What is the best firewall?

[Perris Calderon]

as far as this back door access because of the patriot act...I can't beleive this could be protectable.

if it's there, access will be found out..everyone will be able to use it, they would have to plug it up and come up with a new one, and so on.

I don't think it's gonna happen.

 

[Perris Calderon]

kerio and hardware options added

 

[NetRyder]

Free: Kerio Personal Firewall 4.x
Non-free: Outpost Pro

Windows Firewall does its job, as long as you don't need outbound monitoring.

 

[lynchknot]

I would call Norman sandox but not Process Guard

The reason I included it here is because:

ProcessGuard even stops most keyloggers and leaktests,

 

[lynchknot]

This thread isn't about free vs paid - it's what we think is best. Outpost has a free version.

Rather than many (not all) firewall's general "yes or no"

 

[Perris Calderon]

from what I remember, the free version of outpost is a completely differant version the the paid version.

the kerio fee version is the same firewall as the paid with a few features dissabled

 

[Weasel]

Kero is a prime firewall and I used to use it when I was directly plugged in to the internet. It's saved me from at least a few hacking attempts and DoS attacks. After my ISP called me up and complained that I was using more than one IP, I've been messing with FreeBSD and ipf as a router/firewall solution until I stumbled across m0n0wall which blows pretty much anything out of the water. It won't, however, stop programs from phoning home or otherwise outbound connections. If you're paranoid about something like that I'd recomend using both a hardware and software firewall. Just remember, the only way to be completely secure is to realize no matter what you do, you'll never be fully secure.

 

[Un4gIvEn1]

"What's the best firewall" may not be the best question for this one. Maybe "What's your preference" because a hardware firewall is going to beat out any software firewall any day. Also, a Stateful firewall is usually better than a NAT Router (which is often times called a "firewall")

I chose Hardware. More specifically, Stateful hardware firewall.

 

[Perris Calderon]

If I had to use one or the other, a harware or a software, I'm going with the software firewall every time.

you NEED outbound protection, which a harware firewall doesn't offer.

I'm pretty sure anyone that can crack the security of a good software firewall would also be able to do the same with a harware firewall

 

[RickyC]

Hardware firewalls are best used at the point of entry of any network and in larger networks on the subnets aswell. Hardware firewalls don't protect from attacks within the network or subnet your PC is connected to.

This is where software firewalls come into their own as they help protect the individual PC.

Each has its own role to play.

Any company would be NUTS not to use a hardware firewall as their first line of defense. The traffic they can handle far outweighs what a software firewall is capable of.

Maybe the question should be 'What is the best Personal Firewall'

 

[ming]

whoa.. who edited my poll??? I don't remember putting the last two in there.

 

[Ferral_Imp]

The best firewall is the one you actually leave turned on at all times your computer is running whether it's connected to the net or not.

 

[lynchknot]

Thought some of you might be interested in this. I know it's off topic sorry.Privacy Analysis of your Internet Connection (nothing really new) :dead:

 

[LeeJend]

The high score for Ouptost interested me so i downloaded and installed it yesterday. After 12 hours of operation I had 3 BSOD's. All while just srufing. I had not had a BSOD in 18 moinths prior to installing Outpost.

I have uninstalled Outpost and lets see how long until my next BSOD now.

 

[lynchknot]

Maybe you might rethink the cause of blue screen fault. It all depends where you place your priority. If Outpost conflicted with NAV, I would blame NAV and use a different (better) AV. I have not a single BS using NOD32, KAV, Avast. - could also be any numerous apps that are conflicting. What did your Event viewer say? Did you record blue screen error code?

 

[leedogg]

Sygate Pro has proven to be the most compatible, easily configured, and effective for me.

 

[lynchknot]

It's been a long time since I used Sygate pro. Is svchost only allow or disallow - or can you control every single connection it wants to make? I don't allow svchost phone home - it wants to all day/night. I also disallow or partially allow many other apps and services.

 

[leedogg]

No it only allows/blocks the single generic host process.

 

[Perris Calderon]

kerio is rules based with advanced rules optione on all alerts

 

[napalmnthemorning]

1. Zone Alarm
2. Outpost
3. Sygate.