ZoneAlarm Vs PC Tools Firewall Plus.

[sillybuttons™]

I have been getting repeated malware intrusions since I got Norton360 and have decided to stop using on account that its crap. I am going back to AVG Free and a separate firewall. I have been looking around the internet and getting as much info on free firewalls as I could find and found that Comodo, ZoneAlarm and PC Tools Firewall Plus are the most recommended. Unfortunately Comodo, it seems, isn't compatible with AVG Free 8 so that leaves me two choices. What would the EoFFers recommend out of the two?:mog:

Edit - I'm using Win XP w/ SP2 (in case it helps)

[Balzac]

Windows firewall is perfectly fine :/

[sillybuttons™]

Windows Firewall is not perfectly fine. Look here.:mog: Comparison of firewalls - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_firewalls)

[rubah]

I like to not use a firewall, but that's just me.

[Shoeberto]

My reccomendations: Throwing tools at your PC in hopes that they'll stop everything is futile, since they're always two steps behind what's out there. It's much better to have a method of preventative maintenance by using more secure programs and less risky PC use.

For example, use Firefox instead of IE. Use Google to do all of your searches, since it has a built-in filter to prevent people from going to reported attack sites. Don't use MSN, AIM, or YM clients, which tend to be exploited to send viruses - use a client like Trillian or Pidgin, which have a lower chance of being used for attacks. If you use P2P apps like Soulseek, never, ever ever ever ever download any .exe file, ever. And of course be wary of any e-mail attachment, ever, if it's an .exe (many e-mail clients won't even let you open it). From there you should have regularly scheduled antivirus and spyware scans.

I didn't use a firewall for years when I was on Windows, but by using more secure programs I was able to avoid problems. Also, gonna move this to Help.

[Yamaneko]

Don't use software firewalls. Get a router and have it block requests for all incoming ports except for the ones needed by p2p or http apps. Turn off UPnP and use Firefox. If you really want to use IE then download IE7. It's a lot safer than IE6.

[crono_logical]

Depends what you want the firewall to do - block people outside connecting to your machine, or block stuff on your machine connecting out. If it's the first, as Yams said, don't bother with a software one (on windows anyway - rules change with linux) then and let/get a router do that for you :p Software firewall's mainly useful for the latter only - I still use Kerio for that, despite it being fairly old now.

As for AVG Free, I'm a bit wary about version 8 what with it's recent inbuilt DDoS functions (though I think that might now be removed as of yesterday's updates) - I stick to either AVG 7 or no antivirus on my machines and rely on common sense and sensible habits, prevention is better than a cure especially with some of the worst stuff out there which most anti-virus software can't deal with anyway :p

[sillybuttons™]

I'm using Firefox and I use Google for all searches and I have a scanner that scans sites and shows me the results in google before I even click the link (but I believe AVG Free 8 does this too). I want a 2 way firewall (which both these are). I'm going to use a firewall and I'm going to use AVG Free 8 these aren't up for discussion. I keep my browsing habits to just a few sites that I use often. I know what I'm doing. I want to know which of these firewalls are the best out of the two but I'm open to other suggestions with regards to firewalls.:mog:

[Rostum]

Do not use AVG. Do what Yamaneko says. Also use Firefox and the NoScript add-on, and get some decent lists. That way you can control exactly what loads on a page.

Warning from a respectable forum:
"Community alert! — The LinkScanner component of AVG Anti-Virus 8.0 is causing undue load on popular websites such as Whirlpool, and wastes your bandwidth. If you (or anyone you know) use any AVG products, we urge you to consider superior alternatives such as Avast, Avira, and others."
- SlashDot (http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/03/1411254)
- The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/26/avg_disguises_fake_traffic_as_ie6/)
- Whirlpool Forums (http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1006623)

Avast is very good, by the way, I'd suggest using it if you want a software firewall / anti virus. It's free for personal use (not a trial) but have to pay for commercial use.

[o_O]

Windows Firewall is perfectly adequate for nearly anything you want to do. Software firewalls are all terrible, anyway. I've never had reason to want to know when 15 pings are blocked. :p
Hardware firewalls, on the other had are pretty difficult to exploit, so they're the best option.

Antivirus software is a waste of time as well, in my opinion. If you're sensible about what you download/run and where you download it from then you don't have anything to worry about in terms of viruses. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of resources that a lot of them consume.

If you're going to use one though, Nod32 is good, as is AVG. You'll get negative reviews on anything you try, so I'd just recommend you go with whatever you think looks the best.