Firewall for the time being?

I knew it was inevitable, as support for Windows 98se and all older versions of Windows is starting to dissipate slowly..

Windows 98/98SE/Me Support Discontinued

Dear Windows 98/98SE/Me Customer,

Zone Labs, L.L.C. supports a balanced, multi-layered approach to security. An important part of this approach includes keeping software updated with the latest security patches.

Support Discontinued
On July 11, 2006, Microsoft will end support for Windows 98, 98SE and Me, which will have the resulting effect of making these operating systems less secure (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/support/endofsupport.mspx). Windows 98/Me are older operating systems, and are therefore inherently more vulnerable to attacks than newer operating systems. Now that Microsoft will no longer provide security updates to these operating systems any PC running them will become increasingly prone to security vulnerabilities.

Accordingly, Zone Labs will cease to support Windows 98/98SE/Me with the introduction of our version 6.5 ZoneAlarm family of products including ZoneAlarm® Internet Security Suite, ZoneAlarm® Pro, ZoneAlarm® Antivirus, ZoneAlarm® Anti-Spyware, and ZoneAlarm®.


Now, I won't be getting a new computer with a new OS for another 4 or 5 months. Can anyone recommend a good firewall that still supports Windows 98se?

 

Hi Lisa.

You could probably keep the version of zonealarm you are using now since it will only be for a couple of months. If you are using just the firewall part of the product there shouldn't really be an issue. You may have to use a different AV or AntiSpyware if you currently use ZA for that too.

Matt

 

Hi Lisa,

My friend has a Win98se computer and is using Jetico Personal Firewall, which can be found in the MG downloads in the Firewalls section.

On another note, why not save yourself the cost of a new computer and just get a WinXP upgrade or full version?

 

>> Now, I won't be getting a new computer with a new OS for another 4 or 5 months. Can anyone recommend a good firewall that still supports Windows 98se? Lisa 171 <<

All of these firewalls listed below are compatible with Windows 98/ME/SE/NT/2000/XP and all are either freeware or come in a free and shareware paid version (at least they were last time I checked!)

As an alternative to ZoneAlarm for the new system, you could try Sygate Personal Firewall Free Edition which was acquired by Symantec Corporation in Oct of 2005 but is available as freeware. Jetico Personal Firewall software provides you with excellent security against hackers who try to access your PC when you are connected to the Internet and supports Windows 95/98/ME, Windows 2000/NT/2003 Server/XP/XP x64 Edition, and Linux operating systems. Outpost Firewall Free is still available as freeware, and supports all MS Windows version (95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT, 2000, XP).

Kerio Personal Firewall has been acquired by another company (Sunbelt), but the "free" version of the product is continued and is compatible with Win 9x/ME. It's also free, and I've found it much less eccentric than ZoneAlarm, with a more straight-forward interface too. There is a free version and a full version. Most so-called "trialware" products can be run in "test function" for about a month or so and then they stop. After 30 days, Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall shuts down selected features, but will continue to run in 'free' mode"

Note: Unfortunately, more and more software companies and developers are ending future support for Windows 98/98SE and Win ME because it's no longer cost-effective for them to continue to do so, considering the fact that these older Windows operating system versions are no longer 'updatable' at the Microsoft site.

Windows XP has been out for about 5 years now and Windows Vista is supposedly just a few months away from being released. Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 have gone pretty much the way of the dinosaurs, and that'll eventually happen to Windows 98/98SE and Windows ME as well.

Somewhat Related Info: At least for the time being; ZoneAlarm "Release History" as well as "Older Version" downloadable installation links are still available here.

Good Luck!

 

I have known and loved Sygate Personal Firewall for some time, but have been migrating away from it, as since the Symantec aquistion, I cannot find any documentation on the product. Do you know where one could find the user's guide, sir?

 

>> I have known and loved Sygate Personal Firewall for some time, but have been migrating away from it, as since the Symantec aquistion, I cannot find any documentation on the product. Do you know where one could find the user's guide, sir? Mada_Milty <<

Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier; on November 30th, 2005 Symantec bought the entire company out and all Sygate personal firewall products were discontinued by Symantec. One of the first things Symantec "buried" almost immediately after they purchased the company was the formerly widely-available Sygate Personal firewall documentation called the "Sygate Personal Firewall User Guide."

After a thorough Google search, I was only able to find a "Spanish Version" of the old user manual/guide.

However, there is an "Unofficial Sygate Help Guide" webpage available here at the Sygate Basics website. The information contained within the webpage there is actually very thorough with great descriptions as well as having accurate and descriptive pictures and is much easier much easier to view than the old Sygate Personal Firewall User Guide PDF file ever was.

Additionally, many freeware websites which list still list "older versions" still lead to something like smb.sygate.com and are therefore unavailable for download.

Fortunately, OldVersion.com has several older versions of Sygate Personal Firewall are available here including Sygate Personal Firewall 5.0 | 5.5.2516 | 5.5.2525 | 5.5.2577 | 5.5.2637 | 5.5.2710 and the very latest freeware version: 5.6.2808

The latest version is also available here at Major Geeks [Sygate Personal Firewall Free 5.6.2808]

Good Luck!

 

Sweeeeeeeeet! That's EXACTLY what I was looking for! Thank you kindly!

 

Thank you all so much for your help. To answer some of your questions, the reason I'm getting a new computer is because, as you can see in my 'specs signature', my computer is really outdated compared to what's out there now, and I don't think it will be compatible with Windows Vista. (I decided to wait for Windows Vista, since as noted above, Windows XP is 5 yrs old already).

My next question is, do any of tha above firewalls still have updates that work on Windows 98se? That will be the key in choosing one. Then again, which one would you all recommend?