What is the best firewall ?

[Nic]

Hello,

I have been using Kerio Personal Firewall 2.1.5 for a year and I've
recently seen that it has some vunerabilities, therefore I would like to
use another one which is also free but dunno which one to choose.

I would like to know if there are some websites that did recently
firewall comparison so that I could see what would suit me the best (I
am on a dsl line).

So far, I have found this link which sums up latest updates regarding
firewall(freeware) :

http://snipurl.com/as9l

I remember that someone (in another forum) said that "Look N Post"
firewall seems to be the best one but he was referring to the commercial
version, I don't know if the Lite edition of "Look N Post"
is as good as the commercial one.


Nic

 

[kline]

Hello,

I have been using Kerio Personal Firewall 2.1.5 for a year and I've
recently seen that it has some vunerabilities, therefore I would like to
use another one which is also free but dunno which one to choose.

I would like to know if there are some websites that did recently
firewall comparison so that I could see what would suit me the best (I
am on a dsl line).

So far, I have found this link which sums up latest updates regarding
firewall(freeware) :

http://snipurl.com/as9l

I remember that someone (in another forum) said that "Look N Post"
firewall seems to be the best one but he was referring to the commercial
version, I don't know if the Lite edition of "Look N Post"
is as good as the commercial one.


Nic

I guess if it's free it wont be as good as the commercial version...Have you
considered Zone Alarm? I know some people here aren't too keen on it, but
I've been quite happy with it over the years I've been using it.

Kline

 

[mike ring]

I guess if it's free it wont be as good as the commercial
version...Have you considered Zone Alarm? I know some people here
aren't too keen on it, but I've been quite happy with it over the
years I've been using it.

Kline

I stopped using ZA purely because of a umour that went round, but AFAICS
there was no reason to, and it's still on my second box.

I'd go back to it in a minute, if motivated

mike

 

[Harvey Van Sickle]

On 21 Nov 2004, kline wrote

I guess if it's free it wont be as good as the commercial
version...Have you considered Zone Alarm? I know some people here
aren't too keen on it, but I've been quite happy with it over the
years I've been using it.

Same here -- never had a problem with ZA, and never found anything
dodgy happening on the computer that would imply it's missing stuff.

 

[Le Loup]

kline vient de nous annoncer :

I guess if it's free it wont be as good as the commercial version...Have you
considered Zone Alarm? I know some people here aren't too keen on it, but
I've been quite happy with it over the years I've been using it.

Hi !
Here are the reasons why I don't like ZA free :
- it's huge
- there's no way to block specific ports for an app

Cordialement,
Hervé LOTH

 

[KHaled]

Generally, Sygate and Outpost are considered to be amongst the
top firewalls around. I personally am using Outpost (free) and
find it to be a fine product. I should caution that it contains
quite a lot of functionality, (they call them plugins) that you
may turn off at will. These include filtering, dns caching,
script defence. I personally have them all turned on.

As to Look N Stop I have never heard of it, so it may also be a
fine product..

 

[jmatt]

You hav'nt mentioned your operating system , here are some
alternatives .

FirePanel XP
http://www.webgrid.co.uk/security.html
http://www.router19.org/

WatchDog
http://www.webgrid.co.uk/security.html
http://www.korben.tk/

Home PC Firewall Guide
http://www.firewallguide.com/
http://www.ultratech-llc.com/KB/ASP/FileView.asp?File=/KB/PFirewalls.TXT

XP built in firewall
Using the Internet Connection Firewall .
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/networking/icf.asp
http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/home/using/howto/homenet/icf.asp
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=283673
http://www.bcentral.co.uk/technology/security/icf.asp

Outpost Firewall
http://www.agnitum.com/download/outpost1.html
There are two versions of Outpost Firewall: FREE and PRO. If you are
not sure which version you
need, please visit our online questionnaire to help you decide.

ZoneAlarm
http://www.zonelabs.com/
Old versions
http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=zalarm

Sygate
http://smb.sygate.com/buy/download_buy.htm
http://soho.sygate.com/products/shield_ov.htm

Sygate on line test .
http://scan.sygatetech.com/

BartWare Personal Firewall
http://www.craftsman-logos.co.uk/downloads/downloadscats/fire.html

Jetico Personal Firewall
http://www.jetico.com/index.htm#/jpfirewall.htm

SoftPerfect Personal Firewall
http://www.softperfect.com/products/firewall/
http://www.webgrid.co.uk/security.html

Gnat Box Light
http://www.gta.com/products/gblight/
http://www.downlinx.com/proghtml/56/5633.htm
http://www.sover.net/~wysiwygx/Security1.html

Convert an Old PC into a Hardened Firewall
http://www.smoothwall.org/about/
SmoothWall is a stand alone operating system that allows you to
convert an old PC into a hardened firewall. It is easy to install,
easy to manage via a web browser, works with a wide
range of network hardware, and is totally free for personal use.
The program download is a 20MB bootable ISO image file.

For those who want a really nice Firewall.....
http://www.itpeer.dyndns.org/dtae_Firewalls.htm
Build one yourself! FREE!

* Posted via http://www.sixfiles.com/forum

 

[jo]

I remember that someone (in another forum) said that "Look N Post"
firewall seems to be the best one but he was referring to the commercial
version,

Well I doubt the forum was comp.security.firewalls, where IIRC the
consensus appears to be that look n stop is a bit of as joke.

I don't know if the Lite edition of "Look N Post"
is as good as the commercial one.

Is there a lite version?

 

[Nic]

Well I doubt the forum was comp.security.firewalls, where IIRC the
consensus appears to be that look n stop is a bit of as joke.

The source of this information comes from this link :
http://www.firewallleaktester.com/tests.htm
(most firewalls tested there are commercial version)

Is there a lite version?

Yea and the lite version is freeware, the main difference between
commercial version is that lite version doesn't support application
traffic filtering.
You can download it from this link :
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/looknstop.html

 

[Phred]

You hav'nt mentioned your operating system , here are some
alternatives .

Snipped useful list because I was mainly interested in this bit:

Convert an Old PC into a Hardened Firewall
http://www.smoothwall.org/about/
SmoothWall is a stand alone operating system that allows you to
convert an old PC into a hardened firewall. It is easy to install,
easy to manage via a web browser, works with a wide
range of network hardware, and is totally free for personal use.
The program download is a 20MB bootable ISO image file.

According to the current info, Smoothwall GPL 1.0 and earlier versions
are no longer supported. The present Smoothwall Express 2.0 is a 34MB
ISO images (download manuals separately) or about 46MB including PDF
manuals. <http://www.smoothwall.org/get/>
[ Note also that this is Linux based stuff; but the bootable ISO,
combined with web management, may take the pain out of it. ]

For those who want a really nice Firewall.....
http://www.itpeer.dyndns.org/dtae_Firewalls.htm
Build one yourself! FREE!

Detailed comment on software based on Smoothwall 1.0, but otherwise
looks pretty interesting site.

I was once pretty committed to the idea of making an old PC into a
firewall but, with summer upon us here, it's becoming less attractive.
Also, ADSL router/modems often have a firewall capability and that,
combined with a bit of software (e.g. the firewall in Win XP) is
probably almost more than one really needs.


Cheers, Phred.

 

[JohnZing]

I have been using Kerio Personal Firewall 2.1.5 for a year and I've
recently seen that it has some vunerabilities, therefore I would like to
use another one which is also free but dunno which one to choose.

Why dont you upgrade to Kerio Personal Firewall4 - Free Edition? Any
particular reason?