Need a filewall, and maybe an anti-virus

[Jumpman]

Yeh, agree with the above post - Comodo is probably the best standalone firewall and highly configurable.

[Hairbautt]

Great no one's mentioned the ones I will. I've been using it well over a year now.

I am a sucker for software that looks really cool and professional and is effective to boot, all of which can be said about this one. From what I’ve read in multiple sources the level and sophistication of this software’s protection is very high.

Comodo Firewall Free (now change to Comodo Internet Security) it comes with the firewall, and AV, if you don't want the AV you don't have to install it....but Comodo firewall is great, if you choose the Firewall to "custom" policy it will ask you on every program that connects to the internet if you want it to or not. It will even show the "ip" it's going to along with application details...and it has program defense, like if your on the internet and say a website downloads a program without you knowing, which could happen, Comodo will pick that up and ask if you even want anything to change on your system. The firewall is the "free" firewall out there. It's the highest rated on CNET and PC Magazine.

http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/index.html

SonsOfBitches has it right here.

COMODO, ftw. All-in-one, free solution with a very active community. For both advanced and basic users. Not fully Windows 7 compatible tho' (not yet anyways).

[SonsOfLiberty]

It is, you just have to know how to install. Right click the installer, go to compatiability, Run as Vista SP1, and then at the bottom run as Admin, click ok or apply, and install....all done, I'm using it fine in Windows 7, if you don't do the steps above, the it will install, but the firewall service will never start.....

BTW, I might be a son of a bitch, but I don't have 2 moms...and my mom isn't a bitch at all....you need a new haircut your starting too look bitchish.

[zot]

Good discussion about firewalls ... just thought I'd throw my hat into the ring
...............................

Although Netlimiter is better known as a traffic shaper, it also makes a decent firewall. (Maybe not as advanced as top-line firewall software, but certainly a lot better than the Windows built-in firewalls.)


An exceptionally well-designed firewall for P2P users is Online Armor (tallemu.com) --for example, this the only firewall I know that supports IP blocklists.

Blacklists Tab

Online Armor supports the import of Blacklists in the "Bluetack" format. Online Armor will block any connections to or from the IP addresses on the Blacklist(s).

You may add multiple blacklists and give them a name for easy identification. Selecting the "Default (All Rules)" option configures Online Armor to apply the blacklist to all rules automatically. In the Advanced mode rule editor you may override these settings on a per-rule basis.

You can Import and Export your blacklists by right-clicking any entry in the Blacklists.

You can also manually Add, Delete, or Edit individual entries in each blacklist with the corresponding buttons below.

Another useful feature for P2P users is that Online Armor can also blacklist/whitelist by country. (How many other firewalls can do this?)

Online Armor was rated as the "best firewall" by Scot's Newsletter last year.

http://blog.scotsnewsletter.com/2008...-online-armor/

The bad news is that Online Armor is not widely known - so you won't find many --or possibly any-- cracked copies.

[SonsOfLiberty]

Good discussion about firewalls ... just thought I'd throw my hat into the ring
...............................

Although Netlimiter is better known as a traffic shaper, it also makes a decent firewall. (Maybe not as advanced as top-line firewall software, but certainly a lot better than the Windows built-in firewalls.)


An exceptionally well-designed firewall for P2P users is Online Armor (tallemu.com) --for example, this the only firewall I know that supports IP blocklists.

Blacklists Tab

Online Armor supports the import of Blacklists in the "Bluetack" format. Online Armor will block any connections to or from the IP addresses on the Blacklist(s).

You may add multiple blacklists and give them a name for easy identification. Selecting the "Default (All Rules)" option configures Online Armor to apply the blacklist to all rules automatically. In the Advanced mode rule editor you may override these settings on a per-rule basis.

You can Import and Export your blacklists by right-clicking any entry in the Blacklists.

You can also manually Add, Delete, or Edit individual entries in each blacklist with the corresponding buttons below.

Another useful feature for P2P users is that Online Armor can also blacklist/whitelist by country. (How many other firewalls can do this?)

Online Armor was rated as the "best firewall" by Scot's Newsletter last year.

http://blog.scotsnewsletter.com/2008...-online-armor/

The bad news is that Online Armor is not widely known - so you won't find many --or possibly any-- cracked copies.

Most if not all P2P appz have the feature built in, just add the .dat and your good to go, and technically Comodo handles them, but it takes a minute to get used to it.

You can still use the free version, there's some difference.
http://www.tallemu.com/free-firewall...-software.html
http://support.tallemu.com/vbforum/s...ead.php?t=8569

[Frankthetank1]

http://www.sphinx-soft.com/
used for vista 64 and very very easy to use.

[lynx]

I'm not going to speculate about which is best, there are good and bad points with most so it is subjective as to which suits your activity pattern.

On the other hand, I get plenty of calls asking if I can improve the performance of peoples PCs. First question is if they have Norton/Symantec or McAfee (and lately AVG) installed. If the answer is yes, the next question is are they willing to use a different product (which they have to pay for). If the answer to the second question is no, I politely tell them that I would be wasting my time and their money, so I don't want the job.

If these products even did a half way decent job it wouldn't be so bad, but the number of undetected Viruses/Trojans I've come across after replacing this crap is almost unbelievable.

And uninstalling them after you've realised your mistake? Good luck with that too.

[Frankthetank1]

I also agree I have never paid for software. The best ones are free.

I'm not going to speculate about which is best, there are good and bad points with most so it is subjective as to which suits your activity pattern.

On the other hand, I get plenty of calls asking if I can improve the performance of peoples PCs. First question is if they have Norton/Symantec or McAfee (and lately AVG) installed. If the answer is yes, the next question is are they willing to use a different product (which they have to pay for). If the answer to the second question is no, I politely tell them that I would be wasting my time and their money, so I don't want the job.

If these products even did a half way decent job it wouldn't be so bad, but the number of undetected Viruses/Trojans I've come across after replacing this crap is almost unbelievable.

And uninstalling them after you've realised your mistake? Good luck with that too.