What Is The Best Free Firewall Today?

[greyowl]

I do a lot of volunteer refurb work for "Alternatives for the Older Adult", a local not-for-profit that distributes used computers to folks who have never used a computer before. All are novices obviously.

My recommendations:

Win98 use Outpost Firewall Free 1.0 (Not many others will work)
WinXP (novice) use PC Tools Firewall Plus
WinXP (advanced) use Comodo Firewall Pro 2.4

We all seem to have our own favorites here and comfort level is a big factor in our choices.

What would you use for a novice with  Win2000 and dial up internet?

[Lisandro]

What would you use for a novice with  Win2000 and dial up internet?

The connection type is not that relevant here.
If they're compatible with Win2000 (check their websites), I suggest Comodo, then PCTools, then ZoneAlarm free.

[drhayden1]

http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/download_firewall.html#fw2.4
different version available for win2000 on comodo firewall-its version 2.4

pctools will work- http://www.pctools.com/firewall/
Designed for Windows® Vista™ 32-bit, XP, 2000 and Server 2003.
zonealarm free says Windows XP/2000 Pro if you version is pro
http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=&lang=en

i use pctools firewall plus myself and like it-no problems at all on both my laptops

[Lusher]

Lusher,

I've never had a problem with so-called fw leaks & I've used some of the best firewalls & HIPS that protect from "fw leaks."  Never read a post in this forum where someone was infected from a "fw leak", AFAIK.

Well you mistake me. When i talk about leaks I'm talking about outbound leaks which is what most "tests" are for. Inbound leaks are in fact a great threat, but very difficult to test for without expertise.

If something got through a "fw leak", WinPatrol would probably warn of it or it's start up & my AS and/or AV would take care of it.  That is what they're for.

I would not be too sure. WinPatrol is not bad, but against targetted attacks that target weaknesses against firewall, no doubt Winpatrol would not stand up.

It would be very hard for anything to get thru Opera. 

Only because no one bothers too. I seriously doubt opera is any safer than any browser out there.

[szc]

Hmmm... if we can trust this source (Softpedia), it looks like Opera is the most vulnerable of all:

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Is-Internet-Explorer-Safer-than-Firefox-Opera-and-Safari-80051.shtml

The first major version of IE in over 4 years of stagnation. Large portion of this program have been significantly rework. Microsoft dubbed it as the "most secure" version of Internet Explorer to date.

CENZIC APPLICATION SECURITY TRENDS REPORT – Q4, 2007, Internet Explorer has the smallest vulnerabilities by a 22% margin compared to Firefox. Surprised?

[bob3160]

WinPatrol is not bad, but against targetted attacks that target weaknesses against firewall, no doubt Winpatrol would not stand up.

WinPatrol is not and has never claimed to be a firewall. 

[rdmaloyjr]

Hmmm... if we can trust this source (Softpedia), it looks like Opera is the most vulnerable of all:

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Is-Internet-Explorer-Safer-than-Firefox-Opera-and-Safari-80051.shtml

The first major version of IE in over 4 years of stagnation. Large portion of this program have been significantly rework. Microsoft dubbed it as the "most secure" version of Internet Explorer to date.

CENZIC APPLICATION SECURITY TRENDS REPORT – Q4, 2007, Internet Explorer has the smallest vulnerabilities by a 22% margin compared to Firefox. Surprised?

According to Secunia.com, all Opera vulnerabilities have been patched, while both Mozilla and Microsoft have not patched all the vulnerabilities in their products.

[szc]

According to Secunia.com, all Opera vulnerabilities have been patched, while both Mozilla and Microsoft have not patched all the vulnerabilities in their products.

Well, I don't think that's true. We all know that both MS and Mozilla are working hard on those patches... MS is little slower than it should be though. But the fact is that none of those browsers is completely safe, not even Opera like many would say. Bottom line, they all need patches... means, they all have holes. So saying that Opera or Firefox or IE for that matter is safest of all, is nothing but nonsense.

[rdmaloyjr]

Comment #2 by Phil on 2008-03-06, 22:31 GMT
I have personal experienced far fewer problems since switching to Opera than I had when i used IE. I must admit, though, that Opera is a little faster, takes less room on my desktop, has more intuitive interface options, and has a much nicer tab system than IE. Of course, I think in the end it comes down to personal preference. After all, regardless of how many vulnerabilities you fix, there will always be new ones. That's the problem with security. Nothing is completely safe. Keep your scanners updated and running.

[rdmaloyjr]

This thread has gotten off track.

The best fw is subjective, what's good for one may not be good for another.  A person who has never used a fw may be better off with an easy to use fw like ZoneAlarm.  The advanced user may like Outpost Pro, while the average user may prefer PC Tools Firewall Plus.

[szc]

Comment #2 by Phil on 2008-03-06, 22:31 GMT
I have personal experienced far fewer problems since switching to Opera than I had when i used IE. I must admit, though, that Opera is a little faster, takes less room on my desktop, has more intuitive interface options, and has a much nicer tab system than IE. Of course, I think in the end it comes down to personal preference. After all, regardless of how many vulnerabilities you fix, there will always be new ones. That's the problem with security. Nothing is completely safe. Keep your scanners updated and running.

When we are at that, I stopped using IE and Firefox... I use Safari as my primary web browser. Never had issues with it, and feel a lot safer doing my online banking than I used to be with IE7 or Firefox. Also when we are at speeds... Safari renders pages and plays Flash content a lot faster than any other browser, at least on my end. Oh yeah, that's on my Mac. My PC I barely turn on anymore...

Yes, back to dry topic "Best Firewall..."
Isn't this question kind of asked one too many times and never ever brought a solution ?

[bob3160]

Isn't this question kind of asked one too many times and never ever brought a solution ?

There never will be a solution since the best firewall still depends on the choice of the user.
The best for each user is the one he/she is comfortable with and is able to manage. 

[poutnik]

This thread has gotten off track.

The best fw is subjective, what's good for one may not be good for another.  A person who has never used a fw may be better off with an easy to use fw like ZoneAlarm.  The advanced user may like Outpost Pro, while the average user may prefer PC Tools Firewall Plus.

On some discussion groups / forums are "What is the best" - like question even forbidden.
Either for the answer depends on an individual to be adviced, either leading to highly probable flame....

[rdmaloyjr]

Isn't this question kind of asked one too many times and never ever brought a solution ?

There never will be a solution since the best firewall still depends on the choice of the user.
The best for each user is the one he/she is comfortable with and is able to manage. 

The best fw is subjective, what's good for one may not be good for another.  A person who has never used a fw may be better off with an easy to use fw like ZoneAlarm.  The advanced user may like Outpost Pro, while the average user may prefer PC Tools Firewall Plus.

Bob,
You & I used different words to make the same point.

[don67]

From now on i'm using the latest comodo Version 3.0.19.318 works fine for me