What's a good free firewall?

[tomster2300]

What's a good free software firewall (one I can download)which wont hassle me with online multiplay?

[Force Flow]

sygate is a good one. You can set it to block or allow certain programs.

[tomster2300]

I tried sygate but i couldn't make it allow battlefield, nor would my retail version of mcafee work. Also the download version of zonealarm for some reason blocks my own internet access. Are there any others?

[TwoRails]

I've never tried it with online gaming, but I do like Zone Alarm found at: http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp

[tomster2300]

I redownloaded and installed zonealarm and it seems to be working for now. Not sure how long it will last though. Does anyone know of any other software firewall which is pretty much hassle free? Thanks.

[silvergrin]

i use panda platinum 7.0 for antivirus (which also has a software firewall, but i dont use it, though ive tried it and is hassle free) and use zonealarm pro for my firewall, both of which have never failed me.

if zonealarm is blocking your own internet access. then its not because the program did something wrong, im guessing youve not allowed it to access the internet, and make sure you let it know if your on a lan also, as long as you check the "always allow this connection" box, then you should never see or have any problem with that program running again. unless the program is changed (ie: new patch is installed or something)

[bearcub]

I found that I didn't like Zone Alarm. It slowed things down on me. And my computer isn't very fast to begin with. So, I started using Outpost, the free version at: http://www.agnitum.com/download/

I used it until I went DSL and now it doesn't work very good with my ISP's parental controls. But, as they have a firewall built in, I havn't bothered to make changes to try to get it to work. Anyway, doesn't cost anything to try it. Unless of course somebody steals your identy while you are trying it. It has to be better than nothing.

[rasputinj]

sygate is great and so is zone alarm.

[mystvearn]

sygate is great, using it. the only thing I don't understand is it does not allow FTP Explorer to work no matter what I do.

[plumerjr]

I've run Zone alarm since oct 2002 with dsl and have had no problems with it.

[tomster2300]

Yeah, I have cable and Zone alarm is working now. But for some reason before it said something about how it blocked an attack coming from my ip address to my ip address, thus blocking access so it could't attack itself. Very weird, and I know this sounds like a virus. Anyway, it's working fine now...hope it'll last.

[Karnevil9]

Try Kerio personal firewall. www.kerio.com. They have a free home version. I got it from others who highly recommended in pcmech forums.

[lil Jimmie]

Never had a problem with Sygate or Sygate Pro it just took me some time to learn how to configure it.

[Bubba's Dad]

I downloaded Kerio personal Firewall several days ago as I was having problems using Mcafee with a VPN client.
It was very easy to load and set up. I had to let it know to allow the other components on my LAN by IP address. but that was pretty east. Best part was it is free.

[mrlooneytoon]

i use zone alarm free version but not sure if it really protects you. i know the PRO version does tho.

[Karnevil9]

I didn't like the free version of zone alarm so I switched to Kerio. It was much easier to use.

[swhite]

I use ZA and like it. I get probed all the time and don't care.

[Karnevil9]

I did like the internet lock on ZA though. That was a good idea.

[TimPoet]

Zone Alarm is an excellent firewall. I did try Sygate which seemed fine except for the damn nag screen, it eventually drove me to distraction so I canned it and installed Zone Alarm.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Sygate Personal is all I use.