Firewall Info. Please

[Whatyagonna Dew]

Which firewall is the very BEST to use ? Is the built-in
firewall in XP worth the effort to use ? I have been using
ZoanAlarm Pro, but i was told that - #1 Nothing beats XP's
firewall - #2 Now that i dumped Crap-ah-vee's (mcafee's}
virus program and am using AVG's anti virus program, that
it has a built-in firewall ( if it does i can't find it )
and to uninstall XP's firewall. I don't belive i can
uninstall XP's firewall, but anyway with all of the virus,
worms & critters flooding the internet i want our home Pc
to be as safe as possible.

T.I.A. for any and all information

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Which firewall is the very BEST to use ? Is the built-in
firewall in XP worth the effort to use ? I have been using
ZoanAlarm Pro, but i was told that - #1 Nothing beats XP's
firewall - #2 Now that i dumped Crap-ah-vee's (mcafee's}
virus program and am using AVG's anti virus program, that
it has a built-in firewall ( if it does i can't find it )
and to uninstall XP's firewall. I don't belive i can
uninstall XP's firewall, but anyway with all of the virus,
worms & critters flooding the internet i want our home Pc
to be as safe as possible.

T.I.A. for any and all information

Best to use for consumers is a personal preference thing.

What do you need from a firewall?
If you need to protect (notify) of outgoing as well as incoming traffic
attempts, Windows XP's ICF will not be what you need. However, if all you
are concerned with is stealth on the internet and preventing incoming
invader from coming in uninvited, then maybe Windows XP's ICF is what you
need.

Look around, compare, learn. Don't base your decision strictly on a
question asked once in a newsgroup and a half-dozen answers. Use Google to
research on your own!

ZoneAlarm (FREE and up)
Basic PC protection for the home user
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp

Windows XP ICF (comes with Windows XP)
got windows xp? - you have this one if you do
http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/using/howto/networking/icf.asp

Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF) (FREE and up)
builds a barrier between your personal computer and the Internet
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_download.html

Outpost Firewall from Agnitum (FREE and up)
basic protection solution for casual web surfers and low budget systems
http://www.agnitum.com/download/

Sygate Personal Firewall (FREE and up)
the most user-friendly PC firewall and personal desktop security solution
http://smb.sygate.com/buy/download_buy.htm

Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall (~$25 and up)
keeps hackers out and personal data in
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/npf/

BlackICE PC Protection ($39.95 and up)
intrusion detection system and a personal firewall for a one-two punch of
protection
http://blackice.iss.net/

Tiny Personal Firewall (~$49.00 and up)
turn your pc into the fortress
http://www.tinysoftware.com/

That should get you started!

AVG is an AntiVirus application, not a firewall.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

WinXP's built-in firewall is _adequate_ at stopping incoming
attacks, and hiding your ports from probes. It doesn't give you any
alarms to tell you that it is working, though. Nor is it very easily
configurable. What WinXP also does not do, is protect you from any
Trojans or spyware that you (or someone else using your computer)
might download and install inadvertently. It doesn't monitor
out-going traffic at all, other than to check for IP-spoofing, much
less block (or at even ask you about) the bad or the questionable
out-going signals. It assumes that any application you have on your
hard drive is there because you want it there, and therefore has your
"permission" to access the Internet. Further, because the ICF is a
"stateful" firewall, it will also assume that any incoming traffic
that's a direct response to a Trojan's or spyware's out-going signal
is also authorized.

ZoneAlarm, Kerio, or Sygate are all much better than WinXP's
built-in firewall, and are much more easily configured, and there are
free versions of each readily available. Even Symantec's Norton
Personal Firewall is superior by far, although it does take a heavier
toll of system performance then do ZoneAlarm or Sygate.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:




You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Whatyagonna Dew]

Thank you Bruce
You were very helpful and informative, I guess I'll go
back to using ZoneAlarm Pro , the only reason being is
that I'm already the most use to it over the other two
products. You gave me all the answers i was looking for,
and now i have one less thing to worry about :>)

Thanks

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

You're welcome.

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:




You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH