Live Chat & Podcast at 1:00PM Eastern on Sunday!
There's no such thing as a stupid question, but they're the easiest to answer.
JoinTour
Login
Search
All Other Software
Tag Cloud
access acer asus bios bsod computer crash desktop dns driver drivers error ethernet excel freeze gaming graphics hard drive hardware hdmi internet laptop malware memory monitor motherboard network printer problem ram registry repair router slow software sound trojan ubuntu 11.10 uninstall usb video virus vista wifi windows windows 7 windows 7 32 bit windows 7 64 bit windows xp wireless
Search
Search for:
Tech Support Guy Forums > Software & Hardware > All Other Software >
Firewall?

Reply  
Thread Tools
STUPIDGIRL's Avatar
Member with 151 posts.
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Experience: Intermediate
20-Nov-2009, 06:23 PM #1
Question Firewall?
What is the best free firewall? and what is the best bought firewall?
Is black ice any good?

STUPIDGIRL
DaveA's Avatar
Distinguished Member with 8,240 posts.
 
Join Date: Nov 1999
Experience: Advanced
20-Nov-2009, 06:33 PM #2
With XP I would say the Free version of ZoneAlarm would work just fine for you.
STUPIDGIRL's Avatar
Member with 151 posts.
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Experience: Intermediate
20-Nov-2009, 06:53 PM #3
OK, I'm downloading zonealarm. Now for the stupid question.......
I have sygate pf can they run at the same time or do i need to get rid of sygate?
Stoner's Avatar
Account Disabled with 47,328 posts.
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Dayton,Oh
20-Nov-2009, 10:25 PM #4
You should only have one firewall installed.
Two can lead to conflicts.
STUPIDGIRL's Avatar
Member with 151 posts.
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Experience: Intermediate
20-Nov-2009, 10:39 PM #5
Thanks for the info. I"ll just run one of them.

STUPIDGIRL
new tech guy's Avatar
new tech guy has a Photo Album
Computer Specs
Distinguished Member with 5,389 posts.
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: NJ
Experience: Intermediate
20-Nov-2009, 11:12 PM #6
Zone alarm free is good but the pro is better, however if you want free id say use comodo firewall, it never did me any harm on xp or vista.
telecom69's Avatar
Computer Specs
Gone but never forgotten with 9,863 posts.
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: West Midlands of England
Experience: Intermediate
20-Nov-2009, 11:42 PM #7
Sygate has not been supported for a very long time now,you should uninstall it asap ...I think that Comodo is a great firewall and of course its free too,I got it after I found that zone alarm was giving me some problems, and I never suspected it ...

3 years ago this month that sygate was taken over by Symantec, and its had no support since then so its massively out of date,you cant update it,but having said that lots of people still use it,your pushing your luck though by using it .....
__________________
Everything comes to him who waits!! but sometimes its a long wait....
The kiss of the sun for pardon the song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer Gods heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth

Last edited by telecom69; 20-Nov-2009 at 11:52 PM..
fairnooks's Avatar
Senior Member with 4,928 posts.
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Experience: Advanced
21-Nov-2009, 06:14 PM #8
Easily the best firewall is a router unless a person is one who will click on links for codecs and uses common file sharing programs; stuff will be led aboard by the hand then and a software firewall might alert you to outgoing (after the battle is already lost) if the malware doesn't just use the same admin rights the person is probably running with to bypass or ignore software detection, especially if UPnP is on, which is also a hole in hardware firewalls if its not disabled. Software firewalls will still block the kiddy scripters that don't know any better, and prompt one for every legitimate call under the sun these days as so much stuff moves into the cloud.
zbd21's Avatar
Member with 473 posts.
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Experience: Intermediate
21-Nov-2009, 07:12 PM #9
Comodo first firewall to earn 100 % score:


http://www.matousec.com/projects/pro...ge/results.php
Hughv's Avatar
Computer Specs
Distinguished Member with 8,360 posts.
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Annapolis, MD
Experience: Intermediate
21-Nov-2009, 10:25 PM #10
What Fairnooks said.
Software firewalls are nothing but a pain to the average web surfer. After a while, the false alarms and obscure warnings are just ignored, completely eliminating any usefulness the firewall may have had.
I don't use one (I do have a NAT router) and I won't support support them for my friends.
Stoner's Avatar
Account Disabled with 47,328 posts.
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Dayton,Oh
22-Nov-2009, 03:37 PM #11
From what I've read, a NAT router can be hacked.
They are useful, but like most security, not 100% fool proof.

I use one.
I also use a software firewall to compliment it.
I also consider browser security, anti virus and anti malware apps at the same time.
I'm even using Sandboxie.

It's rare for me to have a security issue....but it has happened and then I'm thankful for the Acronis drive images that I have made.
Imo, once breached, how certain are you that all malicious script has been identified and removed through scanning apps?
With a known secure drive image, there is no doubt unless the bios or hardware firmware has been hacked( doable from what I read but rare ).


BTW....I have seen my Linksys default to the preset password ( admin )after a power outage. If you aren't aware of that outage, like occurring when you aren't present, that router could be open to a hacker taking control and you'd not know immediately.
At that point a software firewall as a backup makes sense.
Hughv's Avatar
Computer Specs
Distinguished Member with 8,360 posts.
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Annapolis, MD
Experience: Intermediate
22-Nov-2009, 04:26 PM #12
You're right that nothing is foolproof.
I suspect that most people don't have any data worth stealing, and the "hackers" we're talking about are mostly script kiddies fooling around.
In my experience, most PC damage is caused by ignorance on the part of the user and some fairly clever spyware.
For people who are using their PCs for valuable data or nationalsecurity secrets, more rigorous protection is a must. For the rest of us it's unnecessary and cumbersome.
Interestingly, several of my friends have switched to Mac for this very reason, and I don 't blame them.
Stoner's Avatar
Account Disabled with 47,328 posts.
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Dayton,Oh
22-Nov-2009, 05:03 PM #13
I suspect many computer users buy over the internet, do banking and bill paying, not aware that a keylogger installed on them by malware would expose heir names and account numbers to criminal elements.
Don't have to have national security secrets on a computer to be a target.
new tech guy's Avatar
new tech guy has a Photo Album
Computer Specs
Distinguished Member with 5,389 posts.
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: NJ
Experience: Intermediate
23-Nov-2009, 12:03 AM #14
I say yes, your router acts as a good firewall but especially in the case of a laptop that is known to leave the home network a software one is a must. I use comodo on my laptop and it atcually comes with a good set of preset permissions for known applications, so it greatly quiets down the software. Also, in a college you dont just have pointless script kiddies running around, the person next to me may be school age, but a very experienced hacker and be spying on my system at any given moment. So its always good to have the second layer. Also, i figure if the interal network at home is secured it may even help protect those pcs from a worm trying to hop through the lan to the other healthy pcs. Also, i have non technical users running comodo and i hear no complaints about the software from them.
__________________
-new tech guy
OH MY GOSH THEY KILLED KENNY!
Reply

THIS THREAD HAS EXPIRED.
Are you having the same problem? We have volunteers ready to answer your question, but first you'll have to join for free. Need help getting started? Check out our Welcome Guide.

Search Tech Support Guy

Find the solution to your
computer problem!




Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
WELCOME TO TECH SUPPORT GUY! Are you looking for the solution to your computer problem? Join our site today to ask your question -- for free! Our site is run completely by volunteers who want to help you solve your computer problems. See our Welcome Guide to get started.
Thread Tools



Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter TechGuy.tv TechGuy.tv Mobile TSG Mobile
You Are Using:
Server ID
Advertisements do not imply our endorsement of that product or service.
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:01 PM.
Copyright © 1996 - 2011 TechGuy, Inc. All rights reserved.

Powered by Cermak Technologies, Inc.