Firewalls

[Minpin]

Hey guys,

I was wondering what firewall you guys would reccomend? I would prefer it to be a free one. :) I tried Comodo, I think the newest version, but I was getting message after message after message asking for my permission for everything! I was a nonstop messaging so I uninstalled the darned thing and am now looking for a new one. Thanks

[law99]

I use Zonealarm & it was the same way. They need to develop a list actions you approve of. I still have to approve now & then. That makes me feel like it is doing what it should. Comodo is also said to be good.

Is there a box to check always approve, if that is what you want?

[Negeva]

If your running XP then you can install the older version 2 of Comodo, however you will still have to tick and click boxes until it learns your preferences. Regarding Comodo version 3, it porduces more pop-up messages for a bit due to the Defense+ module - you can disable this by right clicking the Comodo icon in task bar and selecting Defense+ and disabling it. All firewalls will need some teaching to begin with.

Most firewalls do have a list of 'trusted' programs, but the problem here for me at least is twofold; one malware writers give their creations names of legit programs to get access and the second one is I want to decide if and when a program should have access. Personally, I'm sick of all these programs that think they need to connect to the 'net at system startup to check for updates. And, it is here that using a firewall can be useful.

[TwoRails]

... I was getting message after message after message asking for my permission for everything! I was a nonstop messaging so I uninstalled the darned thing and am now looking for a new one. ThanksThere should be a switch to control the level of alerts. I recommend ZoneAlarm but you can get a ton of messages from them, too. I like the messages and leave them on, but you can easily set the level of messages, or even turn them off after you "teach" the program.

[shadowpr]

If running vista, Windows firewall isn't bad.