[SmithsonGA]

Question

I just got a new XPS420 and it came with Trend Micro..so i am using that anti-virus but currently not the firewall. I am using the included Windows firewall. I used to use Comodo's free firewall. Which is my best/most secure solution? I noticed that Comodo would pop up all the time asking permissions for programs that must be accessing the internet in some other method than before as I had approved them before. A bit of a bother, is it that much more secure?

2nd, my wife's computer is a XP MCE system and is only running the microsoft firewall. She would not understand all the Comodo warnings/questions. Is the Microsoft firewall OK or is there a different free one that is more secure but equally less invasive?

We do have a good router as the entry point for our network.

thx!

[lotuseclat79]

Checkout: http://www.firewallleaktester.com and follow the link in the left-hand column for LEAK TESTING to get to the Leaktest scoreboard explanation web page. Go to the bottom of the web page and click on the button, View Results, which brings you to a web page of three different test results of a number of firewalls, ranking them according to the test criteria:
1) Firewalls outbound application filtering VS Leak Tests - WIN 2000/XP
2) Global firewalls 'outbound application filtering' ranking - leaktest score (in %) based on the scoreboard
3) % of leaktests BLOCKED

Note: Vista and XP firewalls do not monitor outbound blocking by default as yet. I do not know if WinXP SP3 will add this or not.

Firewalls usually go through a learning curve to deal with programs you normally use in order to give them the permissions they require. The query phase then attenuates downward after a while. One thing you can do is to go to the Wilders Security Forums website and look at the Other Firewalls subforum for configuration information with regard to your chosen firewall(s).

-- Tom

[SmithsonGA]

thanks.

Looks like the best performing firewalls are not free (imagine that).

I may try the Jetico or stick with Comodo for free as of now.

thanks for the links and info.

[golferbob]

i have used comodo for almost a year and have no problem with the last updated one ,3.15.

[Gizzy]

the older version of comodo (2.4) did alert you with the same pop up more than once but I believe they fixed that with the newest version it'll remember your answer but it does give you more pop ups because of it's hips feature,

in those tests on that firewall site the paid ones did better then but those tests were done almost 2 years ago the firewalls in those tests have changed since then,

as of for a firewall with not too many pop ups I've actually been looking for one to put on a friends pc if you're behind a router with NAT turned on or better yet one with SPI turned on and you don't care about outbound traffic then the windows firewall should be fine, otherwise one I've been looking into but I have not tried yet is the free PC Tools Firewall Plus the description in their site says "Intelligent automatic protection without all the questions." http://www.pctools.com/firewall/

as of for myself I'm currently using and like very much the newest version of Comodo Firewall Pro. http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

[golferbob]

here is a website about leak test and to compare.


http://www.matousec.com/projects/win...ewalls-ratings

[AV1611]

I would reccomend using Comodo. Often, the file description says whether the application is safe or not.