Firewall Needed

[Koolpc]

I am after a nice and easy Firewall that sits there, does its job and doesn't take up much in the way of resources. Free would also be a nice idea! Any suggestions? Thanks all.

[Splash]

Software or hardware? If you have an old box kicking around then I find that Smoothwall does the job a treat.

[pak000]

anything you don't like about the firewall built into windows?
you could try zonealarm, thats free. if you have NAT routing, then that affords some protection

[Bluecube]

A good software one is Zonealarm. I've used it for years with no problem.

[dave87]

I use windows firewall and the NAT in my router - not had a problem so far

[mart_haj86]

http://www.tucows.com/preview/213160 sygate personal firewall, look no further. Shame norton eventually took them over though

[alexkoon]

I use NAT and the Router - no problems so far. But on my Windows box I also run Kerio Firewall as it also firewalls and things from Windows to the outside - useful for catching spyware etc. The firewall part is free, the bells and whistles can be used for 30 days before it is crippled. I don't use it so no problem for me to use the free firewall.

[Koolpc]

software firewall is what i am after. Is the windows one good enough?

[JimNastics]

Another Kerio user here, went through quite a few before deciding this was the best. Such a damn shame they stopped updating / supporting it, however that last release does the job perfectly. Like alexkoon, I don't need any of the advanced features that get disabled after 30 days, so as far as I'm concerned it's easily the best firewall for free

[silentvoice]

There's quite a few choices out there.

Apart from the obvious one (zonealarm), others that spring to mind are:

Kerio (Free or Paid)
Comodo (Free)
Outpost (Paid)
Look n Stop (Paid)

I haven't tried the above myself (I'm no firewall expert ), but you can always give them a try (paid versions usually have a 30 day trial) although I'm hearing pretty good things about Comodo at the moment (LINK-> www[dot]personalfirewall[dot]comodo[dot]com). You can test their protection against incoming attacks through sites like LINK(Secure)-> www[dot]grc[dot]com/x/ne[dot]dll?bh0bkyd2 and LINK-> scan[dot]sygate[dot]com as well as see / test their ability to detect and prevent outgoing connections at LINK-> www[dot]firewallleaktester[dot]com/tests_overview[dot]php.

If you're already behind NAT, then I guess incoming attacks aren't too much of a concern although it's nice to be covered software-wise as well.

I know in one of this month's magazines (I think PC PRO), they're offering Kaspersky Internet Security for 6 months free of charge but their firewall component is fairly new so I don't know how it holds up. Also, it may be pointless if you already have an anti virus program installed.

Oh, you might also find this site useful to get some feedback on certain freeware / shareware (LINK-> fileforum[dot]betanews[dot]com).

Anyway, I hope it gives you something to think about ...


Edit: Sorry mate, I can't seem to post direct links - I'm too much of a newbie...

[Bluecube]

I'm sitting behind a NAT as well but always find Zonealarm good to have as it's an extra level of defence "just in case". It's always good to see what programs are trying to access your network and the internet.

[Agent]

Sygate. IMO Zonealarm is crap.

[mcmiller]

+1 for kerio here. I believe the newer versions of zonealarm collect information about the user, not sure precisely what and it is some what speculation something to do with the eula in the personal not saying anything about collecting information about the user and bussiness one saying that it wont collect information.
Outpost is pretty good as well but is bit of a resource hog

[Koolpc]

Thanks guys. Good info there.

[EtheAv8r]

If you want better than the built-in Windows firewall (whcich should be augmented with a perimeter attached hardware firewall - such as in your ADSL Router) .. then check out Comodo Personal Firewall 2.0 which is really excellent.

[Lee H]

If your looking for an all-in-one solution then I personally recommend bitdefender 10.

You can find a full 30 day trial HERE and it happily runs on all my systems at home keeping them secure yet allows all the various devices to communicate and update with the various servers.