What type of firewall do you use?

Outpost Firewall Pro (commercial)

My ISP DSL SpeedStream 6520 modem has a built in firewall so I only use the Windows firewall just so that the Security Center does not nag at me that I am un-protected.

Good old Windows XP firewall for quite some time now.

Windows Firewall at the moment but soon when I upgrade my Internet connection to support my PS3 and any other gadget in the house I'll have hardware firewall protection too.

Hardware firewall is my main defense with Comodo mostly to control outbound.

Comodo has Defense Plus Host Intrusion Prevention System.

Online Armor

I thought I would try Comodo firewall on my XP Pro SP3 system and I must say that I am totally un-impressed!

1. It installed the Ask toolbar without my permission and prior knowledge that it would be installed and activated.

2. It detected several false positives such as SDFIX.exe that I had downloaded myself and a Microsoft Windows SP3 fix.

I only let it run for a short while until I became totally disgusted by the false positives it found.

I eradicated it from my system.

I have read about Comodo's rampant false positives but I am amazed at how true the claims are.

By the way, I do not like a software based firewall as it is a total waste of system resources and so says a MBAM developer in a 10 minute video that I wrote about in the CCleaner forum:
http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=17348

For both the Firewall and HIPS it uses about 10 megs of ram on my XP and Vista systems.

ISP provided hardware and good ole "Winders Far Wall".
davey

That reminds me of an old Christmas joke.

The three wise men attend the baby Jesus and present their gifts and are gathered around when Joseph asks "How come you wealthy folk attend here with your clothes all covered in soot and grime?" Where one of the magi replies "We came from afar followin yonder star."

Its a big hit down in the US Southern States at Christmas time.

Comodo Firewall

I use Comodo Personal Firewall. Seems nice 'n solid.

I use ZoneAlarm (Free) as software firewall on all LAN PC's.

2Wire ADSL Gateway Modem Router> "hardware firewall".
Windows XP> "software firewall".

10-18-08:

I Used (On 5 Different Computers ) Zone Alarm Firewall---Free Version----Latest Version 8.0.020.000 Since Its Beginning----Never Any Problems...I Recommned It --- Have Installed It On Friends Computers...

Vincent Auto

I use ZoneAlarm Firewall and i recommended it. The free verson provides advance features and the pro verson is even better.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLZ READ THREAD - http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=18359

I think Symantec's overrides my Windows, and it has been fine.

AJ

I use Comodo Software Firewall, recently supplemented by Netgear Modem/Router/Firewall.

The Netgear Modem gives better speed than the Thomson Speedtouch I previously used.

Given perfect security, and freedom from errors by users, nothing nasty should come on-board.
If any keyloggers get in, or if the P.C. is recruited into a BotNet army, software Firewalls give much better protection against "outgoing" than hardware firewalls.

I like the fact that the hardware Firewall uses zero computer resources to block most of the attacks.
BUT I have more confidence in Comodo.

I have read that Hardware SIPS give more stringent protection than Software without SIPS.
I do NOT trust SIPS.
My Comodo rules are quite restrictive, but they never interfere with legitimate traffic.
The only time a software download failed was when I tried to update the Netgear Wireless adapter.
I discovered that Netgear tried to download to a port different from the port I used to request the update.

I then found that if I initiate an outgoing link to an IP address, any packets from that address are considered by the hardware to be replies to an outgoing request, and hardware lets them through - even if they are the wrong protocol. It even allows incoming ICMP just because of an outgoing TCP or UDP packet. I strongly suspect that anything aimed at a Privileged Port would succeed in taking over my P.C.
The Comodo Firewall has a stricter policy - the reply has to be aimed at the port that issued the request, and it has to be the same protocol, otherwise it is NOT a reply to outgoing, but is an unrequested incoming that should be blocked.
I am careful what sites I visit, and avoid any which Google warns could damage my computer, BUT when a site is first infected Google will not warn, and I think that Hardware SIPS will welcome any malware that is available, BUT Comodo will protect me.

Regards
Alan

I use Avira Security Suite which has a antivirus and a firewall. I don't think the firewall is highly rated, but I thought it would be best to use both from the same company so there would be no conflicts.

I'm now using a hardware firewall with Windows Firewall.

Running on Windows 98 - PII - 450mhz. A Firewall is not an option. I need keep what little bit of resources I have free .

Actually I don't use a firewall, but the good old windows firewall is turned on. (otherwise the security center starts naggin' again... ) I like to use as few system resources as possible

I use my hardware firewall (router is WRT350N) and the built in Vista one. I tried a ton of freeware ones and always had problems with them so I just 86'd them and went to stock and couldn't be happier.

I don't use firewall but my Windows XP Firewall is turned on and I use Kaspersky for security.

Now for a REALLY stupid question - and, please, don't laugh

I access the internet via a wireless (Netgear) router - do I need another firewall - assuming the router acts as one in the first place? Currently I use Zone Alarm Free.

This just shows the limit of my computer knowledge!

kaybee, the only stupid question is the one that is not asked.

How about reviewing the comments in this topic.

Have a look at:
http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=19530

We all learned from reading other people's experiences.

YoKenny - thanks very much for that

A Comodo software firewall protects me.

Recently a Netgear Wireless Router / Modem was added.
This gives a better connection speed than the Speedtouch modem I previously used.

Netgear is set to allow "outgoing only",
but I was amazed at the incoming it also allowed which should have been blocked.

I have a dynamic IP address, so some days I inherit what was used by a more social animal,
and the Comodo logs would show many incoming attempts from his Peer to Peer and Bit Torrent friends trying to resume yesterday's experiences.
Far less often, I would get hit by a trojan army - perhaps 50 incoming attempts from different IP addresses within 0.2 Seconds, and repeated at 5 second intervals with a totally different set of IP addresses. Both old Comodo 2 and new Comodo 3 blocked perfectly, but old Comodo 2 would take a high percentage of the CPU cycles unless I disabled logging - it was actually simpler to disconnect and reconnect to the ISP and my old IP address became some-one else's problem

Netgear removes much BUT NOT ALL of the burden of the above from the software firewall (and the CPU cycles),
so I still NEED the software firewall for maximum security.

I have lost count of the number of software packages I downloaded trouble free (before and after the Netgear addition).
The first Netgear Router software upgrade was no trouble at all.
The second Netgear Wireless adapter upgrade just would not happen.
I inspected the Comodo log and found it totally blocked an INCOMING from the Netgear web-site.
I had to tell Comodo to permit INCOMING for that particular web-site, and then I got the upgrade.

The problem is that hardware firewalls assume that if you make an outgoing connection to an IP address,
then they should not only accept replies to your connection, they also accept anything else (including malware) which that IP address decides to stuff down your throat.

I have just downloaded CCleaner ccsetup215.exe
Comodo shows that a TCP Out transaction from my port 1438 to Piriform 72.21.207.132:80 sent 872 bytes out, and received 3.1 MBytes in as a reply to the same port. Every time I download anything from anywhere, I can receive megabytes coming in as a reply to the port from which I sent a fist full of bytes to make the request.
Because Windows gave Firefox an unused port (e.g. 1438) any incoming packets go direct to Firefox to handle the download, and Comodo (and also Netgear) accept this as as a reply on an outgoing connection.
That always happens with whatever port happens to be allocated by Windows.

The only download problem was the Netgear Wireless upgrade. I sent the fist full of bytes from port e.g. 2345, and Netgear web site tried to stuff the update down my port 2346. I don't know the details of FTP, but I guess that is what they aimed for.
The netgear firewall permitted this in-appropriate download aimed at a port which had NOT been allocated to Firefox, but fortunately Comodo blocked it.

I am really glad that Comodo blocked it. I had the minor inconvenience of a delay investigating and then altering a firewall rule - but I also got peace of mind.

Had Comodo NOT been present, then Netgear would have allowed uncontrollable stuff into a port over which my legitimate applications had no control. The consequences could have been :-
illegitimate malware could have first acquired that port (2346) and now been waiting for this damaging payload;
Windows might have taken "default" action over incoming to an unallocated port, and the default with a "privileged port" is to allow a total stranger to take over your computer ! !

Netgear not only allows incoming packets to the wrong port, it allows the wrong protocol also.
Netgear blocks ICMP which includes Echo Requests - mostly.
I found that some internet speed test sites send echo requests to me, and Netgear allows them through, and only Comodo stops them (I have to set specific permissions for the sites to which I wish to echo).
Some web sites will respond to a Ping, which helps strangers observe internet delays etc.
Other web-sites do NOT because a computer can be infected by specially crafted ICMP messages.
I wish to be like a secure internet banking web-site, and have Comodo block unwanted ICMP messages.

A few weeks ago M.S. revealed an exploit that had been in the wild for several months, and the last "out-of-cycle" security patch has mitigated the danger.
I believe an "SQL Injection Attack" could compromise a web-site so that visitors could be infected.
I do not know the details, but I assume that when that danger exists :-
Hardware Firewall will NOT protect when visiting an infected web-site;
Software Firewall WILL protect from an infected web-site (unless it is a reply with the same protocol to the same port number).

I believe :-
The Netgear Router/Firewall/Modem gives me better speed on the Internet, but does not block anything which would not be blocked by the software firewall;
My (software) firewall protection fends off any infection from unintentional connections/downloads.

Any download containing malware that I may be tricked or re-directed to will get through the firewalls.
Once downloaded malware is initiated, my anti-virus should inspect and detect and block before it gets into the system.

If malware gets through, I have lost control (what little control Windows allows a humble administrator ! ), and :-
Hardware can do nothing for me - it cannot distinguish Firefox or a new keylogger/trojan making an outgoing connection;
Software knows if any application is authorised to make a connection, and if not will block it;
so even if malware has stolen my identity and credit card numbers, it cannot "phone home" with my details.
(In addition, Comodo does not only stop bad stuff in both directions, but also will block a keylogger etc. from merely gathering information - long before the keylogger tries to phone home.)

I feel I am better protected by having a software firewall.

I am not complacent, so remain alert to any unexpected changes in how my system behaves.
I fear I could be at greater risk from a Security patch impairing the system or making it unbootable,
which is why I always wait a day or two after Patch Tuesday to see if there are any casualties,
and then before unleashing the patch I create a fresh disk image just in-case.

The last time I had a virus was before the internet, when my younger son would get home from school before I left work, and he had copied from his friends more games onto a box of 5.25 inch floppy discs.
Every other weekend I had to re-install DOS 3.13.
Been there, done that, not doing it again ! !

Perpetually Paranoid
Alan

Wireless Routers/Firewalls are vulnerable, especially if the Wireless link is not encrypted adequately.

WEP is not adequate.

Also WAP is not adequate according to http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/?p=708

I use WAP2 so I have no fear - yet ! !

When WAP2 is broken then a neighbour MIGHT steal some of the bandwidth supplied by by ISP.

I assume my hardware firewall "protects" my computer only from malware delivered by my ISP,
and any wireless hack could enter my computer direct via the wireless without the hardware firewall being aware of it.
This is yet another reason for continuing to use a software firewall that protects both my Ethernet and wireless connections.

Regards
Alan