recommendations for firewall sft

Need some opinions on firewall software. Have Black Ice but keep hearing about a product called Outpost.

Any preferences out there ??? Or suggestions.

 

Is there anything you'd want a firewall to do that Black Ice won't do?

You'd get quicker response from a hardware firewall but they are either stupid or expensive.

 

No not really. Its just that there are so many of them out there, zonealarm, norton, mcafee, etc that I was just wanting users opinions.

 

You're going to have to think about what you want a firewall do and how much control you want. Each do the same thing differently.

The two that I'm familiar with are ZoneAlarm and Sygate.

ZA works by using "zone" blocking = the ability to treat intranet from internet sites differently or putting web sites into trusted/not trusted zones.

Syagate is rule based = the ablility to block specific IP addresses (in or out).

Both are good as a "set and forget" firewall.

To get a feel for them, go to their respective user forums.

ZA: http://forums.zonelabs.com/zonelabs

Sygate: http://forums.sygatetech.com/

Regards - Charles

 

If you're using BlackICE PC Protection, it's as good as anything you'll find out there (GRS notwithstanding). If you're using BI Defender, upgrade.

The question of whether one is actually needed is fodder for debate. IMHO, if one is on a broadband connection such as cable or DSL, it's much more useful than a dial-up connection. The reason is that a script kiddie or hacker wannabe can probe a puter's ports far faster on the high-speed connections. And, the IP numbers are usually static, so that the bad guys can come back to the machine again and again.

A dial-up connection is like swimming in molasses to the creeps. It could take many minutes to probe a box's port, tying up his/her/its machine. Ain't no fun in that!

I'm on dial-up, and I use BI PCP, mostly to keep the pests out. It's most likely overkill, but it's a cozy security blanket.

One thing a user should know is that the vast majority of "attacks" are normal Net activity and don't mean squat. In looking over the attack list, runs with dozens or hundreds of probes are more likely to be zit-faced little punks wanting to get into the box for whatever cheap thrill they get from it.

The best approach is to set the firewall to suppress visual notification and let it do its thing in the background. Then, look over the attack list once in a while to see if any cretins visited. If they did, smile peacefully knowing they got no joy. Clean out the list occasionally so it doesn't become overly ponderous, but other than that, forget about it.

A good AV program with up-to-date definitions is more useful in most cases than a firewall, but running them together gives the extra layer of bricks in the wall.

 

Look here.

 

Thanks Brett for the link to Scripttrap. Have been looking for something like this to add an extra layer of protection on startup.

Regards - Charles