Free, lightweight firewall...

Dreakon · 12-07-2012, 09:56 PM

I have Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.

I don't really need anything fancy, just something that sits in the background and blocks everything from the internet except applications added to a whitelist. Preferably something that doesn't eat a ton of resources.

I may have just described a firewall lol. I don't need some big security suite or anything.

Anything like that out there?

dave_the_nerd · 12-08-2012, 01:01 AM

Windows has a built-in firewall.

Dreakon · 12-08-2012, 01:27 AM

Indeed, to my understanding it was kind of crap?

Saylick · 12-08-2012, 03:56 AM

I've got W7 Pro, only use Windows Firewall, and I have never encountered issues regarding computer security.

The best defense is to not click on suspicious links. Simple as that.

I used to use Avira AV since it's free for personal use but I do not recall if you can set up a whitelist with it.

beginner99 · 12-08-2012, 04:15 AM

Get a router (if you don't already have one). Due to how routers work, they act as simple "firewalls", meaning nothing that you did not request gets in. + Windows firewall. That in general enough. However they don't protect you if you surf on dubious sites or double-click on executables from such sites or pirated software.

Nothinman · 12-08-2012, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreakon

Indeed, to my understanding it was kind of crap?

No, it's fine and I believe you can have it block outbound by default but I don't know why you would want something like that. If you're running software that you trust that little you have other issues with your PC, IMO.

MontyAC · 12-08-2012, 09:20 AM

Try Comodo Firewall.

Dreakon · 12-08-2012, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nothinman

No, it's fine and I believe you can have it block outbound by default but I don't know why you would want something like that. If you're running software that you trust that little you have other issues with your PC, IMO.

Your opinion would be incorrect. I want my presence on the internet to be unknown except to the few applications I run on a daily basis. Isn't that the whole point of a firewall?

Nothinman · 12-08-2012, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreakon

Your opinion would be incorrect. I want my presence on the internet to be unknown except to the few applications I run on a daily basis. Isn't that the whole point of a firewall?

I guess that perspective could be argued, but the original, general purpose of them is to protect machines not to provide personal privacy. But I still don't get why you're running apps that connect to the Internet if you don't want them to connect to the Internet. Just don't run apps that connect to the Internet and you achieve the same thing without the duct tape solution.

Dreakon · 12-08-2012, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nothinman

I guess that perspective could be argued, but the original, general purpose of them is to protect machines not to provide personal privacy. But I still don't get why you're running apps that connect to the Internet if you don't want them to connect to the Internet. Just don't run apps that connect to the Internet and you achieve the same thing without the duct tape solution.

Better safe than sorry, right? Unless Windows is going to burn out my PC when using it's firewall for an arguable purpose.

lxskllr · 12-08-2012, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreakon

Better safe than sorry, right? Unless Windows is going to burn out my PC when using it's firewall for an arguable purpose.

The overall point is if you can't trust your programs with net access, you can't trust them at all. Firewalls are best used to protect from probing coming in. Your router will do a fine job with that, and for some icing on the cake, Windows firewall can be used also. Third party firewalls sometimes cause issues, and don't give real benefit in return. They make people feel like they're being secure by providing nags to chase after when a program wants net access, but they do very little for /real/ security. Your efforts would be better spent hardening your browser to prevent exploits and data leaks.

Dreakon · 12-08-2012, 01:36 PM

Windows Firewall seems to be doing the trick, didn't realize it could be rigged up to block everything but a whitelist. Thanks guys, your concerns with my privacy and whether or not it should be protected via a firewall have been noted.

John Conner · 12-08-2012, 05:40 PM

http://www.matousec.com/projects/pro...64/results.php

entropism2 · 12-09-2012, 12:21 PM

Matousec is generally crap. he gets paid to publish those results, and generally whoever pays more scores higher.

Case in point: Bullguard security uses Bitdefender as their antivirus and Outpost as their firewall. How is it that Outpost with a sponsored link scores near the top, while bullguard is at the bottom?

John Conner · 12-09-2012, 09:59 PM

Well, the site has firewall testing tools and if they pass the firewall gets a higher score. I trust Comodo. I ran the tests. Read the reports.

beginner99 · 12-10-2012, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lxskllr

The overall point is if you can't trust your programs with net access, you can't trust them at all. Firewalls are best used to protect from probing coming in. Your router will do a fine job with that, and for some icing on the cake, Windows firewall can be used also. Third party firewalls sometimes cause issues, and don't give real benefit in return. They make people feel like they're being secure by providing nags to chase after when a program wants net access, but they do very little for /real/ security. Your efforts would be better spent hardening your browser to prevent exploits and data leaks.

exactly.

For OP see this:

https://panopticlick.eff.org/

If you are paranoid you should not trust your browser and even better avoid internet completely.

gevorg · 12-10-2012, 03:28 AM

http://www.privacyware.com/personal_firewall.html

cl-scott · 12-10-2012, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreakon

Indeed, to my understanding it was kind of crap?

No pejorative or anything intended here, but your understanding is mistaken. So another vote for listening to lxskllron this.

Security is all about layers. Every layer will have holes, and the idea is that the layer above or below will not have a hole in the same spot. So a firewall is but one layer, not the end all of security. You need to add to that things like careful software selection (e.g. not using programs like Internet Explorer which have well documented issues with malware), and adopting safe(r) computing habits like not clicking on any random link someone sends you in an email, or opening any random attachment sent to you in an email (no matter what celebrity it claims to be nude photos of).