Security → Small Footprint Firewall for 98SE?

A relative is getting cable internet access for a 98SE box, and I'd like to get the least hoggy software firewall for her. I'm leaning towards ZA or Sygate or maybe NIS - which uses the least resources on 98SE? This is a very low risk surfer on an older Pentium II 200MMX, no mission critical files, etc. Just looking for basic protection with minimal impact.

TIA!

I personally vote for ZAF.

It's easy to install and maintain once it's configured.

I don't know about Win98SE, but on WinXP Pro ZAF v3.1.291 uses about 6,356K and 3,296K.

ZAF is perhaps the easiest for someone to use who doesn't deal with this stuff at all. (I can't say re: ease of use for Sygate free or Outpost free; perhaps others can.) In terms of resource use ZAF 2.6.362 (???the last of the 2.6 series which is still available for download) sounds as if it is lighter on resource use than the ZAF 3.X release. (This I gather from some users' reports.)

As for really light on resources, probably the lightest is Kerio (and the old Tiny PF) although you would probably have to set it up for her if she's not up on such things. As I recall Tiny was indeed tiny on 98SE; I imagine Kerio is similarly light as well. Don't know about the current Tiny PF which I think is now just payware. Again, others can comment from their current experience, as mine is limited and dated.

On Win98SE, it's the system resources (GDI, USER) that are more important than ram. You can easily run out of resources before you run out of ram. Both Sygate and Norton use considerably less resources than ZA, which IMHO is a bit of a hog (and I'm a ZA user, LOL). As already suggested, Tiny/Kerio use a small footprint too. :)

I ran ZoneAlarm for 2 years.Seem's like the last
4 months,I had nothing but problems with it.About
a month ago I switched to Kerio.Much better!!!!!
There is a Kerio forum here at DSLR also.
Just my 2 cents..:)

Thanks for the input so far. Since this is an older and slower Windows 9x box, I'm interested in the lowest system resource use. Tiny/Kerio is out - a rules-based setup is beyond her. I'm leaning towards Sygate. Where is the 2.x version of ZAF available?
Thanks again to all!

You can get ZAF 2.0, 2.1 or 2.6 here:

»www.oldversion.com/zonea ··· rm.shtml

Wilders Security also has ZA 2.6.362 in its download section. A cool site, if you're not already familiar with it:

»www.wilders.org/downloads.htm

Smallest footprint goes to Kerio or TINY. 2nd smallest goes to Sygate. In last place, Zone Alarm Free 2.6. Trust me I have tried them all and that was one of my major considerations. I would go with Sygate free if I were in your shoes. Simple to use and as effective as anything out there.
Hullodare

Thanks, all. SPF it will be!

Don't discount Outpost firewall - I switched from SPF to Outpost a month ago, and have noticed on my machine that it uses fewer resources than SPF. Outpost seems at least as secure as ZA or SPF, and it has the added advantage of popup/ad blocking, and good active content filtering with a small footprint. Outpost was as easy to set up as any of the other firewalls, and after an initial configuration should be trouble-free.

Outpost Firewall
»www.agnitum.com/