Software Firewalls

So what is a firewall? Basically, think of a firewall as a security system for your computer, much like a security system that you have in your home (or should have). It alerts you if someone is trying to ‘break-in’.

The purpose today is to compare several firewall programs – for Windows XP workstation and Windows/Linux OS servers. Since there are a multitude of software and hardware firewall programs I will focus on several of the ‘free’ versions that are available.

th Windows XP (XP), personal firewall protection software is essential for the security and protection of your home computing environment from identity theft. Without it, even a novice cracker (intruder) could easily break into your system and copy your information without the any detection. Personal firewall software is specifically designed to use in a single, personal to lock out the intruders. It should also go beyond XP’s built-in firewall (which only protects from inbound protection) to have features that can block threats possibly already on your computer from communicating with the intruder so that they can't gain access to your personal data. For example, a good program will manage cookies, spyware and viruses. The best will offer filtering to restrict content that you view while on the Internet. So, can we find a ‘free’ version that can do it? Let’s take a closer look at a few. The basic areas that I will be using to rate the firewall programs will be:

· Ease of Use: How easy a program is to use from a computer novice perspective? A novice should be able to understand and use the firewall product without help.

· Ease of Installation: Installation should be simple and fast and require you to uninstall other programs before it will function. It should also be compatible across various OS platforms.

· Reliability: At the very minimum it should keep intruders out and keep your system well hidden while you are online. And your IP address and browser should remain hidden while you browse the Internet.

• Help/Support: The firewall software should give enough instruction for a computer novice to set up the product without help. The manufacturer should also have help online to answer common questions.
• Price: Of course it should be free.

I compared two of the top-rated personal firewalls for use with Windows XP. Tables A and B depict comparison details.

Comodo Free Firewall

Summary: Comodo Free Firewall secures against both internal and external attacks. Has leak test protection and blocks Internet access to Trojans. This software will protect against identity theft and integrates well with Windows security center.

ZoneAlarm Firewall (Windows 2000/XP) 7.0.362 free edition

Summary: An effective and easy-to-use firewall program, ZoneAlarm does a great job of keeping your PC safe from a variety of threats. ZoneAlarm uses a simple wizard to make configuring a firewall incredibly easy even for the novice.

Tables A & B

Shows that Zone Alarm gets a slight edge based on ease of use. If you are interested in viewing a whole flux of leak testing, I invite you to check out Matousec's set of leak tests for anti-leak features of the most popular personal firewalls.