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Software Firewall

H

HoffY

Gawd
Joined
Mar 7, 2005
Messages
940
Hi All,

I've been trying to configure Windows 7/8 Firewall to be as secure *and* as informative about whats trying to access the WAN and have come to the conclusion that its not capable unless you run a third party application to do some of these tasks. I'd love to just use Windows Firewall to have my system have one less extra application running, but alas i think i may have to bite the bullet to have the extra features of a software firewall i remember from way back when i used ZoneAlarm.

So in short... does anyone have some experience with good quality Software Firewalls currently? I really don't want to install something that is a bloated piece of crap. Just a minimalistic, well developed application. Is ZoneAlarm any good nowadays or has it gone the way of the "Norton / McAfree Bloatware" route? It doesn't have to be free software, if its worthy of a purchase i will do so. Please any recommendations would really help!

Thank you very much ta! :)

PS. I have looked at Windows Firewall Control and Windows 8 Firewall Control. They seem ok but if i'm running another utility well i could just use a full blown standalone firewall and have (hopefully) extra functionality and ease of use. I basically want everything blocked unless i want it through but i'd like to know if something tries to access the WAN so its easier for me to let applications through easily.

I will also be leaving my ADSL Modem/Router's hardware firewall on but i'm not sure if it stops outbound applications from simply phoning home and reporting usage statistics and whatever other info they think they can get away with farming.
 
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It sounds like the Windows Firewall should work fine for you.

If there is a specific interface you like, then install what you're comfortable with - but the "Windows Advanced Firewall" in 7/8 should be more than enough for blocking applications you don't want to give access out.
 
Windows built-in Firewall these days is pretty damn powerful for being software based. Zone Alarms is pretty much a joke compared to what they used to be. Comodo is what a lot of people are using. Light weight, free, fast, and feature rich.

The problem with Windows Firewall is configuring it can be quite daunting even with someone who was experienced working with say, Zone Alarms in the past.
 
I grabbed Comodo not long after i posted to see if it was worthy the time and effort. So i'll try that for a while. I'd love ot just use Windows Firewall but it just seems to lack the notification on outbound. And thats a big help becaue i often you get software that has multiple files that try to dial out and you may want a certain feature to work and others not... and its so much easier when you're notified at that time as you usually know what its trying to do thus the decision is quite simple and easy to make. Windows Firewall doesn't seem to block everything. Certain actions still seem to wwork even though i havent "unblocked" them. Now this may well be my lack of knowledge on WF but i've got one or two brain cells floating around so i'm sure i'm not that bad with it. Its just the Ui and lack of a few outbound notifications that stump me. Oh and the fact that i'm not 100% sure i'm blocking EVERYTHING accept what i want when the UI doesnt give said feedback on applications making attempts to access.

Thanks guys i'll see how i go. I did like the methods of ZoneAlarm back in the day. But alas.. it does appear it went the way of the extinct bloat-free software of old!
 
Comodo is the only firewall I have found that does enough, it is also a full blown HIPS.
You get control over what gets access to Windows resources including networking and you get fine grained control over how it uses the network as well.
 
Sounds like it's def worth a look at. I'll give it a try.

Some of the things you mention Nenu, are things i remember being able to have excelent control of with ZoneAlarm years ago. I was able to let something serve on the LAN but stop anything coming in from the WAN and all sorts of things like this. I will be using it in a network that has multiple WAN's on a domain and i'd like to be able to controll what software can use what connection. Whether that is possible i'm not sure yet but i'll make sure i have "normal" firewall type control first before i go for the other stuff i'm after.

Cheers!
 
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