Good free Firewall

Anyone has recommendations of a reliable firewall that can be downloaded for free? I seem to remember Zone Alarm used to be free, but looks like it's no longer free now.

 

It's still free:

http://www.download.com/3000-2092-10039884.html

 

Thanks! Somehow the page I had seen only showed paid subscriptions by number of PC's and years. Glad there are still free things out there

 

btw, here some others:

http://www.iopus.com/guides/free-firewall.htm

 

Comodo has higher ranking than Z alarm. Have you used it?

 

I haven't but heard good things about it.

 

I like the name

 

i dont use a firewall right now, but i've tried zone alarm and it was a nice free utility.

 

I've just uninstalled free Zone Alarm and replaced it with Comodo.
So far so good.

 

I personally just use windows firewall...

 

But isn't it important to have if using wifi?

 

I don't use a firewall when I'm on my personal network but I'm wondering if I should get a better one when I'm on open networks, like star bucks or something.

Anyone know of a thread or guide that gives recommendations on open wifi network security?

 

I guess you are never too safe, but i have a linksys router that acts as my hardware firewall. If i had my system connected directly to a modem then I might be a bit more cautious.

 

Im suprised at the amount of people not runing firewall software, even on a home network the same vulnerabilities exist as if you were on a public WiFi network.

Windows firewall is not really good, it decides on what can and cant access the net, whereas the user needs more control of what can and cant connect.

There are plenty of free and easy to use firewall packages available, I'd suggest anyone not running a firewall downloads and installs one immediatley (people on the net)

a good firewall, no longer in production but still available to download is sygate personal firewall 5.6 - you can download free from simtel.net

 

ZA sucks it's sooooooo bloated. ZA is like Vista and Comodo is like XP it just works without the bloat.

It'll monitor even processes so when a Trojan infects an exe and spawns a thread Comodo can tell you.

Go with Comodo it's the BEST free firewall out. ZA can't touch it.

 

Besides, ZA is considered by some as spyware. Read here to understand why:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=29157

Sygate Personal Firewall, was considered back then (years ago, before it was bought by Symantec) the best. However, the free version has several annoying bugs (it will ignore certain settings that you give it). It is still downloadable from various places, for example:

http://www.tucows.com/preview/213160.html

Daniel

 

I think it isn't important to have a software firewall when you're on a personal wired network with a router that has a firewall. The only reason I would think someone would need a software firewall is if they are worried about some malware phoning home. I personally keep my computer clean so I don't worry about anything running in the background while keeping the amount of regular processes down.

The same would go for personal wifi networks, just have to make sure that no one hacks past your wpa and other security that you have set.

 

Don't forgot though that Comodo won't install on Vista and is not compatible with Vista. They are working on a Vista version which I plan on downloading as soon as it is available. I don't trust Windows firewall and Zonealarm runs slow no matter what. At the bottom of their website You can sign up to receive an email once it is available to download.

 

This is true. I sometimes forget the rest of the world actually runs Vista. I don't run it personally nor the machine I administrate at work. I'm not only looking forward to Comodo Firewall on vista but their Anti Virus when they take it out of Beta. Their Anti Virus is very primitive in that it just tries to match signatures file by file.

Another program by Comodo is BOClean I highly recommend that too. It's slightly on the heavy side using a lot of RAM and CPU power at boot up. Comodo is working on it and it seems to be coming along nicely.

 

What in Zonealarm runs slow?

 

I could see zone alarm slowing down a 300 MHz PC but if its slowing down your Core 2 duo, I think you have bigger problems.

 

Yeh and it's called Zonealarm. That's why it's gone and I use comodo.

 

Well I can't say that I have actually ran ZA on my system but on many other of my systems, (2 ghz desktop, 2.4ghz desktop, 1.8 ghz desktop.) ZA takes forever to load when you boot up and the menu is kinda sluggish I just don't really like the UI. Plus FREE ZoneAlarm leaks a lot more of your data then Comodo, the Pro version of ZA is decent though. But this a thread about FREE firewalls.

 

iqcar,

On the point of firewalls, the short answer is, if you are running Windows XP with SP2, or Vista, you are already running one. Not only that, but it is quite adequate for most people.

The principle of a firewall is basically to prevent your computer from accepting and making connections that you yourself choose to allow. Windows built-in firewall does this, and does this quite well. Not only can you unblock individual ports as you need them, you can unblock executables (ie. programs), thereby unblocking whatever ports those executables need. Be cautious with this though- use this only for programs that you KNOW you trust, as this basically tells Windows that you want to allow ANY connection that the program wants to make through the firewall.

Above all, the best advice I can offer is to educate yourself as much as possible about what your actual risks are, and how to protect yourself from those risks. Trusting any one particular software app or vendor with your security without first understanding what your risks are, and what that vendor is doing to protect you is unwise.

Also, it might seem daunting at first, but don't be discouraged by all the jargon and acronyms. Just learn one security concept at a time. Here's a really great podcast that I'd recommend to anyone interested in understanding more about the basics of security (firewalls, WiFi, passwords, rootkits, etc.).

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

Ep. 3 covers NAT routers, but a little bit of software firewalls if I recall correctly, ep. 10, 11, and 13 do an outstanding job of explaining WiFi security risks.

 

Try Kerio. It's free for personal use.

http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Home-Home-Office/Sunbelt-Personal-Firewall/Download/

 

It is great Firewall, but
30days-trial only, not really free.....

 

The built in Windows firewall is a packet filter, if i'm not wrong.

 

Pure semantics. A packet filter is a kind of firewall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewall_(networking)

Doesn't change the fact that it's still good enough for most people.