What free firewall do you guys prefer?

[rdmaloyjr]

I have tried more firewalls than I can count, ZoneAlarm is the best for me!  The only other firewall I will try is the upcoming avast! Personal Firewall.  I've tried Comodo four times, several versions of PC Tools Firewall Plus, etc.  The point is I don't give up easily on a firewall.  The fw I liked best next to ZA is Jetico v1, OA was the biggest disaster that ever happened to my computer & Comodo is the is the one I disliked the most.

No matter how good a fw maybe, if it is complicated and/or hard to use, it can do you more harm then good.  ZA is easy to use & gives great protection. 

The extra program control in ZA Pro is in reality hips.  avast! is an excellent antispyware so I don't need the as in ZA Pro.  SAS Free & WinPatrol are excellent additions to avast! & ZA.

Regardless of what anyone else says, Opera is the fastest & most secure browser.

[sded]

I like ZAP too; just think that the free one really leaves too much out unless you want to add something, a little extra antimalware as you pointed out.  Too bad he missed the free birthday ZAP giveaway.    But I think the OP was asking for a free alternative.  Jetico 1 was pretty good, and I liked the Kerio 2.1.5 and 4 too, but they are a bit more demanding of the user to set up.  Comodo is OK if you want a learning experience, but the maintenance can be challenging.  And there are always many things waiting to be done.  OA has made quantum leaps since I started beta testing the Vista version last June (never used v2, but presume it was close to the original v3 beta) but may not be suitable for everyone either.  I do a lot of open wifi, and it has some very good tools for that as well as the general firewall/HIPS capabilities.  If you do a lot of P2P or have some other special need, you may prefer something else.  Current public beta is very close to the next release, but apparently he had some kind of problem with it.  Haven't heard from the OP lately, so   BTW, all of these firewalls ran just fine alongside Avast!  .

[ilker]

My personal choice would be PC Tools Firewall Plus because its light on system resources, easy to use, gives enough protection and best of all its free

[.: Mac :.]

I just run the built in firewall in Windows and Mac OS X, but I also have a hardware firewall in my router (Running DD-WRT)

[Eminem]

i have now been trying pc tools firewall plus and it seems pretty good and i like the threat fire program it comes with. =D

[W3FSY]

I've used the FREE version of Online Armor since about Nov. of 2007 and it seems to do a very nice job. It seems to work very nicely with FREE Avast!

No problems that I can recall. I love it. Once it learns your programs, it only asks for permissions when you make software changes.

[YoKenny]

Another reason why I won't be installing Comodo:
http://hphosts.blogspot.com/2009/02/comodo-dont-like-users-saying-no.html

[bob3160]

Another reason why I won't be installing Comodo:
http://hphosts.blogspot.com/2009/02/comodo-dont-like-users-saying-no.html

It's always nice when a supposed "Security Company" rams "Spy Ware and/or "Crapware"
like the ASK Toolbar down your throat.
I'm sure it will turn some of their fanboys against them. 

[.: L' arc :.]

-= I've been seeing good comments about Comodo Firewall..

[Lisandro]

Right now, on Vista, just the Windows Firewall... I was tired of Comodo and PCTools and OnlineArmor... I'm not that much worried on outbound protection (but I use the Advanced Configurations of the Vista Firewall to block what I need). Waiting for avast firewall...

[cod head]

I use Vista Firewall with Vista Firewall Control which block outbound connections.Its easy to use and configure and best of all its totally free.Vista Firewall Control is made by sphinx software. .

[Waffa]

well... to bad that the old good Sygate was destroyed by symantec but yes, this was one of the best long time ago...

Now, i think Comodo is one of the best if you look something for free, if you want to pay then Outpost and online Amor is good choices. ZoneAlarm is usable also for most home users

[Omid Farhang]

@cod head: yeah, I've not ever tried "sphinx software", but I've heared about that and usually all users like it


@Eminem:Comodo is an annoying firewall with good protection!! it offer good protection, but it's not very user friendly. in some reports I've seen PC Tools firewall offer good (not excellent) protection too. OA is good one if you want free (also it would not ever protect you like paid version). ZoneAlarm follow your computer to be unstable and get hang or give you BlueScreen and also ZoneAlarm Free don't offer you anything more than windows built-in...

Eminem, one advice by me: Security is not cheap and it's almost most important thing when you use your computer connect to Internet/network/external source of data... (use of paid version securty software, pay or... )