Curse

EiS · Mar 19, 2006, 10:30 PM // 22:30

Hello everybody i was wondering what ppl recommend as a good firewall i will try anything except norton cuz there crap and use to much computer resorses i have been thinking about tiny firewall but not sure so anything out there that has a good recommendation could you plz help me out

Josh · Mar 19, 2006, 10:34 PM // 22:34

Costs to be safe online.

And in this case, resources are the cost!

You could try ZoneAlarm. (Google it)

mathewthegreat · Mar 19, 2006, 11:59 PM // 23:59

Sygate personal firewall has always been a good friend to me, it uses hardly any resources and i have used it for many years and to this day i have never had a virus. However i am sure this is also to do with careful selection of what i download.
It doesnt support x64 architecture though, but if yours till running windows 32 bit with either a 64 bit or 32 bit processor it runs fine.

Ghozer · Mar 20, 2006, 12:13 AM // 00:13

None... I have never used a firewall, and never will, if someone REALLY wants to get in, that wont stop them...

my router has a hardware firewall built in, i left that on for the hell of it (since its there any way) but i diddnt buy it specifically cause it had a firewall..

and "mathewthegreat" - firewalls dont stop viruses :P

but yes... Just be careful what you click/download and use, and you should never need a firewall, (or virus checker for that matter, tho I do run one, beacuse of foreign CD's and things from friends, I cant trust them as some arent as careful as me)

mathewthegreat · Mar 20, 2006, 12:36 AM // 00:36

I didnt say they did stop virus's, you merely assumed that. Infact if someone wished to hack into your pc via an open port and release a trojan/virus, if you had a firewall would to an extent "protect you from a virus".

So, ghozer if you have a firewall in your router you have used a firewall before.
If someone wants to get into your pc, a decent firewall would show a popup indicating someone was performing a port scan. You can then BLOCK ALL TRAFFIC. Firewalls make it alot harder for hackers.

To say firewalls are to be neglected would be an idiotic comment in my honest oppinion.

Also if you have a router firewall make sure your username password is changed from Admin/Epicrouter.

Str0b0 · Mar 20, 2006, 12:39 AM // 00:39

Buy a router. Even if you are the only computer on your connection buy a router. Most Routers today are NAT routers with stealthing capabilities. It's about as safe as you can get. They cloak all your ports so your computer doesn't even show up to ping requests or other traffic solicitations. The only traffic that gets through is the traffic you solicit or allow through. A router is a generally cheaper alternative to purchasing firewall software. You can get away with a good four port home router for about 20-30 bucks where as most firewall software costs about 50 and doesn't do nearly as good a job.

I recommend Belkin. They make good serviceable personal routers with NAT and stealth capability. They also have a gaming mode built into the router to keep it from doing it's microsecond security disconnect.

EternalTempest · Mar 20, 2006, 01:20 AM // 01:20

As Str0b0 said, get a router (as long as your on high speed, does not work with dial-up).

I also love and use sysgate personal firewall (Freeware) - http://www.symantecstore.com/dr/v2/e... HE_ID=203890

Don't let the it's discouted scare you, the company just got bought out and they want you to buy the Norton (Bloated in size, and resource usage) soultion. Sometime you only need *just* a firewall.

This is more to check for programs that want to talk out to the internet. Router does a great job or protection inbound.

If sysgate personal firewall is to complicated for you to use (very power but not as "friendly" as other firewalls, try ZoneAlarm (free version) - http://www.download.com/3000-2092-10039884.html

EiS · Mar 20, 2006, 07:00 AM // 07:00

oh and BTW its not sysgate its sygate

Xenrath · Mar 20, 2006, 09:20 AM // 09:20

Yeah Sygate is good, also ZoneAlarm (for free!)

Having a router is a good option, but afaik those don't have application level control. Having a software firewall in addition to a router will give you alerts about which programs are trying to go out to the internet and incoming stuff too (can help spot spyware/malware etc)

EiS · Mar 20, 2006, 10:57 AM // 10:57

Well i do have a router but i always run a software firewall too cuz like you just said Xenrath and also a little extra protection

kvndoom · Mar 20, 2006, 11:33 AM // 11:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by EternalTempest

As Str0b0 said, get a router (as long as your on high speed, does not work with dial-up).

I also love and use sysgate personal firewall (Freeware) - http://www.symantecstore.com/dr/v2/e... HE_ID=203890

Don't let the it's discouted scare you, the company just got bought out and they want you to buy the Norton (Bloated in size, and resource usage) soultion. Sometime you only need *just* a firewall.

This is more to check for programs that want to talk out to the internet. Router does a great job or protection inbound.

If sysgate personal firewall is to complicated for you to use (very power but not as "friendly" as other firewalls, try ZoneAlarm (free version) - http://www.download.com/3000-2092-10039884.html

You can't download Sygate from there. Only the manuals. You'll have to do a google search and find a working download for Sygate from a 3rd party. As far as software firewalls go, it was probably the best, which is why Symantec bought and killed it. Right now I'm just using a Linksys BEFSX41 firewall / router, but I do miss the total control of a software firewall.

fallot · Mar 20, 2006, 12:17 PM // 12:17

I would advise you not to get a software firewall, they can create a whole host of problems and are somewhat unnecessary. Invest in a router instead.

Teklord · Mar 20, 2006, 05:00 PM // 17:00

As it would seem the majority in this thread have gone I would agree, purchase a nice little router. Nothing beats a hardware solution, and it will take up zero (0) computer resources. Any of the router/firewall solutions I've seen are fire and forget solutions, save if you want to host any particular services (FTP, TS etc). Software firewalls are a pain in the butt to configure so that everything that needs access has the access, and they eat up system resources which is never a good thing for a gamer.

To comment on the above, yes firewalls can stop viri. Not all though, as keep in mind anything you choose to download could potentially contain a virus. It will block self replicating viri that migrate using open ports which firewalls keep nice and locked down.

That's my take. I've been using only router/firewalls ever since I got my highspeed internet about six years ago. As far as I know I've never been infected, at least not with anything serious enough to notice.

Tachyon · Mar 20, 2006, 08:14 PM // 20:14

This is not a suggestion for the OP, well unless you want to try it that is.

Does anyone here have any experience with the Smoothwall hardware firewall? The reason I ask is that I have an old PIII~700 sitting around doing nothing and I like a challenge. I was thinking about wiping the 30GB HDD on the old machine and installing Softwall and using it as a stand-alone firewall.

What I'd like to know is has anyone tried this and how would it react to my main system, this one, being Windows XP based?

Omega X · Mar 20, 2006, 08:36 PM // 20:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by fallot

I would advise you not to get a software firewall, they can create a whole host of problems and are somewhat unnecessary. Invest in a router instead.

I would recommend getting a router in addition to a nice little software firewall to catch rogue programs trying to communicate to unwarranted sources.

Software firewalls only creates problems when you are too stupid to use one.

koneko · Mar 20, 2006, 09:13 PM // 21:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azagoth

Does anyone here have any experience with the Smoothwall hardware firewall? The reason I ask is that I have an old PIII~700 sitting around doing nothing and I like a challenge. I was thinking about wiping the 30GB HDD on the old machine and installing Softwall and using it as a stand-alone firewall.

If you're interested in dedicating a machine to run a firewall, look into m0n0wall also. It's much more "simplistic" than Smoothwall in terms of ease of configurability. It's completely transparent to a workstation, as all routers should be.

It would likely be cheaper and less stressful to simply use a cheap "consumer-grade" router instead (Linksys WRT54G, et all) since it consumes less power in comparison to m0n0wall/Smoothwall running 24/7.

/no to the software firewall. If you're smart about it, you won't need one.

SuperNomad · Mar 21, 2006, 06:41 PM // 18:41

My router has an in built one, but before I used Zone Alarm and my friend used Zone Alarm for quite a while and he says its really good (he has quite a crap PC) you could just buy a router, but that costs money, all depends if your willing to pay to buy a router or a professional firewall.

But I don't think you really need an expensive option. You just have to be slightly careful on what you download.

EternalTempest · Mar 21, 2006, 07:00 PM // 19:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by koneko

If you're interested in dedicating a machine to run a firewall, look into m0n0wall also. It's much more "simplistic" than Smoothwall in terms of ease of configurability. It's completely transparent to a workstation, as all routers should be.

It would likely be cheaper and less stressful to simply use a cheap "consumer-grade" router instead (Linksys WRT54G, et all) since it consumes less power in comparison to m0n0wall/Smoothwall running 24/7.

/no to the software firewall. If you're smart about it, you won't need one.

If you want to use Vent or TS you usually have to punch holes in your hardware firewall (or if you do Bittorrent p2p for example) aka open ports so it can "touch" your computer. I use Sysgate to bind those ports to specific apps as well as to see what programs want to talk out to the internet.

muelon · Mar 21, 2006, 07:28 PM // 19:28

I use ZONEALARM

works great

Serafita Kayin · Mar 21, 2006, 07:54 PM // 19:54

Truth from a technician's own computer.

Here goes-buy a router. Use it. It keeps you safe.

Software firewalls-unless you're either A. working for a forum site or B. engaging in illicit activities, you can easily get by with Windows firewall. The SP2 updates actually made it into a viable soluton, in conjunction with a router.

Smoothwall and such? If you devote some initial time, best out there. It's got extra computing capacity to handle all kinds of advanced functions. Real good stuff.