[BlueEyedFox]

My Mother and Grandma use the computer alot but, THey dont have a good firewall. Something like Zonealarm with so many alerts isnt good for them since they get annoyed with that kind of stuff. What is a good firewall that isnt too complicated?

[tomdkat]

Which version of Windows are they running?

Peace...

[BlueEyedFox]

One of them is running professional and one of them is running home

Both have McAfee Antivirus ( Which I plan to replace with Kasperky )

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by BlueEyedFox

One of them is running professional and one of them is running home

Are they running Windows XP or Windows Vista?

Peace...

[BlueEyedFox]

Oh, Thats what you meant. Lol.

XP Home and XP Professional

[tomdkat]

The Comodo firewall is highly regarded and frequently recommended. Some have switched to it from ZoneAlarm. Check it out.

Peace...

[BlueEyedFox]

Does it create alot of alerts?

[tomdkat]

I don't know, I've never used it. I'm sure other Comodo users will fill in the details.

You can turn off the ZoneAlarm alerts but then they won't know if ZoneAlarm is blocking something it shouldn't be blocking.

Peace...

[BlueEyedFox]

I dont want to turn off alerts, I just want to keep them to a minium, With zone alarm alot of the time I have alot of alerts for programs espically during installation

Comodo vs Zonealarm for Usability without sacraficing protection by alot

[tomdkat]

Yep, I'm tracking with you. Actually, you should NOT be getting TONS of ZoneAlarm alerts all the time. This is what I would do, if I were you:

1. Go into ZoneAlarm and delete ALL of the defined programs
2. Run each program that is permitted to access the Internet one at a time
3. When ZoneAlarm displays an alert for a program you run, check "Remember this setting" and click "Allow".
4. Deny access for ANY apps you didn't explicitly run, if prompted for them. DO NOT check "Remember this setting" for these actions.
5. Reboot the system

That should define ALL of the currently installed apps to ZoneAlarm. Then, when an app is updated, ZoneAlarm will prompt for that. If you're getting TONS of ZoneAlarm alerts after doing this, scan the system for viruses and spyware since something ELSE is running that possibly shouldn't be running.

Now, there will be some Windows services and background processes that will want to access the Internet and you'll have to figure out which ones of those are legit and which ones are not. How do you do this? Write down the executable ZoneAlarm identifies as wanting Internet access and do web searches on them to see what they are.

Others who have Comodo experience should be able to answer any Comodo questions you might have.

With regard to the ZoneAlarm alerts, what kinds of programs is ZoneAlarm issuing alerts about so frequently?

Peace...

[BlueEyedFox]

I get tons of Zonealarm alerts during installations and uninstallations.

My main issue is if there downloading a program and like 5 alerts pop up thats annoying or unsintalling.

for example, when I download AOL i need to be over the computer because like 10 alerts come up from diffrent tmp files

Regular everyday programs, i dont get stuff from.

[blues_harp28]

Links worth checking.
http://www.matousec.com/projects/win...ts-results.php
http://www.matousec.com/projects/firewall-challenge/

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by BlueEyedFox

I get tons of Zonealarm alerts during installations and uninstallations.

Well, that's understandable since the installers and uninstallers tend to run once and tend to NOT be pre-defined to the firewall.

I don't know how a firewall like Comodo would handle such activity.

Peace...

[stantley]

You could also try Online Armor, it's a little easier to use than Comodo and rated just as high.

[BlueEyedFox]

I think I'm going to go with Zone Alarm Security Suite Plus Nod 32 just maybe Zone Alarm settings will be lower

I have:
Zone Alarm Security Suite
NOD 32
Malwarebytes
Counterspy
SUPERantispyware

as a team, they are great.