilized.

Downloading only from respectable sites is being careful. But simple
browsing with an unpatched IE can lead to program installs that the
user will not be aware of.

There are so many holes in Win that have been exploited and I imagine
that many more that are in the process of discovery. The nominal Win
user (myself included) doesn't know exactly which settings and
services are safe and which can lead to trouble.

In general, using a firewall is a good idea. At least you stand a
chance of being tipped off when a new exploit ot a trojan make it to
your drive.

I'm still using Kerio 2.1.5 and the XP firewall. Together they seem
effective and resource usage is minimal. I'll probably try Sygate when
I have more time.

I've been writing an Oracle client app and Kerio catches any change in
the .exe. I can remove a space character, recompile, run the program
and Kerio alerts me before allowing any connection. This is pretty
valuable in itself. The program .exe cannot be spoofed to another app
or changed without notification.

2 cents, keep the change...
 
C

Conor

If people were more careful about what they downloaded and installed,
then outbound control wouldn't be so necessary..
Click to expand...

Once upon a time it was that simple. Now with all the frame exploits and
the like in IE, it isn't that easy. Malware can be installed just by
visiting a webpage. Plus, what if you've got apps you don;t want phoning
home such as Realplayers Update?

Sygate is nice. I purchased the Pro version some time ago. The only
thing I don't like about Sygate is that there's too much info in the
logs.
Click to expand...

LOL....thats the first time I've heard someone complain about too much
info; usually its the other way round. :)
 
C

Conor

i could play Devil's advocate and say you don't need inbound control
either. inbound traffic requires a running service to do any harm.
that would mean a core Windows service, linux daemon, trojan, etc. if
you are careful with what you download, patch your system, and disable
unneeded services, then an inbound FW is as seemingly as useless as an
outbound FW.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting thought.. I just may try it sometime... :)
[/QUOTE]
Especially if you're behind a NAT router.
 
K

Kerodo

Once upon a time it was that simple. Now with all the frame exploits and
the like in IE, it isn't that easy. Malware can be installed just by
visiting a webpage. Plus, what if you've got apps you don;t want phoning
home such as Realplayers Update?
Click to expand...

So you're saying malware can be installed via IE even when you have
Install On Demand disabled? I use Firefox anyway, so hopefully it's
safer..
LOL....thats the first time I've heard someone complain about too much
info; usually its the other way round. :)
Click to expand...

Yep.. I've tried MANY firewalls here and I hate Sygate's logging. It
just shoves everything in the logs. After I get things up and running
and see that there's no problems, I don't want to see every single time
an app does something or all my blocked netbios activity and so on. To
me it's way too much info. :) But aside from the logging, I think it's
a great firewall...
 
K

Kerodo

That's an interesting thought.. I just may try it sometime... :)
Click to expand...
Especially if you're behind a NAT router.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, now that's what I OUGHT to have. A good router. It'd probably be
well worth the $$ spent..
 

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