Best Personal Firewall Regardless of Price

[GizmoFreak]

Ok, I'm thinking the Windows XP SP2 Windows Firewall is probably not sufficient to keep my computer safe. So I'm looking into third-party firewalls. It seems the Sygate and Kerio are most recommended here for free options. But I want to expand my search to include paid ones too. I figure I will shell out $50 for the best option out there.

ZoneAlarm Pro gets well-reviewed by all the major online review sites, but it seems a lot of users run into problems with it and Windows XP.

So I'm looking for the best available personal firewall, free or paid, that will not cause problems or performance issues on the rest of my machine. Thoughts?

 

[Schadenfroh]

flip a coin to chose between sygate or keiro

they both do the job for free

 

[Crusty]

Why not get a router and use the built-in hardware firewall on it as well as the WinXP SP2 firewall. That's what I am using now, and have been since SP2 came out and have not had a single problem . Of course I am also very careful about what I do on the net, and what I download. Being aware of what is running on your computer and what you download and visit on the internet is the best protection.

 

[mattg1981]

Originally posted by: MCrusty
Why not get a router and use the built-in hardware firewall on it as well as the WinXP SP2 firewall. That's what I am using now, and have been since SP2 came out and have not had a single problem . Of course I am also very careful about what I do on the net, and what I download. Being aware of what is running on your computer and what you download and visit on the internet is the best protection.

thats what I do also

 

[Trashman]

I'd consider a router as well, plus, if the need arises for setting up a network in the future, your set.

 

[GizmoFreak]

Hmm, interesting suggestion. But I've had bad experiences with routers and PPPoe DSL. Keeps requiring resets for some reason. So I'm reluctant to go the router route. I currently have a straight switch in its place.

 

[Crusty]

That switch offers no protection whatsoever though. Just make sure to get a quality router, the likes of Netgear,Linksys, and D-Link and try and stay away from off-brand knock off crap.

 

[GizmoFreak]

Yeah, I had a lot of issues with the Linksys router.

 

[slipONflange]

I use a D-link router and Kerio. Have been happy with both.

 

[drag]

Best firewall you can get that I know off costs several thousand dollars. Doesn't include the machine. You use it for protecting corporate networks.

Next best thing that I know of is a seperate Linux or OpenBSD PC-based router. Hell of a lot better then any firewall you install on your computer. Better performing in addition to being more secure.

Some examples:
http://freescobox.justmyhost.com/
leaf.sourceforge.net
http://www.smoothwall.org/
http://www.unixcircle.com/


Why pay money for inferior software when with a little effort you can have enterprise level security at a cheaper price (free, if you already have a old PC + 2 nics)?