Free Firewall Software..

[uufta]

Thought I would pass on something I found, Free "Webroot" Desktop Firewall

I am taking a look at it, but with my limited knowledge I figured I would share and people can judge for themselves and give their opinions maybe. Its a reputable company and its not often they give stuff away. Only thing I can tell for sure, I am sorely lacking in knowing what makes a good firewall tick.

http://www.webroot.com/En_US/consumer-products-desktopfirewall.html

(Sorry if this should be elsewhere)

[Romanov]

better is ZoneAlarm, I can prove )

[Chewy]

zonealarm has made the security experts really mad, the free version is off the reccomended lists

http://securitygarden.blogspot.com/2007/12/beware-of-zonealarm.html

[locoeng]

Very interesting Chewy, I don't recall that option when I last installed ZoneAlarm and I've been getting a recurring error that I need to investigate with ZA....maybe it's time to simply move on to greener pastures. I'll probably give Webroot a shot.

[BR7]

I have been using COMODO for a while now and i am very pleased with it.I let this site do tests on it and it passed with a 100% score.I am not sure if there are better firewall testers out there or not

[paglamon]

I am using Comodo too. Really happy with it.

[Dan]

better is ZoneAlarm, I can prove )

I would like to see that,lol. ZA used to be the only safe, reliable free firewall years ago. Now they have fallen behind, Comodo is great and the Webroot Firewall looks like it could be a good one, reputable company like uufta mentioned. (Thanks for the link uufta, will check it out)

[blutach]

Big deal about the toolbar. Anyone who is security conscious enough to install a FW should also be smart enough not to install stupid toolbars. They are easy to get rid of, anyway.

The question is - does ZA (free) still do the required job? Is COMODO better? If so, how?

@BR7 - Steve Gibson's testing site has been de rigeur for years now.

Regards

[Chewy]

smart enough not to install stupid toolbars.

I would say about 25-50% of newer users would fail that test

It's a similar problem to SAS and their marketing on the forums.

You are supposed to like a free version of software and then donate or buy the better paid version, not support the free version with adware which possibly compromises security.

[locoeng]

Big deal about the toolbar. Anyone who is security conscious enough to install a FW should also be smart enough not to install stupid toolbars. They are easy to get rid of, anyway.

The question is - does ZA (free) still do the required job? Is COMODO better? If so, how?

@BR7 - Steve Gibson's testing site has been de rigeur for years now.

Regards

I've been getting a "TrueVector" error which requires me to reboot to keep ZA alive lately...something is corrupt there. I used Comodo for a while and liked it better than ZA, but the live update killed my CPU and often hung up so I had to get rid of it. As far as being better, I don't really know, but for me it's down to functionality and usability...I prefered the way Comodo's GUI was layed out and the way it presented itself in "learning" mode better than ZA.

[uufta]

I was using Comodo until it updated recently and fouled up all the settings I had from the original installation, and it changed to a mode where it constantly was asking the Allow/Block questions and I tried to figure out how to stop it briefly with no luck, then I found the Webroot FW and changed, at least for me its easier to understand so far, we will see I guess
I am sure the Comodo problem I had was just something above my skill level to troubleshoot it, I am glad another free one fell into my lap

[digital008]

always use ZA free version.. maybe later will Comodo guys recommand here

[Gary D]

I use Comodo.

@ uufta:

It is a pain in the backsideto set up after an update BUT by far, I love it for those reasons!

Only programs (I know) that I allow can access the internet.

Comodo sometimes is too vigilante especially after denying a program access. It gives false negatives for awhile thinking that the program (denied) has modified another program.

But I can live with that,

[BR7]

I was using Comodo until it updated recently and fouled up all the settings I had from the original installation, and it changed to a mode where it constantly was asking the Allow/Block questions and I tried to figure out how to stop it briefly with no luck, then I found the Webroot FW and changed, at least for me its easier to understand so far, we will see I guess
I am sure the Comodo problem I had was just something above my skill level to troubleshoot it, I am glad another free one fell into my lap

Right click the comodo logo down by your clock and set both firewall & defense security to training mode
And untick display balloon messages

[blutach]

Yeah, those bloody balloon message get on yer willy, don't they? And even after you've told it that an app is trusted, it still asks if it can open another app, or do something that you'd just wish it would do, etc.

Regards