best vista firewall

[Tbag]

I'm running the Vista firewall at the moment because i'm not sure which firewall to use that compatible with Vista and wouldn't clash with my Kaspersky & Malwarebytes and not to be hard to configure.

There's 2 firewalls that I'm thinking about getting, Comodo or Online Armor.
I know that theres Comodo users but is there any Vista Online Armor users that reccomend it?

thanks

[Des]

I use Comodo on all my machines including my Vista one. I run Vista x64 at home and have been using the Comodo x64 firewall since they first made it available. It can have a bit of a learning curve, but it has'nt let me down.

The one time I accidentally ran some malware on my machine it prevented the nasties from getting out to invite their friends. Saved me from a much bigger headache!

My 2cents.

--dES

[Tbag]

Have you had times where it doesnt remember things you gave access to?

[Des]

That was definitely seemed to be an issue with earlier builds of Comodo, but I would say that in the past year or so they have gotten that under control. Biggest recurrence I get is when I update something like the Opera browser and I get an alert for new pemissions, but I think that is related more to changes in the programs core than to Comodo issues.

--dES

[Tbag]

Thanks for the input

Just waiting for some Online Armor feedback to compare

[wtsinnc]

For what it's worth:

My Vista (Ultimate) install does not include SP 1. With that in mind;

I'm currently running the Vista-compatible Online Armor firewall (ver. 3.3.3.190) and I'm finding reduced performance- my computer is running slightly slower and pages are loading slower.

As of right now, if I had to make a choice, I'd go with either the Sunbelt ver. 4.0 or the Zone Alarm free version for Vista. I have used both and of all of the firewalls I've used, those two seem to run the best for me.

As for Comodo, it tends to get either super reviews or is panned severely; there seems to be very little in between. For me, Comodo version 3 has never performed to my liking as it becomes too intrusive and always forgets most of the permissions assigned to applications and tasks. For those who can get it to work properly, it could very well be the best firewall, free or paid, out there.

If you're behind a router, you might want to consider just adding a good HIPS; eliminating a software FW can often improve overall performance dramatically.

[Tbag]

I was under the impression that ZoneAlarm didnt work too well with Vista for a load of reviews

[wtsinnc]

It works for me.

[Poppa_Meth]

Zone Alarm works okay on Vista, it just isn't a very good firewall anymore. It has had a few problematic releases on Vista though. I use Comodo on just about all my rigs. It does it's job well but yes it can be overly intrusive and it gets annoying after a while. I just spent 10 minutes in Installation mode installing a new program that would have taken me 30 seconds without Comodo installed.

[INFRATOM]

I recommend COMODO but when you go to their website to download you'll find out if they are compatible it says which version and all ... install all of them and try it, if you didn't like it uninstall.

[redwudz]

I'm running Comodo on three Vista computers and on a couple of XP boxes. No real problems. I only tried a early version of Zone Alarm with Vista and it didn't perform too well. But I'm sure they fixed that in newer versions. Comodo can be intrusive, but it has also blocked a lot of problems for me. I have also used the older Syquest firewall, but it's not as thorough as Comodo.

I've found the Vista Firewall to be mostly useless. It only blocks incoming packets, nothing outgoing. That means that any malware that is installed is free to 'phone home' whenever it wants. So, IMO, any add on firewall is better. BTW, and also JMO, but Defender seems more than useless and it has never yet blocked or found anything.

My method is with several layers of protection. First a hardware firewall in the form of a router. Then a software firewall, Comodo in my case. Then a decent anti-malware program. I use Avast, but there are others. Then a couple of anti-trojan programs. I use Spybot S&D and SpyWare Blaster.

It's all freeware.

The best way to be safe is to be aware of where you are going on the net and what you download.

[Poppa_Meth]

redwudz, ditch spybot and try superantispyware and malwarebytes. Spybot is outdated tech. Just a suggestion.

[wtsinnc]

Hi;

I'm still evaluating the latest version of Online Armor's firewall on my Vista install and don't want to change anything as of now. Just curious; has anyone tried the latest PC Tools Vista compatible FW (version 4...?) ?

I just wonder how good it might be; effectiveness, bugs, etc.

[Tbag]

thanks everyone might give Comodo a go

[Tbag]

Hi;

I'm still evaluating the latest version of Online Armor's firewall on my Vista install and don't want to change anything as of now. Just curious; has anyone tried the latest PC Tools Vista compatible FW (version 4...?) ?

I just wonder how good it might be; effectiveness, bugs, etc.

How has Online Armor been so far?

[reboot]

Buy a router.

[grossjamesh]

I agree with Reboot. I gave up on SW Firewalls.

[Tbag]

What? Using a wireless router means you dont need software firewall

It shows how much I know :P
I have this btw http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0663388996.122409...rmationSection

[Lucifers_Ghost]

I'll echo some of the sentiments in here already, Redwudz in particular.

I have two machines (not networked). My main PC and another one for goofing around.

My main pc has a router (hardware FW), Comodo (software FW), McAfee AV, and a few spyware programs. All are set to run and update overnight. I rarely, if ever, have a problem. The biggest thing to note is know where you are surfing.

Which leads me to my other PC. Often times I will surf on the 2nd pc just to see what happens. You would not believe the amount of times I get infected with stuff (there is nothing installed on it in terms of protection).

Be careful and be diligent. You should be ok.
LG

[grossjamesh]

I dont use wireless routers. All routers have NAT and ping answer off.
I live by these simple rules:
1. Never open an email from someone you dont know.
2. Never open a file you dont know its history or have not virus checked.
3. Never visit a web site with a history of infections.
4. Use a good AV suite.
5. Keep an uninfected GHOST backup of the computer on external media i.e. DVD, tape, unconnected HD.

I have never had an infection. I have caught infected files.
The AV SW scans the computer each day at 4:00 AM.

[SanderMan]

I use PCtools Firewall Plus. It's good and free. Get it while you can, because symantec recently bought the company..... Also a Router wont tell you about outgoing connections.

[Poppa_Meth]

Online Armor is extremely good. I didn't realize they finally had a Vista version available.

[wtsinnc]

Tbag;

The best answer I can give to your question so far is that I'm mildly disappointed with the new Online Armor firewall. I'm experiencing a general slowdown versus the PC Tools FW and individual pages definitely load slower. It isn't a severe difference, but it's there !

Perhaps it's a "horsepower" issue; my computer is slower than yours, but it's still all relative. What runs slower on my computer will probably run slower on yours.

By the way; I've used IE 7, Firefox 3.0.1, and Chrome. The biggest difference in speed (OA vs. PC Tools) was with IE 7, but across the board, OA was slower every time including boot-up speed.

FYI: I've just visited the PC Tools website and I see they now have for download a version 5. I'm using version 4.

[dessieclive]

Rising Firewall is vey good

[isogonic]

i have not tried this on vista so cant really say much about it. may try it one day just for giggles. there is a free version. its a third party app that offers more control over vistas built-in firewall

http://sphinx-soft.com/Vista/index.html

more about vista firewall:
http://members.rushmore.com/~jsky/id34.html

[johns0]

i have not tried this on vista so cant really say much about it. may try it one day just for giggles. there is a free version. its a third party app that offers more control over vistas built-in firewall

http://sphinx-soft.com/Vista/index.html

I use Vista Firewall Control,tried comodo and it blocked certain games even tho i allowed them access.

[reboot]

At the risk of repeating myself...For the hassles and probable slowdows you'll get with any software firewall, buy a router. Wireless users, set up WEP or WAP security, and toss your software FW.

[Tbag]

At the risk of repeating myself...For the hassles and probable slowdows you'll get with any software firewall, buy a router. Wireless users, set up WEP or WAP security, and toss your software FW.

What? Using a wireless router means you dont need software firewall

It shows how much I know
I have this btw http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0501928023.122426...&category_oid=

I have WPA btw.

[wtsinnc]

FWIW;

Just in case anyone's interested in the new PC Tools firewall, version 5;
I downloaded and installed it from the PC Tools website yesterday and with Vista (no Service Pack) and XP Home Edition (SP 2), I see no difference whatsoever in boot-up or surfing speed (page rendering).

At first glance, I see nothing new in the way of features.

At this point, I haven't read the changelog.

Just thought you might like to know.

[wtsinnc]

Addenda to my previous post:

When I stated that I saw no difference in boot-up or surfing speed, I was comparing it to the PC Tools version 4 F/W.