veloct
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join:2003-01-21
Moosup, CT
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| Is ZA still the best free FW out there?
Subject says it all. Wondering what people think 'cause I would rather not run ZA. Just mainly looking for outbound protection and I rather not use prevx either. Thanks for your input
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phonefreak5
join:2004-06-23
Torrance, CA | IMO, yes.:) |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | reply to veloct
I like Kerio - had some problems with ZA and never went back... |
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sded
Premium
join:2002-11-04
San Diego, CA
·DSL EXTREME
| reply to veloct
For free outbound protection, I prefer Kerio 4.2. You can control access both at the application level and at the packet level, and the GUI is particularly useful and easy to follow. To get packet filtering with ZA, you need to go to Pro-which I have used in the past, but the visibility into the firewall activities is very limited, and I gave up for KPF (after trying most other free firewalls). Certainly ZA is a very good firewall and the simplest to use if you don't want a lot of information. |
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paranoidxe
Premium
join:2002-03-29
Ogden, UT
| reply to veloct
I guess as far as "annoying, informative" prompts go, ZA would be the best.
I personally have feel for Outpost firewall Professional, its quite the little firewall.
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HA Nut
Premium
join:2004-05-13
USA
| reply to veloct
Count me in as a yes. It's not perfect but what is? And it's still in active development.
The free firewall market is in flux at the moment, at least to some extent. Kerio 4 is going away at the end of the year. Sygate was recently bought out by Symantec. Old Kerio 2 is still ok for some users but you need a very good working knowledge of ports and protocol to be safe with it. Free Outpost (which is from version 1) is extremely outdated. (Paid Outpost is now up to version 3.) And there are several freebie firewalls out that are just not up to snuff. Of course, there is always a new player out once in a while.
Bottom line is, IMO, free ZA is tough to beat... |
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IGGY
No Guru Just Here To Help
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-30
Chatham, IL
1 edit | reply to paranoidxe
"I guess as far as "annoying, informative" prompts go, ZA would be the best."
The software can be made to work a bit more quietly with a settings change. Many users still find that ZoneAlarm is definitely still worth using.
Keep in mind that Kerio may no longer be officially supported. »No More Kerio Personal firewall Although it is a favorite of some of the more geekier security folks within this forum. There is also a forum dedicated to that product on this site »Kerio - Tiny Support Which is something many of us tried to get accomplished in regards to ZoneAlarm years ago.
Of course it needs to be kept in mind that ZoneAlarm is still officially supported by ZoneLabs. And that they still have a dedicated user forum for customers of all versions of the product.
»KPF: End of Life December 31st 2005
»[Kerio 2.x] Official Kerio2x forum is being closed
ZoneAlarm has had a few hiccups the past few versions. But the current build seems to running smoothly for most people.
Also keep in mind that a firewall such as Kerio is a bit more work than install it and forget it.
Outbound protection only?
Isn't this a bit of a switch? Shouldn't what is trying to come in concern you as much as what is trying to get out? Or do you have a router in the mix? Did I miss that mentioned above?
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ironwalker
World Renowned
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-31
Keansburg, NJ
clubs: | reply to veloct
When was ZA the best?;) |
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jp10558
Premium
join:2005-06-24
Willseyville, NY
| said by ironwalker  :When was ZA the best?;) When it came out ~ 1999 and was the only such program. |
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Mercurybird
Premium
join:2004-06-24
Hooks, TX
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| reply to veloct
I have used Zone Alarm free and Zone Alarm Pro. I guess I would still be using ZAP if I had not had a system crash a few years ago. Take a hint from me and keep your registration data for ZAP off system. My proof of purchase from one of their partners went south with the system. They would not believe me, and because I had purchased it from one of their partners, they didn't have a record of it. Neither did the people I bought it from, as a download. I'm dredging really deep here but I think that company was Digital River or some such. My only option from Zone Alarm was to buy it again. So to this day I have my ZAP CD but no way to use it without paying again. Needless to say I'm NOT doing that.
I went with Outpost free for a while. I finally went to Norton. But I could never figure out how to stealth a port with Norton. Not very user friendly in its most inner workings. I finally put together some extra hardware and built me a Smoothwall system. I'll never go back to saoftware only. I'm still running NPF though. |
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mongol
join:2004-06-21
Friendswood, TX
| reply to veloct
Speaking of good FREE firewalls you can also look at Filesclab firewall. It is coming along very nicely and it can be checked out and downloaded at: http://www.filseclab.com/eng/products/firewall.htm |
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IGGY
No Guru Just Here To Help
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-30
Chatham, IL
1 edit | reply to Mercurybird
If you have a store bought CD version ( hard copy ) then you should be able to get things registered. Although some users have had issues with registration in the past. My experience has been that ZoneLabs is helpful and sometimes liberal in their policies in regards to licenses.
As for when was ZoneAlarm the best. I'd make a comment like that around here and get the boot. I think history present and past shows that this product is still a good one. The best is always relative depending on who you speak to. Although some trusted sources have always regarded ZoneAlarm highly.
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nonymous
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ
| reply to veloct
Ok, forget best for awhile what are you looking for in a firewall? Basically what do you believe zone alarm lacks that you are looking for in another firewall. To a point when a product works that is objective beyond that some of it is subjective. So if we know what you are looking for besides best maybe you can be pointed in the right direction. |
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ghost16825
Use security metrics
Premium
join:2003-08-26
| reply to IGGY
said by IGGY :Keep in mind that Kerio may no longer be officially supported. One could say that Kerio never did have much real support for either the 2x or 4x versions while they were officially supported. Yet there are obviously others who believe official support for a free firewall is not relevant to them, going by the age of the Kerio forum.
said by IGGY :Also keep in mind that a firewall such as Kerio is a bit more work than install it and forget it. Longer installation period yes, but after this installation period, 'set and forget' ability is the same as any other firewall if not better.
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http://kerio.sourceforge.net/
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IGGY
No Guru Just Here To Help
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-30
Chatham, IL
| From a quick glance of the Kerio forum I think I'd have to agree with your first comment. The other one I'm still not 100% sure on. Although I've based my opinion on past readings within this forum of comments made by past users of that product.
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Buddel
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Premium
join:2004-03-06
EU
| reply to veloct
ZA is not the best firewall, simply because there is no "best" firewall. If you are looking for an easy-to-use firewall, ZA is definitely a good choice, but it's not the "best". |
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Tyreman
join:2002-10-08 | reply to veloct
Depends who and when you talk to them.:D |
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veloct
Premium
join:2003-01-21
Moosup, CT
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| reply to nonymous
said by nonymous :Ok, forget best for awhile what are you looking for in a firewall? Basically what do you believe zone alarm lacks that you are looking for in another firewall. To a point when a product works that is objective beyond that some of it is subjective. So if we know what you are looking for besides best maybe you can be pointed in the right direction. All I need is outbound protection and I don't want to use prevx and I don't really want to put the time to setup proxomotion (sp?). ZA is the most well known, I probably should have said that instead of best. best is relative.
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veloct
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Moosup, CT
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| reply to Buddel
said by Buddel :ZA is not the best firewall, simply because there is no " best" firewall. If you are looking for an easy-to-use firewall, ZA is definitely a good choice, but it's not the " best". I should have use something besides "best", I should have said well known or something else. Believe me, if I liked Zone Alarm I wouldn't be asking for other alternatives.
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Buddel
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Premium
join:2004-03-06
EU
2 edits | said by veloct :Believe me, if I liked Zone Alarm I wouldn't be asking for other alternatives. I did like ZA, but it seems as if my computer didn't like it at all:(, so I had to look for an alternative. The only firewall I personally liked (more or less) was Sygate, so this is the one I've been using for a couple of months now. ZA? Well, I haven't looked back...
BTW, I don't know whether or not Sygate is still recommended here, but I myself like it, and it has never let me down. It's easy to use and it does its job well.:) |
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