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devolic
Premium Member
join:2001-11-22
Oscoda, MI

1 edit

devolic

Premium Member

Firewalls

Who makes a good FREE software firewall? One that also uses little resources if possible. Thank-You

La Luna
Fly With The Angels My Beloved Son Chris
Premium Member
join:2001-07-12
New Port Richey, FL

La Luna

Premium Member

Some ideas here:

»Firewall Poll 2011

hayc59
Your a Daisy
Premium Member
join:2001-02-26

hayc59 to devolic

Premium Member

to devolic
said by devolic:

Who makes a good FREE software firewall? One that also uses little resources if possible. Thank-You

Go with the best!!
Outpost Suite FREE By Agnitum
»free.agnitum.com/

Trihexagonal5
join:2004-08-29
US

Trihexagonal5 to devolic

Member

to devolic
Got an old PC sitting around somewhere? Turn it into a FreeBSD based hardware firewall.

»www.pfsense.org/

TheJoker
MVM
join:2001-04-26
Charlottesville, VA

TheJoker to hayc59

MVM

to hayc59
While I really liked Outpost as a firewall, it looks like the current free version is a suite, which I assume includes an antivirus (not sure who's they included). Older versiosn though should still be available that are just the firewall.

However, be aware it's not compatible with Kaspersky Antivirus. They provide instruction on how to make it "compatible" (making folders Trusted in Kaspersky's setup), but you can still eventually end up with disc corruption requiring a full system reinstall or restore from backup (happened to me). I have a full lifetime license, but won't use it due to the incompatibility. At least that was the case a while back.

CCat
We're all quite mad here
MVM
join:2005-12-06
Wonderland

1 recommendation

CCat to hayc59

MVM

to hayc59
It wont let me install the x64 Outpost Firewall Pro. Says there's an issue with another product (doesn't say which one).

I have Avast Pro and Zemena Anti-Logger pro.
PX Eliezer1
Premium Member
join:2013-03-10
Zubrowka USA

PX Eliezer1 to devolic

Premium Member

to devolic
said by devolic:

Who makes a good FREE software firewall? One that also uses little resources if possible.

I like Comodo Firewall Free.
»personalfirewall.comodo.com/

I've used it in conjunction with various AV such as MSSE, AVG, or Avast.

--------------------

Some folks don't like Comodo because of issues regarding corporate behavior and/or the owner's behavior. I can't speak to any of that, it just seems to be a good firewall that passes the tests I put it through.

ZZZZZZZ
Premium Member
join:2001-05-27
PARADISE

2 recommendations

ZZZZZZZ to devolic

Premium Member

to devolic
Online Armor has been great for me and it's easily configured.........it also has HIPS protection.

»www.online-armor.com/pro ··· free.php

poppster
Tell the truth and then run.
Premium Member
join:2003-12-23
Midwest

poppster to La Luna

Premium Member

to La Luna
said by La Luna:

Some ideas here:

»Firewall Poll 2011

we need to update these polls

ZZZZZZZ
Premium Member
join:2001-05-27
PARADISE

ZZZZZZZ

Premium Member

Ya I was thinking the same thing.........Sygate has been unsupported for years and OA isn't even listed.

Buddel
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Premium Member
join:2004-03-06
EU

Buddel to devolic

Premium Member

to devolic
All our polls in the Security Forum should be updated. Where's the updates committee?
Frodo
join:2006-05-05

Frodo to devolic

Member

to devolic
You didn't specify what operating system you need the firewall on.

XP: Kerio 2.15 and some IPSEC
Win7: The Windows firewall with outbound blocking enabled.
Since the windows firewall doesn't prompt to allow or block outbound connections, I am trying out Windows Firewall Notifier.

Talk about light - this one usually doesn't run. And the executables are also small. In Win 7, the event viewer can be set to run a task if a certain event occurs. So, a blocked outbound connection triggers the Windows Firewall Notifier and I get a prompt to allow or deny the connection. If I allow it, it makes the rule and exits. That's about as light as you can get. The software is a little rough around the edges, but I like it.

jaykaykay
4 Ever Young
MVM
join:2000-04-13
USA

jaykaykay to CCat

MVM

to CCat
said by CCat:

It wont let me install the x64 Outpost Firewall Pro. Says there's an issue with another product (doesn't say which one).

I have Avast Pro and Zemena Anti-Logger pro.

Zemana doesn't play well with some things. I would bet on that.
redwolfe_98
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11

1 edit

redwolfe_98 to devolic

Premium Member

to devolic
"privatefirewall" is another option:

»www.privacyware.com/pers ··· all.html

if nothing else, you can use the "windows firewall"..
PX Eliezer1
Premium Member
join:2013-03-10
Zubrowka USA

PX Eliezer1 to ZZZZZZZ

Premium Member

to ZZZZZZZ
said by ZZZZZZZ:

Online Armor has been great for me and it's easily configured.........it also has HIPS protection.

I've liked that too, haven't used it in the last few years though.

--------------------------

People who are thinking that it is still from the little Australian company Tall Emu, should be aware that it now is from the bigger Austrian company Emisoft.

urbanriot
Premium Member
join:2004-10-18
Canada

urbanriot to Trihexagonal5

Premium Member

to Trihexagonal5
said by Trihexagonal5:

Got an old PC sitting around somewhere? Turn it into a FreeBSD based hardware firewall.

I second that.

Then he can add Squid to cache his web usage and easily hide obtrusive ads.

dolphins
Clean Up Our Oceans
Premium Member
join:2001-08-22
Westville, NJ

1 edit

dolphins to devolic

Premium Member

to devolic
Been running Kerio 2.1.5 for quite some time now. I probably couldn't name more than 1 other software firewall anymore, there's no need to IMO.

rogersmogers
@start.ca

rogersmogers to devolic

Anon

to devolic
Software firewall is silly. By the time they hit it they are already on your network. you need something just behind the modem infront of your network.

sivran
Vive Vivaldi
Premium Member
join:2003-09-15
Irving, TX

1 recommendation

sivran

Premium Member

You're thinking of someone coming in from the outside. Usually people are behind a router, which handles that nicely. The point is to keep things inside from getting out.

StuartMW
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06

1 edit

1 recommendation

StuartMW

Premium Member

said by sivran:

The point is to keep things inside from getting out.

Very few people block/filter outgoing traffic. I block, with outgoing firewall rules, lots of stuff. That won't stop all malware but it may give a warning.

Here's an example. I block outgoing SMTP unless it's to IP's that my email providers use. Paranoid? Perhaps but if something tried to use me as a spambot I'd know pretty quickly (I'd get email from my firewall).

Rebrider
Been There Done That
Premium Member
join:2000-11-23

Rebrider to devolic

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to devolic
said by devolic:

Who makes a good FREE software firewall? One that also uses little resources if possible. Thank-You

I've been using ZA Free for years. I use older versions, and have to put up with some nags, however I get to control which programs have outbound access.
I tried the new ZA on my Win7 system and did not like it. I am using the free McAfee that came with the new computer.
My XP and Vista machines do just fine with the older versions of ZA. I like to know what programs want out, and this lets me know and control them. The really old versions gave you more options like pass lock programs. I would be glad to pay a license fee to have just a software firewall from ZA that gave me the control of outbound programs.
The main reason I like ZA is that it tells me what programs want out and gives me the option or allowing or denying it.

ZZZZZZZ
Premium Member
join:2001-05-27
PARADISE

ZZZZZZZ

Premium Member

Sorry to burst your bubble,but ZA is one of the worse rated firewalls on the Net.

When I used it 12 years ago I found that it allowed server rights to all apps by default ...........hope they've changed that.

Rebrider
Been There Done That
Premium Member
join:2000-11-23

Rebrider

Premium Member

said by ZZZZZZZ:

Sorry to burst your bubble,but ZA is one of the worse rated firewalls on the Net.

When I used it 12 years ago I found that it allowed server rights to all apps by default ...........hope they've changed that.

Burst all you want. I been using it since the 90's and have never had a problem. It depends on your understanding of how software firewalls work and what they are for. If you are a computer genius and know everything there is to know about the internet and computer security, why then we should just go with your suggestions and be done with it.

Anav
Sarcastic Llama? Naw, Just Acerbic
Premium Member
join:2001-07-16
Dartmouth, NS

Anav to devolic

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to devolic
I use comodo right now. Plays nice.

ZZZZZZZ
Premium Member
join:2001-05-27
PARADISE

ZZZZZZZ to Rebrider

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to Rebrider
quote:
If you are a computer genius and know everything there is to know about the internet and computer security, why then we should just go with your suggestions and be done with it.
Wow,didn't realize you were so much in love with your firewall.............just keep your head buried in the sand.
»www.matousec.com/project ··· ults.php

sivran
Vive Vivaldi
Premium Member
join:2003-09-15
Irving, TX

sivran

Premium Member

Matousec? Really?

MSE_fan
@rogers.com

MSE_fan to dolphins

Anon

to dolphins
PCTools Firewall Plus (for win 7 64bit)

over 1.2 mil downloads on CNET

»download.cnet.com/window ··· ;sideBar
slajoh01
join:2005-04-23

slajoh01

Member

I dont use any software firewalls at all except the Win7 firewall enabled and thats it. Im behind a firewall router.

A software firewall isnt that necessary unless you have many many workstations on your network and you want to protect it from some infected notebook thats connected to your network.

A rule of thumb is, that whenever people install an OS, always disconnect from the Internet, then install AV, turn on Windows firewall (or Linux FW, or whatever), then once doing that, connect to the net and first install the needed software and OS updates as possible. I mean ALL until completed. Then lock down the OS via Group Security Policies including browsers. Then finally browse the net.

In other words, lets put this way, you wanna keep the bad guys from breaking in your house in the first place!

Of course, software firewalls can be disabled by malware. And can cause issues and trust me...I had alot of sharing and connection issues when a software fw was installed. Since then I dumped it.

I usually rune a command called NETSTAT -B or NETSTAT -ANO to see what suspicious programs that have ESTABLISHED conenctions on my system. If I see no programs like that, then all is good. There are YouTube videos on this and there very usefull in detecting what suspicious programs are established on your system.

ironwalker
World Renowned
MVM
join:2001-08-31
Keansburg, NJ

1 recommendation

ironwalker to devolic

MVM

to devolic
Software firewalls are great for monitoring what programs and os parts want to call out. Being able to see these details and block accordingly is why I use a software firewall.

Derwood2
Wherever you go, there you are
Premium Member
join:2003-01-21
Dayton, OH

1 recommendation

Derwood2 to devolic

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to devolic
I run pfSense on an old system. Been using it since 1.1.