Firewall's

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ali68

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Just wondering what firewall people use and is there one that stands out above the rest.

Using Aol which has a bulit in firewall not sure how effective it is as no warnings are ever given of attacks.

Using a dial up connection at the moment but have the possibility of broadband at the end of the month.
 
I agree, Zonealarm is the only firewall I've ever used, but I'd never want to use anything else. I got mine from the Open University, when I first became a student. I've never had much trouble with it, except when I got a new comp with XP last Oct. When I downloaded a fresh copy from the site, it kept going into 'lockdown'. Can't remember what was wrong now, but the helpline people soon helped me sort it out.

I have mine setup so that I don't see the alerts and it automatically asks me if I want to download updates, as they become available. It is so easy to use, is very effective and can always be upgraded to the paid-for version quite easily.

Do remember however, that a firewall cannot replace good antivirus software. Use the two in tandem and your comp should be protected against most things.
 
ZoneAlarm Pro is a good firewall, however the best sort is a properly configured Hardware Firewall that acts as a network DHCP server and a NAT router at the same time.

Old PC's are great for this, they will not effect the speed of your connection but they do keep out unwanted visitors.
 
If you are only using a single PC (ie, not networked), I would go for the software option. I agree with the others re. Zonealarm, although there are many others.

If networking more than a couple of PCs, then software firewalls on each node becomes a pain to manage. FWL_Engineers gateway idea is the ultimate solution because you can tailor this in almost unlimited ways to suit your environment. Another method for DSL/Cable users is to introduce a router which incorporates firewall software (such as SPI).

Then, when you've installed your anti-virus, spyware and firewall software along with Windows XP and Office, go and buy a new hard drive, cos yours will be full :D
 
I've used Zonealarm for a while now, not had any probs. Got the basic free version from zonealarm.com
 
funny, thought i said that i use this trust me you do not want the alerts, they are annoying
 
there are so many,just try a few to see if your system has conflicts with them.SEE which ones keep all those nasty files away.
 
If, like me, you have a pathalogical hatred of paying for software, go to www.agnitum.com and look for Outpost Firewall Free Edition. It claims to give the same protection as the Pro version. All it lacks is the kind of features a network administrator might want, eg for analysing attack patterns.
 
Felix, you need to check the dates of some of the posts you are replying to. This one was June last year, so should be considered dead.
 
felix said:
If, like me, you have a pathalogical hatred of paying for software, go to www.agnitum.com and look for Outpost Firewall Free Edition. It claims to give the same protection as the Pro version. All it lacks is the kind of features a network administrator might want, eg for analysing attack patterns.
Click to expand...

Out of interest, why do you have a pathological hatred of paying for software?
 
Two questions, two answers:

1) I do check dates of original posts but consider a post to be 'alive' until the moderators close it.

2) Pathalogical was too strong a word; I'd just spent an afternoon trying to fix out a computer that had been XP'd so I was in a foul mood and Microsoft wasn't exactly top of my fan mail list!

I suppose my main gripe is with large corporations who sell us stuff before they've even finished making it. Moreover, when you take a close look inside some of the code it's decidedly messy.

Software is information, nothing more and nothing less and I'm a great believer in the free flow of information. I've never charged anybody for information. Long live freeware.

PS: Piracy is another matter.
 
Felix, you are new to this forum and have assumed that moderators close all the old posts. Well, they don't.

I refer you to rule 17, which you have obviously read:

17) Please do not reply to old posts, as in most cases the original poster has done the job and or no longer posts.

As to messy code, I doubt many software houses can admit to being squeaky clean. It's the nature of the business and the economics behind it that make it so.

Free flow of information and free information are quite different.
 
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