Best free firewall for free antivirus? (1 Viewer)

I am using Win XP, and it comes with a firewall, which I have never really done anything with.

friend got a virus, even though he had Norton on his system, and later was told that a firewall would have helped him.I heard that if you are using free anti-virus, that it is better to use the free Zonealarm firewall

then the WinXP firewall.

Was your friend's Norton out of date?


First thing - check with your ISP - they may offer something as part of their package. It is in their best interest to have their customers protected.


I use Comcast Cable for my internet at home and they include the complete Norton suite with updates for every PC connected through their network, all you have to do is download and install it. Previously with other ISPs I've had similar experience.

I use Comodo which is free, have no idea if it is good or not but I haven't had any problems so far...


Jay

Microsoft Security Essentials. http://www.microsoft.com/securityessentials it doesn't expire after a year, etc. it is good forever, updates frequently, uses minimal system resources and works more effectively then some paid antivirus.

I used Zone Alarm for several years, until it gave me some problems running applications on one of our two home PC's. Now I just use the built-in Microsoft Firewall (Windows 7) along with an external firewall / wireless router. Even with the external firewall, I still like to have a software firewall of some sort running on the PC for additional protection.


For anti-virus, I have never been a fan of Norton's products. They are resource hogs, and cause more issues than they prevent sometimes. I've been using the free version of AVG for several years now with no problems.

There is some good information here on security:

http://www.mechbgon.com/build/security2.html


Along with AV software (MSE, Nod32, Kaspersky, etc) use the built-in firewall included in Windows. However, from what I seen, 3rd party software firewalls tend to cause more problems then they solve.


You definitely want to be behind a internet router using NAT and a SPI firewall, which I believe pretty much all routers do these days. Even if you aren't sharing your internet connection at home with more than 1 computer, it is still a good idea to put yourself behind one of these things.


You may also want to check out ShieldsUp! to test your system - https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2


Also on that site, if you are really interested in computer security, check out the Security Now! podcast:

https://www.grc.com/securitynow.htm


-Keith

Originally Posted by mattCR

Microsoft Security Essentials. http://www.microsoft.com/securityessentials it doesn't expire after a year, etc. it is good forever, updates frequently, uses minimal system resources and works more effectively then some paid antivirus.

Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. I've been using it on all my machines for almost a year. It works great and the price is right!

This antivirus rigmarole is one of the reasons I bought a Mac three years ago.


(Yes, I'll be that guy. )

Not free, but I believe every home router has a hardware firewall built-in. I have my Airport Extreme Base Station for firewall use. If you've got that, is there any need for a software firewall?


For Windows, I've been using AVS Free for years for an anti-virus. I have it installed in Windows XP on my Mac's BootCamp / Parallels partition.

Router firewalls only protect from incoming dangers between the network and the internet. Only requested incoming packets are allowed be default. But they are useless in protecting computers on a network from themselves or other infected computers.

I use free Avast! antivirus.

I have used F-Secure - which is provided free by my internet provider. My folks do also. I never open attachments and so far have had no problems on my computer. My kids computer and my parents computer have both received unwanted programs (virus/spyware) and I can only guess they are opening files and/or installing freeware which they should not.

I have found that once these programs are installed F-Secure becomes useless and so does any other remedy I can find. (Spybot, AVS, etc). I most often have to do a system restore or nuke the hard drive to get rid of the unwanted program. This is frustrating to say the least...

I have a router firewall plus I use the built-in Windows firewall. I also use Symantec for anti-virus and Spybot S&D and Ad-Aware for malware, spybots, etc...

What about me,i use ProteMac NetMine http://www.protemac.com/NetMine/
(for mac).It's firewall for Mac.It's helps me a lot,for protect my Mac.

yeah, I prefer to use ProteMac NetMine ( www.protemac.com ) too...