Windows XP: Firewalls and all that good stuff
Firewalls and all that good stuff
by Captianbreaker - 11/8/05 11:41 PMI just switched from AOL Dial-up to SBC/Yahoo DSL and I know that with faster speeds comes faster viruses and other other crap at the moment I have the Microsoft Windows Firewall, Microsoft Anti-spy, SBC Anti-Spy, SBC Anti-virus, and I also run Spybot, and adaware. I downloaded Zone Alarm on the reviews I read here and found it AMAZIGLY ANNOYING! windows were constantly popping up and I would read it over see it was fine click remember this setting and click allow but they just kept coming so I dont really like that one much are there any other Firewalls that are not so annoying?
Zone Alarm
by crazeebob2000 - 11/8/05 11:58 PM In reply to: Firewalls and all that good stuff by CaptianbreakerIt only asks once for each program if you click " remember this answer" You can go to alerts and logs and turn off the annoying alerts, I do. Its really a good firewall IMHO.
(NT) I agree with crazeebob2000. Don't give up on ZoneAlarm
by linkit - 11/9/05 12:35 AM In reply to: Zone Alarm by crazeebob2000Me too
by MarkFlax
- 11/9/05 12:47 AM
In reply to: (NT) I agree with crazeebob2000. Don't give up on ZoneAlarm by linkit
I found this new version of ZoneAlarm incredibly annoying at first. Not only did it popup with warnings about programs and services trying to access the internet, but also about programs, applications, services trying to access each other.
But once I started to tick "Remember this setting" for those when I understood what they were, the popups started to fall away, and now ZoneAlarm generally sits there in the background like an obedient dog, doing its work and not bothering me.
It still bites me in the butt occasionally though! 
Mark
hmm
by Captianbreaker - 11/9/05 11:25 PM In reply to: Zone Alarm by crazeebob2000I did go to the options area and click a box, I dont remember what it said exactly but it lead me to belive that it would give me less messages, I saw no differce I'll give it another shot but if you think that ZoneAlarm is the #1 free firewall then whats #2 in your opinion? just in case
Ad-Aware
by Captianbreaker - 11/9/05 11:30 PM In reply to: hmm by CaptianbreakerLatley I have been having a problem with ad-aware freezing up on me, it just says its scaning the same file forever.if I click cancle it say that it found nothing when on the previous page it said it did. Every time it dose it the file is differnt so its not just one file, I have re-installed it a couple times and update it regulary. Has anyone else had this problem? or have an idea whats wrong?
Thanks Jacob
Which file?
by MarkFlax - 11/10/05 4:40 PM
In reply to: Ad-Aware by Captianbreaker
Can you tell us which file and what location it is in?
It could be something simple, like a file in your System Restore backup folders that are not easily accessible for deletion.
Try another application to scan your system, like Ewido Security Suite, free to use but in the free version there are less bells and whistles after the first 14 days trial use.
http://www.ewido.com or download.com
Mark
Never the same file
by Captianbreaker - 11/10/05 5:53 PM In reply to: Which file? by MarkFlax
its never the same file, its a differnt file every time sorry for to confusion.
Thanks, Jacob
Adaware & Firewalls
by moonbeard - 11/11/05 9:45 AM In reply to: Ad-Aware by CaptianbreakerCaptain,
Adaware is a great product but not the end all to be all. I also use Spybot Search & Destroy (available free @ CNET Doanload.com). Spybot is a great program and better than Adaware in that it has an "Immunize" feature that blocks the bad stuff BEFORE it can creep into your PC. Bottom line is that each Adaware & Spybot seem to pick up a few items the other misses.
As far as firewalls go, any firewall worth its salt requires some configuration because folks have different stuff programmed & installed on their PC. ZoneAlarm is a good product. Those "pop-ups" are allowing you to configure the firewall on a per occurrance basis. Be sure to check the "remember this setting" box when you respond to its annoying behavior that is trying to help protect you. While many firewall permission requests are legitimate for programs you have installed on your PC, if you have many different files asking for permission to transmit data out of your PC with cryptic names that don't appear to correspond to known software or Windows, then I would be concerned that you have alot of tracking cookies or other spyware trying to send intelligencia back to their minions.
Firewall Recommendation:
Personally, I prefer McAfee Internet Security Suite which contains anti-virus, firewall, and privacy service. It's not free, however, worth the $$ in my "been using personal computers for 25 years" opinion. After using Symantec Norton products for many years, I found them difficult to upgrade and virtually impossible to uninstall without editing the Windows Registry. Life is difficult enough without having to deal with poorly written and supported software.
McAfee Internet Security Suite - Good but for advanced users
by ankitmathur - 11/11/05 11:13 AM In reply to: Adaware & Firewalls by moonbeardHi moonbeard,
I've a dual-boot system with one of the OS being protected by ZoneAlarm & the other by McAfee Internet Security Suite.
Responding to your pick I too kind of agree that McAfee seems to be a pretty good firewall too but though its not giving messages like ZoneAlarm does pretty often it has some other problems like some of your programs or, internet will simply won't work with McAfee Firewall even in standard security esp. in case of Tight Security. This is bcoz in std. & tight security most of the IPs used to access on internet stands blocked. I have to keep a INBOUND APPLICATIONS window of McAfee Firewall open everytime I intend to access internet & time n again allow various IPs that the firewall seems to be registering. Zonealarm doesn't seem to have this particular problem perhaps coz I didn't have to allow IPs every now n then when I work & access from ZoneAlarm OS.
At first I even uninstalled McAfee when I couldn't figure out what actually is the solution of the problem. Of course there was no point having a firewall but still running it in OPEN mode to access internet. Giving McAfee a second chance I happen to figure out this solution. Now though the pace of working seamlessly on internet with McAfee is a bit slow but I'm learning to live with it.
Further, its not that all's too good with ZoneAlarm too. While the annoying ALLOW-DENY windows propped up in the start, now they don't. When I tell ZoneAlarm to remember a setting it does so...:)
However, I was startled to note that zonealarm isn't protecting the identity of my PC as well as I was thinking it to be. This i came to know when I tried running Online Firewall Tests. As of now my zonealarm firewall is running with its default settings. The results were certainly what I wasn't expecting. My IP was always detected. I had some ports closed, while quite a lot were open to communicate with any program that intend to. I'm not a advanced firewall user so it was all going above my head. But one thing I noticed in 4 tests I conducted on different sites was that the bottom-line always was "I'm not totally secured".
I couldn't figure out a way to close those open ports too that my test sites showed to me. So perhaps my best bet is to roam around on net on known & trustworthy sites only & not hop onto any n every site that comes my way.
The debate for the best firewall will keep raging with so many competitors & new technology creeping in quick & fast. But going by the ease of use minus starting pop-ups I'll go with the general opinion for ZoneAlarm.
I'm sure there'll be many users, though using firewalls after reading so much about their usage on internet, are still trying to figure out how to best protect themselves by using the firewall to optimum.
Perhaps if some advanced users of firewall in this forum can help others configure their firewalls that'll be just great. Atleast I'll be oblidged with all the help.
Good day all........
Ankit Mathur
Try Kerio Personal Firewall
by bently - 11/10/05 1:35 PM In reply to: hmm by CaptianbreakerI found Zone Alarm too demanding for me. Don't know half the time to allow or NOT allow. Kerio works pretty good for me.
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_home.html
Ben
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