Firewall opinions please.

I am currently using Mcafee personal firewall, which I got as part of my MSN/Verizon DSL package. Is the Zone Alarm free firewall as good as this one? The Mcafee security center seems to be slowing my computer down.
Thanks.

 

Zone Alarm is the best in my opinion. I see no other firewall out there that does what it does for free. You get most options, but a few super high security settings are disabled. It is what I use. Sometimes I refer to McAfee and Norton as viruses because they are such resource hogs and root themselves that they are very hard to remove completely when you want to. If you are running a full version of McAfee that is the same as the version that people pay for, it MAY have more options than Zone Alarm. I am unfamiliar with it and with what exact version of it you are using.

 

Zone alarm is a solid firewall. But many people dislike it for its very picky, and needs much training before being super useable. I have used the free version of zonealarm, and it worked great. Macfee firewall im not sure about, haven't heard of it or seen it/used it. If your computer is running slow, you might run through the malware guide (http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407) and see if you have malware issues.

 

I have used Zone alarm pro and the free version, they both are far better than any Mcaffe or Norton products. These products also come pre loaded with spyware & trojans.

 

Give it a rest Pile. You have no clue what you are talking about. frankjc is looking for an honest and helpfull answer not bullshit from you.

 

This is incorrect. Anyone reading this post, please disregard it.

PrivatePile, posting incorrect information such as this is a serious offense here. You have a PM.

 

my sincerest appologies to everyone for the comments about Mcaffe & Nortons, I respect this website and meant no harm with the mis-information. I have had problems with both of these progams & was a little displeased. Please forgive my ignorance, it will not happen again.

 

Hello, Frankjc

I have used Zone Alarm free for quite some time on all my machines, and have no qualms with reccommending it as an effective software firewall.

Prior to Zone Alarm, I used Sygate Personal firewall and found it effective - and slightly easier to use then Zone Alarm. Problem is, Symantec swallowed the Sygate people up and the freeware version of the firewall is no longer supported or being updated that I know of. The last version here at MG dates back to 2004. I am no expert in the longevity of a firewall so the age of the free version may not make that big a difference - but it is something to keep in mind.

Since you mentioned DSL, I also reccommend using a router that functions as a hardware firewall. Even if you don't intend to LAN more then one computer together, in my opinion it's a bad idea to plug your machine straight into the modem. Using a properly configured router in addition to a properly configured software firewall on each computer connected to it is a pretty secure set-up.

 

Thanks for the information. I am going to try the free Zone Alarm.
One more question: should the windows firwall be turned off?

 

It will turn off automatically if another firewall is detected. NEVER use more that one firewall. It will cause conflicts between them and cause system problems as well as make neither firewall effective.

 

no it doesn't, goto your control panel and disable it under security center.

 

Last time I checked when I installed Zone Alarm, Windows firewall showed message and disabled. Was a while ago when I reinstalled OS and had to go online to download ZA. But on my system at least, it disabled and I did not manually.confused

 

Thanks again