[FUBAR-BDHR]

Need a decent FREE Firewall for Vista 64.  Anyone have any ideas?

[Herra Tohtori]

Comodo Personal Firewall.

It seems they're offering antivirus functionality as well, but I'll stick with avast! for now and see if the Comodo antivirus becomes a viable option.

[karajorma]

Damnit! I read that as Farewell for Vista 64 and got my hopes up.


I'm using Comodo on XP and it's pretty good so far.

[Jeff Vader]

Comodo Personal Firewall.

It seems they're offering antivirus functionality as well, but I'll stick with avast! for now and see if the Comodo antivirus becomes a viable option.

Agreed.

[Mongoose]

I've just been using the default XP firewall; I can't imagine that Vista's would be any worse.  Works for me.

[haloboy100]

Yeah. It's the trojans that kill.

[Herra Tohtori]

I've just been using the default XP firewall; I can't imagine that Vista's would be any worse.  Works for me.

Well... it blocks incoming unwanted packets all right, but does nothing when a program already on your PC makes a connection to internets, possibly hooking your PC as a part of a botnet, sending spam-mail or sending keylogged information away. So it does nothing to prevent an un-noticed infection from spreading further or to prevent damage from an infection.

If you do take care of what comes to your PC otherwise, what you install and so on, it's not a problem and Windows firewall can be a sufficient soft firewall solution, but many people who only use the default Windows firewall definitely do not take care of that, haplessly installing and clicking OK to things that pop up on their screen. Or someone using your PC as a guest might do so (though if they are on Guest user profile, the amount of damage they can do is limited... though woefully less limited than on Unix user system), and you wouldn't know of it. But if you have a firewall that blocks unwanted, outgoing connections, you will notice something is wrong.

[MP-Ryan]

Buy a good router with NAT.  Enable the Vista firewall.  Install Avast!

Security in 3 easy steps.

Seriously, there is no need for a software firewall provided you shell out the cash for a half-decent router AND configure it correctly.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

3 words:  Not my computer

I got Comodo installed and it looks good enough for who I'm installing it for. 

[Mongoose]

I've just been using the default XP firewall; I can't imagine that Vista's would be any worse.  Works for me.

Well... it blocks incoming unwanted packets all right, but does nothing when a program already on your PC makes a connection to internets, possibly hooking your PC as a part of a botnet, sending spam-mail or sending keylogged information away. So it does nothing to prevent an un-noticed infection from spreading further or to prevent damage from an infection.

If you do take care of what comes to your PC otherwise, what you install and so on, it's not a problem and Windows firewall can be a sufficient soft firewall solution, but many people who only use the default Windows firewall definitely do not take care of that, haplessly installing and clicking OK to things that pop up on their screen. Or someone using your PC as a guest might do so (though if they are on Guest user profile, the amount of damage they can do is limited... though woefully less limited than on Unix user system), and you wouldn't know of it. But if you have a firewall that blocks unwanted, outgoing connections, you will notice something is wrong.

I'm the only one who uses my computer, and I know enough not to run unknown executable e-mail attachments, so I feel like I'm pretty much safe as-is.  I do connect through a wireless router, but I honestly don't have the foggiest how it's configured; network setup is one area where I still have little-to-no knowledge.  I just didn't feel like dealing with a separate program (ZoneAlarm) for my firewall, and it was starting to cause several issues, so I decided to ditch it.

[Fury]

Buy a good router with NAT.  Enable the Vista firewall.  Install Avast!

Security in 3 easy steps.

Seriously, there is no need for a software firewall provided you shell out the cash for a half-decent router AND configure it correctly.

True that.

Unfortunately people who need a software firewall also don't know jack **** how to use it properly, so its pretty much wasted.

[S-99]

If comodo ends up being too much of a pain which it can depending on where it goes. Then there's zonealarm for vista too. Vista firewall is one serious upgrade to xp firewall. It is a great port blocker. But, like most of us here. We like something more automated. At least i do, i don't always know what all of what i should block is going to be.

[pecenipicek]

i have an old PC acting as a router/firewall with the IPCop linux distro, which is connected to an 8 port switch. Cheap, effective and customiseable as hell, + COMODO internet security suite (the free deal, firewall, antivirus, on-access scans and so on) for application control and weeding out **** that gets through due to my idiocy.

[edit] i'm on XP x64

[S-99]

Ipcops a good one. So is pfsense. I've seen ipcop before. I didn't get to see pfsense until i required that administration of a motel network i built with my friend be handed over to someone else because of other stuff like college. I came back during this summer and the crappy d-link router got replaced with a POS old computer. But, it was running pfsense, and was way better than a 40$ d-link router.

[pecenipicek]

it always is. old PC + firewall/routing distro + switch pwn consumer-grade routers...