Recommend a firewall

[skbuncks]

I'm currently using the free version of comodo, which, to be frank is a complete pain in the arse. It is far in user intensive for my liking.
So, can anyone recommend a free firewall that I can use in its stead

cheers

skb

[Trinoc]

I'm currently using the free version of comodo, which, to be frank is a complete pain in the arse. It is far in user intensive for my liking.
So, can anyone recommend a free firewall that I can use in its stead
I was thinking of changing to Comodo, but my last attempt to use it on a spare machine brought me to the same conclusion ... far to much geek-level configuring required.

I use ZoneAlarm ... but ... only version 5.5.062.011 with automatic update disabled. Later versions turned out by Zonelabs, and particularly versions produced by the new owners, have nasty features such as not only treating all Microsoft and Microsoft-approved software as "trusted", but hiding the fact they have been so treated from the configuration screen - so that, for instance, a program like Windows Media Player can "phone home" to Microsoft to tell them what you are listening to and you will never know it has done it.

Even the version I use needs to be installed without the "automatically trust known programs" option turned off, and for good measure I delete all of the "trusted" programs from a file called safeprograms.xml.

ZoneAlarm 5.5.062.011 is probably unavailable now, but I could send you a copy if you like. I am using Windows 2000 - I don't know whether there are any issues with using this version under XP.

By far the most important thing you can do firewall-wise is to use an ADSL router with NAT (Network Address Translation) enabled, so that any incoming connections are blocked unless you specifically permit them. This will not stop programs running on your machine from calling out, though.

Oh, and whatever you do, don't use Internet Explorer, Outlook(/Express) or Windows Media Player.

[Tomolac]

isn't zonealarm rather CPU intensive nowadays aswell?
if you have a nForce chipset on your motherboard try downloading the latest driver pack for it from nvidia, they have a free firewall for people with nForce hardware. It works with xp but its not vista x64 compatable. but there are plenty of free firewalls out there but I'm guessing you want an application based rule set firewall, their a bit harder to come across. if you just want a software firewall then let me know and I'll suggest a few. but £30-£50 for a desent router is well worth the investment, honestly its not like the waste of time that norton is, a router, with its hardware based firewall, is the best defense you can have over the net.

[Trinoc]

isn't zonealarm rather CPU intensive nowadays aswell?

I believe that is another disadvantage of the later versions. The version I am using seems OK, but I would still like to find a lightweight, preferably open source firewall to replace it. One where a particular program can be restricted to connecting to only specified remote addresses would be nice.

[Tomolac]

due to how windows works, and the licensing required to create such a program your never going to find a free application based rule set firewall for windows.
there's a few free ones here http://www.thefreecountry.com/security/firewalls.shtml but I think very few of them have even app based blocking let one rules.

[Trinoc]

due to how windows works, and the licensing required to create such a program your never going to find a free application based rule set firewall for windows.
there's a few free ones here http://www.thefreecountry.com/security/firewalls.shtml but I think very few of them have even app based blocking let one rules.
I'm not sure about Vista, where I think they made it a lot more difficult for third party programs to protect Windows against itself, but for Windows 2000 and XP there are several free firewalls that filter connections on an application basis. Comodo and the free version of ZoneAlarm are two examples that I've tried personally.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_firewalls