What firewall do you use?

[adrian]

For you broadband people, what software firewall do you use?

I have ZoneAlarm Pro (I know how to configure it, so I need the advanced features not found in the ZoneAlarm Free version). But I actually don't need a firewall, because my router has a hardware firewall (but you can't be too safe).

[Linkmeister]

I asked the same question this morning in the "Cable v. DSL" thread. I've been using McAfee's virus scan for three or four years with no trouble, so I'm leaning towards their firewall.

[pzarquon]

My Linksys router also seems to put up a pretty strong defense, but I installed the free home version of ZoneAlarm just in case.

Of all things, I rely on it less to tell me when someone's trying to get into my computer than I do for it to tell me when something on my computer is trying to send data out. Though I run AdAware and Spybot S&D fairly often, you'll be surprise how quickly the weed of spyware can take root in your system.

The thing about ZoneAlarm is, although it has a very good rep and it's a very tightly designed product, there's the occasional horror story about how it somehow, mysteriously, clamps down your PC and doesn't let any network traffic in or out. Maybe it's a botched install, or a corrupted file, but the people who've been affected are quite vociferous online.

[Linkmeister]

The thing about ZoneAlarm is, although it has a very good rep and it's a very tightly designed product, there's the occasional horror story about how it somehow, mysteriously, clamps down your PC and doesn't let any network traffic in or out. Maybe it's a botched install, or a corrupted file, but the people who've been affected are quite vociferous online.

Er, is there a suggested solution from Zone Alarm? Yikes!

[adrian]

My Linksys router also seems to put up a pretty strong defense, but I installed the free home version of ZoneAlarm just in case.

Of all things, I rely on it less to tell me when someone's trying to get into my computer than I do for it to tell me when something on my computer is trying to send data out. Though I run AdAware and Spybot S&D fairly often, you'll be surprise how quickly the weed of spyware can take root in your system.

The thing about ZoneAlarm is, although it has a very good rep and it's a very tightly designed product, there's the occasional horror story about how it somehow, mysteriously, clamps down your PC and doesn't let any network traffic in or out. Maybe it's a botched install, or a corrupted file, but the people who've been affected are quite vociferous online.
You can stop all internet activity or engage an internet lock when you suspect that a program is trying to force its way out by shutting down or overriding certain programs. That'll stop anything from entering or exiting from your computer, but if you have broadband, you can disable your connection for a better solution.

I just wish that I can do that to my router when I want to stop people on the network from accessing the internet, and let me go on.

[dick]

Norton's Personal Firewall seems to be working well for me.

[easTTriver]

For you broadband people, what software firewall do you use?

I have ZoneAlarm Pro (I know how to configure it, so I need the advanced features not found in the ZoneAlarm Free version). But I actually don't need a firewall, because my router has a hardware firewall (but you can't be too safe).

if you feel your router's firewall is sufficient then why use zone alarm.

your router's firewall is hardware based, and zone alarm is software based.
zone alarm will increase your latency significantly because there is more overhead with processing.

[adrian]

if you feel your router's firewall is sufficient then why use zone alarm.

your router's firewall is hardware based, and zone alarm is software based.
zone alarm will increase your latency significantly because there is more overhead with processing.
I don't see any difference in speed between using ZA and not using it.

[pzarquon]

I don't see any difference in speed between using ZA and not using it.If you have a relatively good computer setup, I imagine that's true. But before I got her house on a hardware-firewalled network, my mom's PC -- a 800MHz Windows 98 machine -- was definitely hampered by ZA's always-active status. Norton Internet Security was even worse... just launching an empty browser window took nearly a minute.

[Glen Miyashiro]

What exactly does a hardware firewall do, compared to a software firewall? I have a Linksys router; does that qualify as a hardware firewall?

[Serenity]

I use a Sygate Personal Firwall,
That one is preatty good,
for my back up,
I use that: AVG 6.0,
& that : Spybot- Search & Destroy,
Highly Recomended!. :)

[adrian]

What exactly does a hardware firewall do, compared to a software firewall? I have a Linksys router; does that qualify as a hardware firewall?
It depends on your router. You can check to enable it (or disable it) but it's kinda complicated.