which firewall software to use?

[wolfiefish]

Hello all.
I have been using Zone alarm as my firewall. It's ok, but can get pretty annoying at times.
Which firewall program would you suggest is the best?

Hey while we are at it,
some more questions,
which antivirus program is the best? (I use AVG free edition)

Which anti spyware program is the best? (Zone alarm again for me)

[BOB IROC]

I usually recommend a hardware firewall like one that is built into a router and then I use the security built into Norton Antivirus. I have ran many vulnerability scans and I am always invisible to attacks.

As far as spyware goes, Norton 2006 has spyware protection built in, but I also use Windows Defender and Ad-Aware as secondary protection. I must say that with all that my machine runs pretty smooth and shows no signs of being infected or comprimised.

[Ferrit]

Best firewall: A router
Best AV: Norton 2006
Best Spyware: Counterspy/Ewido

[Vakas]

From past experience Norton stuff tends to use a lot of system resourves and slows down systems.

I use Zone Alarm Security Sutie Which has everything but I don't see why you think the firewall is annoying.

[Ferrit]

From past experience Norton stuff tends to use a lot of system resourves and slows down systems.

I use Zone Alarm Security Sutie Which has everything but I don't see why you think the firewall is annoying.

Still the best AV out there :grin:

[Vakas]

Still the best AV out there :grin:

I would say Zone Alarm is just as good if not better and it dosn't slow the system.

I guess it's down to personal prefrence.

[jaimicook]

Zone alarm is without a doubt the best security suite. I have been using my Linksys 4 port router and PCCillin for some time with no compromises. If you care to compare, PCCillin 2006 compares very well with Norton, with the exception of a somewhat weaker spyware control. It does not suck up resources like Norton. PCCIllin 2006 is highly recommended by me. Use the combo of PCCillin and a Linksys router and you are quite secure. The auto updates to PCCillin are a bit annoying, but it keeps you up to date.
Jim

[wolfiefish]

How do you know if the firewall on the router is working?
I have a Jetspeed 520i adsl router?

[houseisland]

ZoneAlarm has a number of settings. If you poke around, you can find a quiet setting in which it doesn't ask you any questions. IMHO it is more interesting and profitable to figure out what your system is actually doing, though.

Shields Up is a free online program will probe your system for basic security holes. It will tell you whether your router is responding to port scans or not. It can be found at:

www.grc.com

[TechZ]

I've been using ZoneAlarm as a firewall for years now, yes it does take some learning and tweaking to setup properly, but its worth it. Popups ended for me over 3 years ago.

[musicman7722]

As alwasys there are many opinions. I stay clear of all Symantec products now. well most. They are resouce hogs and suffer from the attemp to do it all to protect us and infact just muck it up. Chris

[slgrieb]

I don't run any firewall software other than the Windows SP2 firewall. All my computers at office and home are behind hardware firewalls. Between antispyware products like MS AntiSpyware/Windows Defender, Ewido, Spysweeper, etc. and good AV protection like Norton or NOD32, I think firewall software is pretty much redundant, and more annoying than effective.

[PBase001]

Don't confuse Norton with Symantec. Big diiference between NAV versus SAV.

If you have to have a software firewall, Zone Alarm.

[ADS_Tech]

I don't run any firewall software other than the Windows SP2 firewall. All my computers at office and home are behind hardware firewalls. Between antispyware products like MS AntiSpyware/Windows Defender, Ewido, Spysweeper, etc. and good AV protection like Norton or NOD32, I think firewall software is pretty much redundant, and more annoying than effective.

Ditto, but just NOD32. I dont love Norton anymore. And ZA on the PC thats stays on 24/7.

[PBase001]

Software firewall are not for internet protection as much as internal network protection. If your corperate enviornment is big enough and everybody is allow to surf the internet sooner or later some kind of infection can happen.

Some people have their computers sitting on the internet with just their cable or DSL modem and are perfectly happy and a software firewall is more than worth it.

Also, what you do you suggest for people using Windows 98 or Windows 2000 Pro? They do not have an option for WinXP SP2 firewall.

[Fubarian]

I run IPsec @ home with the firewall enabled (xp sp2) and mcafee. I hate mcafee because it LOVES to tax my system when I'm doing things like ..oh, a search. Irritates me to no end but right now, it works. Also got a hacked linksys router with some nice add-ins on my "perimeter".

also there's no such thing as a "hardware firewall" -- its all software!

[BOB IROC]

also there's no such thing as a "hardware firewall" -- its all software!

What is meant by a "hardware firewall" is a piece of hardware that has a firewall built into it with its own independant software like many routers do. Also I believe some of the new NVidia chipsets have a firewall built in the motherboard chipset. Since it involves a piece of hardware I and most other people call it a "hardware firewall" to distinguish it from software firewalls that are installed on the computer itself such as Zone Alarm.

[Fubarian]

Um, I ...I know that. Thanks for the lesson though.

People inherently feel that a hardware firewall is more "secure" than a software one, which is not true. You might refer to them that way, but I refer to them as packet filter and application/layer 7 firewalls. The type you're refering to are packet filters. For a home user, thats typically "good enough" ...but not for others.