what's the best firewall besides Zonealarm?

[dealcatcher]

what's the best firewall besides Zonealarm?

[Jucius Maximus]

I use Sygate.

Nice blog, btw. :D

[silentio]

Comodo's quite good

[JAC]

ZoneAlarm is actually a piece of utter crap. Ever since another RFD member pointed out this link to me, I switched to Comodo.

http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive-security-challenge/results.php

Not only does it not protect worth a damn, it accesses the hard drive EVERY SECOND.

[Zero1]

Your router is the best one available ;)

[GTT1]

Your router is the best one available ;)

Can you explain how the router protects you and do you need something special. I'm still using my ancient Linksys BEFW11S4 and it works fine so haven't seen a need to change.

[SillySusie]

Your router is the best one available ;)Inbound only... routers do nothing for outbound firewall protection.

[Frankie3s]

I use AVG's Internet security suite (download a trial here, www.grisoft.com). I used to use Sygate can't remember why I stopped, it was a long time ago.

[SillySusie]

Can you explain how the router protects you and do you need something special. I'm still using my ancient Linksys BEFW11S4 and it works fine so haven't seen a need to change.That router should act as an inbound firewall, unless you've configured it otherwise (like putting your PC in the DMZ). Basically an inbound firewall prevents people on the internet to directly connect to (and attack) your PCs; any unsolicited inbound traffic gets stopped at the router.

[arm2000]

what's the best firewall besides Zonealarm?
I use Sygate, the free version. Note that Sygate FW was discontinued as a standalone program some time ago. It is now integrated in a bigger security package (probably Symantec but I don't remember) but I think you can still find the last available version (legally) on the net

[hagbard]

No longer use anything other than the router. I don't have anything worth stealing on my Windows partition.

[felixmo]

your router is the best one available ;)

+1

[akademiks]

No longer use anything other than the router. I don't have anything worth stealing on my Windows partition.

Same here...

Firewalls are a waste of time and system resources IMO.

[attonbitusira]

pfsense. hands down.

[eon90210]

I've tried several and use Kerio Personall Firewall v2.1.5. It's older, but free, low on system resources, and asks permission for everything which can be a good or bad things depending on how you look at it but you can set it to remember your deny or accept option.

[Gee]

Can you explain how the router protects you and do you need something special. I'm still using my ancient Linksys BEFW11S4 and it works fine so haven't seen a need to change.

Your router and all routers in general performs NAT. Network Address Translation.

Let's keep it short.

Your router assigns you an IP of 192.168.1.100 (Linksys)

If I was to attack your computer, I would have to find your public IP (Cable or DSL Modem IP)

Let's say I was able to find it. Once I find it, I will hit the Linksys WAN port and there is really no where else I can go.

First, everyone with a Linksys router has an IP of 192.168.1.100

Second, that particular IP is not viewable from the public internet. No one can access those IPs directly from the internet. Even if they could, there are millions of people using that IP. How can I find your computer?

In conclusion, the router does a decent job of filtering inbound traffic. The problem is outbound.

You do trust yourself eh?

[flyz]

I just use my router.

[GTT1]

Your router and all routers in general performs NAT. Network Address Translation.

Let's keep it short.

Your router assigns you an IP of 192.168.1.100 (Linksys)

If I was to attack your computer, I would have to find your public IP (Cable or DSL Modem IP)

Let's say I was able to find it. Once I find it, I will hit the Linksys WAN port and there is really no where else I can go.

First, everyone with a Linksys router has an IP of 192.168.1.100

Second, that particular IP is not viewable from the public internet. No one can access those IPs directly from the internet. Even if they could, there are millions of people using that IP. How can I find your computer?

In conclusion, the router does a decent job of filtering inbound traffic. The problem is outbound.

You do trust yourself eh?

Thanks Gee

Well explained