Free Personal Firewall Software

[BobSnob]

...at Agnitum.com.

 

[pelikanbird]

Outpost Firewall Pro and Tauscan $54.95
Outpost Firewall Pro 1.0 $39.95
Tauscan 1.6 $29.95
Jammer 2.0 $24.95


you said free... well ???

 

[vette9898]

Right here Free Firewall

 

[kindest]

There are two versions of Outpost Firewall: FREE and PRO.


all tho im sure the free is crap compared to pro.

 

[1Cheap2Crazy]

I use this. I decided to try something other then ZA after reading a lot of bad reviews of the newer version. I'm not a computer geek, so I can't say how well this works. You may also want to try Kerio(.com) Firewall.

 

[zeroidea]

Kerio is also free. I switched from ZoneAlarm when I got fed up with that software's bugs.

 

[BobSnob]

Kerio looks better than Outpost.

 

[Praxis]

Sygate makes a pretty nice free firewall as well. I like it better than ZA.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: zeroidea
Kerio is also free. I switched from ZoneAlarm when I got fed up with that software's bugs.

The 3.0beta from Kerio (fixed link) is unbelievable! Unfortunately I can't find the beta on their site now - they must be tweaking it before putting the next beta up - but get it when it arrives. Its an outstanding firewall with even more network customization options when using special rules for apps etc., and it also controls which programs can start/access other programs. This is awesome for controlling virus'/scripts/trojans.

 

[DanoSaurus]

I think I might try this too...tired of ZAP...

BTW here is the link for 3.0 beta: Kerio Beta Downloads.

 

[DEFIANT1]

Thanks for the heads-up guys. I've been looking for a replacement for ZA for a while now....

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: DanoSaurus
I think I might try this too...tired of ZAP... BTW here is the link for 3.0 beta: Kerio Beta Downloads.

awesome, thx. time to upgrade to the newer release.

 

[undefined]

The 3.0beta from Kerio (fixed link) is unbelievable! Unfortunately I can't find the beta on their site now

http://www.kerio.com/us/beta_section.html#kpf

why didn't somebody tell me that kerio is what became of tiny personal firewall? when i read this thread, i thought to myself, "you know, i haven't updated tiny in a long time. i wonder what version they are up to now," and proceeded to their site. tiny is still there, but it's no longer free. so i started to panic and began searching the web to see if i could find an updated version somewhere. in the past i've been burned by great "free" software that later turned "non-free" and the older free version(s) removed, which really stinks if you need to reinstall (which is why i now always keep the original downloaded installer) or if you upgrade to a newer version of windows (that was supported by a different version of the free software that you never downloaded because you were always running win9x). but in my hasty google search for a more recent version (haven't updated my version in about a year and about to upgrade to win2k) i stumbled on a comment somewhere that tiny was now kerio (or at least the free version is). went to kerio.com and the screenshots look exactly like the old tiny version!

i've been using tiny for a long time. actually i rarely use it at all because i always boot that machine into linux, which would explain why i haven't updated it in probably a year. works great (no crashes on win98) and provides the fine access controls that i like. i like being able to get dirty with port numbers and ip addresses/ranges (though it would be nice to be able to specify dns names as some names resolve to multiple address, which even sometimes change over months; probably in the new version). that feature allows me to tell tiny to let eudora (free-mode) connect to pop3, imap, and smtp ports, but not to eudora.com (which it should only be doing in the adware & paid modes, not the free). i can also let real player connect to everything but real.com, where it (has in the past) communicates personal info. yep, i'm paranoid. the benefit it has over any firewall on linux is that tiny knows what application is trying to do what, so that you block based on application.

though how's the stability in kerio? my version from a year ago is rock-solid on win98, but back then there were some problems with w2k/xp.

so, i don't mean to thread-crap on outpost, but just to give another option.

 

[Harvey]

Wyvernworks offers a free firewall, too. They re one of the d/l host sites for LavaSoft's Ad-Aware spyware removal software, so you know their heart is in the right place.

While you're about picking up good free security, check out Ad-Aware at the above link, too. Great stuff, and very free.

 

[Frykun]

j0 all,

I've been using Agnitum's Outpost for a few months now (before that, I was using ZA).
It's true that ZA has become overbloated and they also didn't want to listen to users' suggestions on improving the product. Result? Nobody wants to use it anymore.

Anyway, around this time, Outpost is the best personal firewall because of its configurability and flexibility. It allows the users to create specific rules (e.g. "don't let Internet Explorer connect to www.sex.com" etc.) and has plugin capability - current ones are able to filter out ads and active content (ActiveX and stuff).

You DO need to know how internet protocol works, at least in the abstract way. Otherwise, let your geeky friend configure the firewall for you and (possibly) you will be asked questions from time to time whether you want a certain application to access a certain website, which is a great weapon against some spyware programs.

The free version is missing some minor (well, minor for average computer user) features, like multiple configurations and password protection... they have a comparison chart on their site somewhere.

As for the new version, 2.0, it has yet to come out as a beta... It's been in the works for a long time but nothing has become public yet

Be aware that from v2, registration will be required for the free version (it's not required right now)


hope this helps

cheers,
Fry-kun

 

[sak]

Originally posted by: Praxis
Sygate makes a pretty nice free firewall as well. I like it better than ZA.

I use Sygate..and i can say their firewall is great...Keiro is good to..but sygate is more robust...only one thing bugs me about this firewall...it only has one instance of a control manager..per user on XP...

meaning..if one user log in..the control panel for sygate is enabled...but if u switch user..then the control panel is missing and u dont get any messages that allow u to enable one port (i.e. when say using Mirc..and have diffrernt ports open)...u only get that message to the first account u log into...

i wish they fixed this...kindof a PIA

 

[Drakula]

I know this is kind of off topic, but what is wrong with ZoneAlarm? Because I am using it...

 

[Harvey]

The new ZA ver 3.xx has a lot of reported problems. I tried it, and found that it didin't give me as much information as ver 2.6.362. I also think they spent too much time trying to make it look cutesy-touchy-feely.

When I tried to uninstall it, the uninstall program did not get rid of everything, and it gave me error messages about missing VxD's or dll's. Fortunately, I Ghosted my drive just before I installed it, so I was able to get rid of it that way.

Read the user reviews from download.com. A lot of people had similar problems.

I have the install prog for ver. 2.6.362. Don't ask me to e-mail it. It's 3 MB. PM me if anyone wants to host it.