Vista 64 bit firewall

[Mike JB]

Until now I have been using ZoneAlarm as my firewall for my PC, but my new
machine will have the 64 bit version of Vista installed. I see that
ZoneAlarm isn't available for the 64 bit Vista (and it seems it may never
be) so can anyone advise me on a comparable firewall to use please?

 

[Kayman]

Until now I have been using ZoneAlarm as my firewall for my PC, but my new
machine will have the 64 bit version of Vista installed. I see that
ZoneAlarm isn't available for the 64 bit Vista (and it seems it may never
be) so can anyone advise me on a comparable firewall to use please?

You are not going to find anything better than the Vista FW and Vista in
itself due to the advanced features the FW and Vista are using.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg0905.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/network/WFP.mspx

Jesper's Blog
http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/jesper/archive/2007/07/19/at-least-this-snake-oil-is-free.aspx
http://blogs.technet.com/jesper_johansson/archive/2006/05/01/426921.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/06/VistaFirewall/default.aspx
"If you try to block outbound connections from a computer that’s already
compromised, how can you be sure that the computer is really doing what you
ask? The answer: you can’t. Outbound protection is security theater—it’s a
gimmick that only gives the impression of improving your security without
doing anything that actually does improve your security. This is why
outbound protection didn’t exist in the Windows XP firewall and why it
doesn’t exist in the Windows Vista™ firewall."

Vista Firewall Control
http://sphinx-soft.com/Vista/

Read, comprehend and implement.

Good luck

 

[Virus Guy]

You are not going to find anything better than the Vista FW

Outbound protection is security theater - it's a gimmick that
only gives the impression of improving your security without
doing anything that actually does improve your security.

This is why outbound protection didn't exist in the Windows XP
firewall and why it doesn't exist in the Windows Vista firewall.

Which is why I say that software firewalls are useless additions to
any system.

Just make sure you have a NAT-router (non-wifi if possible) between
your modem and your PC's. The router will block all unsolicited
packets more efficiently than any software running on a PC, and you
won't have to deal with installing, configuring, updating/patching,
and paying for firewall software every year or two.

 

[John Coutts]

Which is why I say that software firewalls are useless additions to
any system.

Just make sure you have a NAT-router (non-wifi if possible) between
your modem and your PC's. The router will block all unsolicited
packets more efficiently than any software running on a PC, and you
won't have to deal with installing, configuring, updating/patching,
and paying for firewall software every year or two.

*********** REPLY SEPARATER ***********
Well said! Why is it so difficult to get people to understand this? I have a 7
year old ZyXEL NAT router that has been through 3 computers, and I have only
had to reconfigure it once when I moved. It just keeps on doing it's job
because the "firmware" is not volatile, and it only has one job to do.

J.A. Coutts

 

[Mr. Arnold]

You are not going to find anything better than the Vista FW and Vista in
itself due to the advanced features the FW and Vista are using.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg0905.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/network/WFP.mspx

Jesper's Blog
http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/jesper/archive/2007/07/19/at-least-this-snake-oil-is-free.aspx
http://blogs.technet.com/jesper_johansson/archive/2006/05/01/426921.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/06/VistaFirewall/default.aspx
"If you try to block outbound connections from a computer that’s already
compromised, how can you be sure that the computer is really doing what
you
ask? The answer: you can’t. Outbound protection is security theater—it’s a
gimmick that only gives the impression of improving your security without
doing anything that actually does improve your security. This is why
outbound protection didn’t exist in the Windows XP firewall and why it
doesn’t exist in the Windows Vista™ firewall."

You are wrong about the Vista FW/Packet filter. It can stop inbound or
outbound traffic, a two way FW/packet filter.