Vista - Free Vista Compatible Firewall?

Can anyone recomend a free Vista compatible firewall. I used to use Comodo
but i believe it is not Vista compatible yet?
James

There is nothing wrong with Vista's own built in firewall. Unlike XP's
firewall, the new Vista firewall scans both incoming and outgoing traffic. I
have always used the free versions of Zone Alarm with previous versions of
Windows, but with Vista I haven't even bothered installing a third party
firewall. I have simply stuck with the Vista firewall. I haven't had any
problems with it.

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
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use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..

"James Truelove" <james.truelove@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:u8PkDudgHHA.3852@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Can anyone recomend a free Vista compatible firewall. I used to use Comodo
> but i believe it is not Vista compatible yet?
> James

"James Truelove" <james.truelove@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:u8PkDudgHHA.3852@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Can anyone recomend a free Vista compatible firewall. I used to use Comodo
> but i believe it is not Vista compatible yet?
> James

As John said the Vista firewall includes outbound connection filtering. You
can download an add-on for the Vista firewall called (appropriately) Vista
Firewall Control (there's a free version and a payware version) which
creates an interactive layer that pops up permissions requests for
applications when they first attempt an outbound connection. See link
below:

http://sphinx-soft.com/Vista/index.html

I found this a bit too simple though and am currently using PC Tools
Firewall Plus which is very stable on my system. It is Vista compatible
freeware and is constantly being improved. It supports advanced
"rule-making" which enables you to target and tighten the filtering. I like
the Comodo firewall too, but unfortunately Comodo has not even released a
Vista compatible beta yet (coming in May). ZoneAlarm does have a Vista
compatible beta, but as always you use beta software at your own risk. Hope
some of this is useful to you. Link to PC Tools Firewall Pro below:

http://www.pctools.com/firewall/

Thanks for advice
James
"Victek" <abc@xyz.com> wrote in message
news:epaTbqegHHA.1220@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>
>
> "James Truelove" <james.truelove@btinternet.com> wrote in message
> news:u8PkDudgHHA.3852@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> Can anyone recomend a free Vista compatible firewall. I used to use
>> Comodo but i believe it is not Vista compatible yet?
>> James
>
> As John said the Vista firewall includes outbound connection filtering.
> You can download an add-on for the Vista firewall called (appropriately)
> Vista Firewall Control (there's a free version and a payware version)
> which creates an interactive layer that pops up permissions requests for
> applications when they first attempt an outbound connection. See link
> below:
>
> http://sphinx-soft.com/Vista/index.html
>
> I found this a bit too simple though and am currently using PC Tools
> Firewall Plus which is very stable on my system. It is Vista compatible
> freeware and is constantly being improved. It supports advanced
> "rule-making" which enables you to target and tighten the filtering. I
> like the Comodo firewall too, but unfortunately Comodo has not even
> released a Vista compatible beta yet (coming in May). ZoneAlarm does have
> a Vista compatible beta, but as always you use beta software at your own
> risk. Hope some of this is useful to you. Link to PC Tools Firewall Pro
> below:
>
> http://www.pctools.com/firewall/
>
>
>

The only free firewall out so far for Vista seems to be the one from PC
Tools, and it has been very problematic. I don't know if the latest release
may have fixed the serious bugs it had.
http://www.pctools.com/firewall/

As John Barnett noted Vista's firewall has a 2 way capability. However,
this is disabled by default (a point that MS never mentions when hyping it
as an improved security feature). It is also less user friendly than the
better free firewalls have generally been. See this link for more
information.
http://searchwindowssecurity.techtar...247138,00.html

--
"James Truelove" <james.truelove@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:u8PkDudgHHA.3852@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Can anyone recomend a free Vista compatible firewall. I used to use Comodo
> but i believe it is not Vista compatible yet?
> James

why did ms disable the 2-way capability of vista' firewall?

how do I enable it? is there a reason why I should not enable it?

in what way is vista's firewall "less user-friendly," and are you saying
that there are better firewalls available? if yes, then how can I disable -
or uninstall - ms's firewall and replace it with another, given that I have
installed ms's onecare package?

I will read your link and ask further.

thanks

--


/s/ Neal Weissman
(212) 591-1531
"GTS" <x@y.net> wrote in message
news:ulc0KjfgHHA.596@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> The only free firewall out so far for Vista seems to be the one from PC
> Tools, and it has been very problematic. I don't know if the latest
> release may have fixed the serious bugs it had.
> http://www.pctools.com/firewall/
>
> As John Barnett noted Vista's firewall has a 2 way capability. However,
> this is disabled by default (a point that MS never mentions when hyping it
> as an improved security feature). It is also less user friendly than the
> better free firewalls have generally been. See this link for more
> information.
> http://searchwindowssecurity.techtar...247138,00.html
>
> --
> "James Truelove" <james.truelove@btinternet.com> wrote in message
> news:u8PkDudgHHA.3852@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> Can anyone recomend a free Vista compatible firewall. I used to use
>> Comodo but i believe it is not Vista compatible yet?
>> James
>

"James Truelove" <james.truelove@btinternet.com> wrote
> Can anyone recomend a free Vista compatible firewall. I used to use Comodo
> but i believe it is not Vista compatible yet?


In my opinion, you don't need a 3rd party firewall in Vista. There are many
improvements to it from the XP firewall.

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

On Wed, 18 Apr 2007 19:05:44 +0100, John Barnett MVP wrote in
<news:ORFuuQegHHA.4188@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>

> There is nothing wrong with Vista's own built in firewall. Unlike XP's
> firewall, the new Vista firewall scans both incoming and outgoing traffic. I
> have always used the free versions of Zone Alarm with previous versions of
> Windows, but with Vista I haven't even bothered installing a third party
> firewall. I have simply stuck with the Vista firewall. I haven't had any
> problems with it.

The Consumers Association ("Which") here in the UK made a similar mistake
in reporting the outbound traffic was being checked. When there is a clean
install of Vista (even an upgrade) the outbound firewall is *not* on by
default. If you load the firewall configuration plug-in at the "Run" box
by typing "wf.msc" this disability can be seen.

--
Mike Tullett - Coleraine 55.13°N 6.69°W posted 19/04/2007 07:50:29 GMT

See inline

"nweissma" <nweissma@covad.net> wrote in message
news:0658B26B-EFFC-446D-BF08-C1BA147A3741@microsoft.com...
> why did ms disable the 2-way capability of vista' firewall?

Probably because it might have been confusing to less knowledgeable users
who are not used to having to manage permissions. There's some truth to
this and it may arguably make sense, but MS misled the public into thinking
it was in fact functional, in order to hype it as a security improvement in
Vista.

> how do I enable it? is there a reason why I should not enable it?

That is answered in the second link I provided. You should not enable it if
you are using MS Onecare becasause that includes a firewall with outbound
functionality. (It probably interacts with or is a front end to the Vista
native firewall.)

> in what way is vista's firewall "less user-friendly," and are you saying
> that there are better firewalls available? if yes, then how can I
> disable - or uninstall - ms's firewall and replace it with another, given
> that I have installed ms's onecare package?
>
As I understand it the Vista firewall doesn't prompt for program permissions
though there's an ad-in to enable that. Also, it's not all obvious how to
enable it and configure permissions.
Again, if you are using Onecare, don't also add a 3rd party firewall. Use
one or the other.

> I will read your link and ask further.
>
> thanks
>
> --
>
>
> /s/ Neal Weissman
> (212) 591-1531
> "GTS" <x@y.net> wrote in message
> news:ulc0KjfgHHA.596@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> The only free firewall out so far for Vista seems to be the one from PC
>> Tools, and it has been very problematic. I don't know if the latest
>> release may have fixed the serious bugs it had.
>> http://www.pctools.com/firewall/
>>
>> As John Barnett noted Vista's firewall has a 2 way capability. However,
>> this is disabled by default (a point that MS never mentions when hyping
>> it as an improved security feature). It is also less user friendly than
>> the better free firewalls have generally been. See this link for more
>> information.
>> http://searchwindowssecurity.techtar...247138,00.html
>>
>> --
>> "James Truelove" <james.truelove@btinternet.com> wrote in message
>> news:u8PkDudgHHA.3852@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>> Can anyone recomend a free Vista compatible firewall. I used to use
>>> Comodo but i believe it is not Vista compatible yet?
>>> James
>>
>

"GTS" <x@y.net> wrote in message
news:ulc0KjfgHHA.596@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> The only free firewall out so far for Vista seems to be the one from PC
> Tools, and it has been very problematic. I don't know if the latest
> release may have fixed the serious bugs it had.

PC Tools Firewall Plus 2.X initially had a bug that caused the firewall to
block all traffic when enabled, but that was fixed months ago. There have
been numerous updates since then to improve the firewall, however users
should be aware that this firewall is rules based and requires more user
input then ZoneAlarm to work optimally. For instance, my computer is behind
a router and a cable modem, so I needed to make rules allowing the router
and modem IP's access to the computer. That was easy enough for me, but
someone without basic knowledge of TCP/IP might have a problem. It easy
though, to turn OFF PC Tools Firewall Plus (and turn the Windows firewall
back ON for protection), restore internet access and get support from the PC
Tools forum.