Windows Firewall vs ZoneAlarm Free

[Berryracer]

I have had very bad experience with some Software firewalls slowing down my internet browsing such as Bitdefender Internet Security's built in firewall which is why I uninstalled Bitdefender Internet Security even though I have a valid 2 year license

Now I have been running the built in Windows Firewall for 2 weeks with 0 problems and internet has never been faster.

That being said, I just saw ZoneAlarm Free on MajorGeeks and was wondering is the Built in Windows Firewall good or is something like Zone Alarm a must?

I have avast! Free Antivirus as my antivirus and MBAM + SAS (On Demand Scanners), do I really need to bother or will thus slow my internet browsing / downloading of files just like Bitdefender did?

In this thread I read the d00d is saying running a software Firewall is just asking for trouble to happen = http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...firewall/331943ed-c2f2-4306-a068-1ec8dcf5e3a6

 

[Chiefcrowe]

I think the windows one is pretty good but you should also have a router firewall.

 

[Berryracer]

I think the windows one is pretty good but you should also have a router firewall.

Yes my E4200 Linksys Router has a Firewall

 

[cl-scott]

For my money, the Windows firewall is one of the few recent examples of good software engineering on Microsoft's part, similar to their AV program. It's effective enough for what 95%+ of people need, which is to keep the automated exploit probes at bay, and it keeps out of your way. It also doesn't constantly pop up with big scary warnings that may as well be written in another language for all most people can understand it, and thus it doesn't simply train people to click the "allow" button making their firewall resemble swiss cheese more than a firewall. Even if people were correct (and they aren't) when they claim that the Windows firewall is incoming only, who cares? Think about it for a second, and tell me just how useful an outgoing firewall is. At best it blocks some malware from being able to phone home for instructions. Call me crazy, but I'd rather spend my time and energy on preventing that malware from making its way onto the system in the first place. I reject the notion that malware is an inevitable part of life on the Internet.

Now putting aside for the moment that there's no such thing as a hardware firewall, just software firewalls running on dedicated hardware, that all makes far less of a difference than the rules YOU set for the firewall. I don't care if you have the single best firewall ever created, if you open up holes large enough to sail a small navy through, expect problems. There are a lot of people out there who need to be beaten over the head with a network security book until osmosis kicks in and the light bulb goes on over their head.

Just pick a firewall and stick with it. If your router has a firewall, great, use that. If not, then the Windows firewall is just fine for the vast majority of individual users. If running ZoneAlarm makes you feel like more of a man (because let's face it, men are about the only ones who care about this crap) then I suppose you could find more obnoxious ways to overcompensate like those people who need to be introduced to the wonderful world of mufflers so that they don't drown out my home theater system from 2 blocks away.