Firewall

[=98=]

Someone told me that Zonealarm for Vista was absolute cack. Can someone explain why and maybe suggest me a different or better firewall?

ta

[peeth]

ZA can cause many problems, it did when i had it on XP, even if i allowed programmes to access the internet through it, it wouldn't and wouldn't let my wifi dongle work.

I just use Vista's firewall and i also have an firewall on my router.

[sava700]

I just use Vista's firewall and i also have an firewall on my router.

Yeah do this.. cause ZoneAlarm is the DEVIL!!

Its really horrible to use cause it seems to wanna screw up the TCP/IP stack and settings with Windows in a matter thats often hard to fix unless you reinstall the OS.

read through this too as it gives you a list of Programs that are blocked from starting after you install Windows Vista SP1.

This is prob a good move by Microsoft to put ZoneAlarm on it even if it did install fine LOL

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935796

[Stormy{CAN}]

This is prob a good move by Microsoft to put ZoneAlarm on it even if it did install fine LOL
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935796

Guess you missed the part that ZA has an updated version already that works (or tries to, depending on how you look at it) with SP1.

[sava700]

Guess you missed the part that ZA has an updated version already that works (or tries to, depending on how you look at it) with SP1.

I wouldn't put Zonealarm no matter what version they released on even a computer you owned..on fire, and if I pissed on it to put it out.

Sorry but ZA is a pc of crap!

[looqas]

Someone suggested COMODO to me and it seems very reasonable. Also the good old Sygate tiny firewall is nice if you get it work in Vista. I was not able to run the installer.

[=98=]

So apart from Comodo, anything else?

[Twlight]

Try PC Tools Firewall Plus .

[TheHeartSmasher]

Comodo is pretty has almost everything you need

[sava700]

So apart from Comodo, anything else?

You really don't need one dude.. Windows Firewall and the NAT firewall on a router is fine as long as you keep your system clean of spyware/viruses and malware.

I don't run any anti-virus or firewall on my gaming rig as its behind my router DGL-4300 Game Fuel powered... I've never had a issue with it as I do run superantispyware from time to time on it in case my wife surfs the net on it when she's not supposed to

Otherwise get the computer the way you want it.... drop in a Acronis or Ghost disk and make a image of it..just shove the image over to a external. If you ever run into a problem from then on you can just drop the disk back in and plug the external back up and drop the image back on....put it right back the way it was!

I've got 5 different comps in my house and I usually do a backup image of all of them once a month..all of them have files backed up on a central server.

I've got more Cat5/6 cable running through my house and wireless waves than most people have power cables

[AllFoamNoBeer]

COMODO is by far the best, but I use the Bitdefender/Kaspersky full internet pack. So... no idea what they do, I have not had problems.

[TheHeartSmasher]

On todays internet and intranet every computer should have a firewall, anti-virus/spyware/malware protection. Not having it is like driving in heavy rain without windshield wipers, something bad will happen eventually. Having them will just help you get to your destination with lowering the chances of something bad happening, or preventing it all together .

I would recommend Comodo Firewall and Bitdefender Total Security as they are both low on system resources.

[=98=]

I'll give Comodo a bash. I like to run with a software firewall, just added protection

I have the full version of Kaspersky on my laptop, and it's the most annoying thing ever. Maybe it's still in training mode?

[sava700]

On todays internet and intranet every computer should have a firewall, anti-virus/spyware/malware protection. Not having it is like driving in heavy rain without windshield wipers, something bad will happen eventually. Having them will just help you get to your destination with lowering the chances of something bad happening, or preventing it all together .

I would recommend Comodo Firewall and Bitdefender Total Security as they are both low on system resources.

Not really.. If your surfing myspace,facebook and all those social sites that are flooded with crap that will infect your machine its your clicking habits and what you visit that causes the issues for the most part. I wouldn't recommend Comodo either as the NAT firewall built into a router pretty much does the same thing. Tack on Windows firewall which monitors outgoing traffic is perfectly fine.

I sit here everyday at my job with kids coming down dropping off laptops and desktops with spyware and whatever else they pick up and 99.9% of the time you look to the sites they visit and its usually porn sites,warez music sites,facebook and myspace. This is the girls too that visit all these sites so you guys are not alone. Many times most are using IE and not Firefox which is another good reason to move on to Vista as IE isn't mounted to the OS like it is in XP.

Value your computers resources you already have...turn off unnessasary services etc to strip the chances down of it getting problems.

[TheHeartSmasher]

Test your firewall

http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/onlinetest.html

You will be surprised how ineffective your routers firewall and windows firewall is.
Your router is only as good as what you add to it's rules.

Also, Defense+ is how I keep my system resource usage extremely low