Firewall for W7.

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Hello. I’m new to this forum and have been bouncing around reading a bunch of informative posts.
I just was reading in somebody’s new book about W7. It seems to be aimed at novices like me.
I was reading about outbound control using the W7 firewall and thought I was making progress understanding it until I got to the end of that section.
That’s when the author tells me the W7 firewall interface is enough to make people cry etc..

I’d like to find an easy to use inbound/outbound firewall to use with W7.
I’d be using the book’s guide to making rules for whatever firewall I get.
The rest of my security is Avira Premium, Defensewall, Keyscrambler free, Sandboxie on demand, Shadow Defender on demand and Shadow Protect Desktop for imaging. I’m behind a router with a hardware firewall.
Thanks for any help.
jst42daytoo

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Hello. I’m new to this forum and have been bouncing around reading a bunch of informative posts.
I just was reading in somebody’s new book about W7. It seems to be aimed at novices like me.
I was reading about outbound control using the W7 firewall and thought I was making progress understanding it until I got to the end of that section.
That’s when the author tells me the W7 firewall interface is enough to make people cry etc..

I’d like to find an easy to use inbound/outbound firewall to use with W7.
I’d be using the book’s guide to making rules for whatever firewall I get.
The rest of my security is Avira Premium, Defensewall, Keyscrambler free, Sandboxie on demand, Shadow Defender on demand and Shadow Protect Desktop for imaging. I’m behind a router with a hardware firewall.
Thanks for any help.
jst42daytoo

I use only the Windows 7 firewall. Since you have a hardware firewall and other reasonable protection as long you do not visit know bad sites you should be fine with the Windows firewall.

Joe

--Joe

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I use only the Windows 7 firewall. Since you have a hardware firewall and other reasonable protection as long you do not visit know bad sites you should be fine with the Windows firewall.

Joe

Thank you.
But I would prefer to use a different firewall if I can find a good one.

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Thank you.
But I would prefer to use a different firewall if I can find a good one.

ZoneAlarm free firewall is often recommended here – see this page and use the button on the left! All ZoneAlarm products appear to be specified for Windows 7.

(I use the ZonaAlarm Security Suite so cannot speak specifically about the free firewall, but I believe it has the same attributes as that in the suite.)

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ZoneAlarm free firewall is often recommended here – see this page and use the button on the left! All ZoneAlarm products appear to be specified for Windows 7.

(I use the ZonaAlarm Security Suite so cannot speak specifically about the free firewall, but I believe it has the same attributes as that in the suite.)

A quick caveat that Zone Alarm has been known to cause problems with Windows Vista. This may not be a problem with Win7, but if you start getting Blue Screen failures, it may be worth swapping to an alternative (I swapped to Comodo).

It’s a shame, because I find ZA very easy to work with, with a very straightforward interface and the logs are clear enough to help me know when network problems are firewall related.

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Thanks everybody for your help.
I’m also looking at Online Armor and PC Tools firewall.
Regards.
jst42dayt00

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Thanks everybody for your help.
I’m also looking at Online Armor and PC Tools firewall.
Regards.
jst42dayt00

I use zone alarm extreme security.
Version 9.0. had Vista Issues, that appear to have been resolved in 9.1.008

Always been good for me.

Just about to install Windows 7 Ultimate on a Laptop with ZoneAlarm on it,
so we’ll see how it goes.

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Just about to install Windows 7 Ultimate on a Laptop with ZoneAlarm on it,
so we’ll see how it goes.

Don’t forget to completely uninstall Zone Alarm before upgrading Windows! You can reinstall it after the upgrade. Use RevoUninstaller (free download) to make sure Zone Alarm is completely removed before the upgrade.

-- rc primak

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I’d like to find an easy to use inbound/outbound firewall to use with W7.
I’d be using the book’s guide to making rules for whatever firewall I get.
The rest of my security is Avira Premium, Defensewall, Keyscrambler free, Sandboxie on demand, Shadow Defender on demand and Shadow Protect Desktop for imaging. I’m behind a router with a hardware firewall.
Thanks for any help.
jst42daytoo

I agree that Zone Alarm Free is easy to use and does not require a lot of configuration. Personally, I use the Comodo free firewall (none of their Internet Security, and uncheck the Toolbar during installation). Comodo can be very simple, and has pre-set rule sets for most types of persistent pop-ups. (In Zone Alarm, you have to go into the program and edit a table to get the same degree of control.)

But as everyone says, with Windows 7 and a hardware firewall at the router, you don’t really need an additional third-party software firewall. And for anti-virus, Microsoft offers Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). No real need for anything more with Win-7. Perhaps also scan with Malwarebytes Free if you want real peace of mind.

The point is, Windows 7 (and Vista) are not as vulnerable to many types of malware as previous Windows versions. I would concentrate my security efforts on the Browser, not the Operating System. In other words, use Firefox, don’t load up with too many Extensions, and do include NoScript in your Extensions.

Use Secunia Personal Software Inspector (a free desktop application) to alert you to when other programs and plug-ins (JAva, Flash, etc.) need updating. This is an important part of securing your computer, and most folks overlook it.

Keep it simple and you will be much happier. Have fun with Windows 7 — it really is an improvement!

BTW, Woody Leonhard’s book is called the Windows 7 For Dummies All-in-One Reference, and there’s a link to it (at Amazon.com) on the top page of Woody Leonhard’s Windows Patch Watch in the side-bar. This is the reference you heard or read about, and I would never use or install Windows 7 without it. Plain English with Woody’s usual wit and insight — I highly recommend this book.

-- rc primak

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The built in Firewall that comes with Windows 7 is must better, than the earlier versions and appears to work.

I am running a 64 bit machine and OS, and I have not found any of the third party firewalls, that state that they work with a Windows 7 64 bit OS. They just say Windows 7, BUT, does that mean BOTH 32 and 64 bit, and how can we be sure?

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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The built in Firewall that comes with Windows 7 is must better, than the earlier versions and appears to work.

I am running a 64 bit machine and OS, and I have not found any of the third party firewalls, that state that they work with a Windows 7 64 bit OS. They just say Windows 7, BUT, does that mean BOTH 32 and 64 bit, and how can we be sure?

A quick Bing Search shows that the Internet is buzzing about Beta firewalls for Vista (and Windows 7, since the two OS versions have virtually the same security requirements) 64-bit editions, from Zone Alarm and Comodo. The two firewalls are still in the development phase, but Beta should mean that they are both near public release. I wouldn’t be surprised to see 2010 editions of both free firewalls in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions for Windows 7. Probably very soon.

One more thing — both Zone Labs and Comodo label their 64-bit firewalls as Vista-64. But both companies state in their forums that their 64-bit Vista firewalls are perfectly safe and work well in 64-bit Windows 7. Anyway, that’s what the companies say.

Beta testers do not report any major problems with the Comodo or Zone Alarm Betas. But this does not mean there are no glitches. And it does not guarantee that any 64-bit firewall actually works as advertised. Independent lab testing is still not complete as far as I know.

But there is not that much 64-bit malware out there. No rootkits, and very little else. That’s as of today — things can change quickly. The built-in Windows 7 firewall should offer adequate protections until the third-party companies catch up.

-- rc primak

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….I was reading about outbound control using the W7 firewall and thought I was making progress understanding it until I got to the end of that section.
That’s when the author tells me the W7 firewall interface is enough to make people cry etc..

I’d like to find an easy to use inbound/outbound firewall to use with W7….

[*]Then again, trying to work with ZoneAlarm was more than enough to make *me* cry. Before Vista, I used to use Sygate Personal Firewall[*]The Win7 firewall – in the AdminTools subsection of the Control Panel – is very much the same as the Vista firewall. It will accept a set of rules exported from a Vista install[*]Other than the switch in defaults – between Allow and Deny – there is no real difference in configuring Outbound & Inbound Rules

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Zone Alarm free firewall will not work with either Vista or Win7 64 bit. Only works with 32 bit. Be sure and check because other firewall (even paid ones) will not work on 64 bit systems. With that said, if you are going to purchase one, you might check on NOD 32 Security Suite(which I use) or NOD32 antivirus if you just want an antivirus program. Both are very good and very little hassle. You can only get them from ESET.com

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Zone Alarm free firewall will not work with either Vista or Win7 64 bit. Only works with 32 bit.

What he said – also be aware (and to my knowledge this only applies to Zone Alarm) their free product is not as effective as their paid for version. I’ve seen various tables round the net that show this to be the case.

FWIW – Tall Emu’s Online Armor, Comodo’s and BitDefender are all W7 capable. There may be others but these I know.

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I stand by what I posted earlier. Zone Alarm and Comodo both have fully-functional 64-bit firewalls which are now certified for Windows 7. Comodo is free, but for Zone Alarm 64-bit, you may have to go with their paid Pro version. Reviews, including at least one at PC World, have been posted on major web sites since September, 2009. Go to the download site for Comodo Internet Security (which includes their firewall) and you now must choose either 32-bit or 64-bit, and Windows 7 is one of their listed supported Operating Systems. The two Loungers who posted here otherwise are out of date, I am afraid. Try a Google search before offering your wisdom next time. That’s not what I did, since as a Comodo Firewall user, I get the Comodo Insider Newsletter from Comodo every month. That’s how I found out that Comodo does indeed cover Windows 7 64-bit. But it was still beta last I read.

-- rc primak

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Running win 7 64 bit here and both Comodo and Avira work fine

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I recommend AVG 9.0 Free or paid versions because the User interface is User Friendly. Either will work with Win7-32 or 64 bit. Just be aware that when the AVG contract term has 30 days left to run it may disable your PC with messages that your AV software is out of date.

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May I suggest “Windows 7 Firewall Control” by Sphinx Software.

Has “External network connection (firewall/router) box support” (from website)

http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/?from=Windows7FirewallControlPortable

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Windows 7 Firewall do exactly what you want. It may not be easily configured. But like DR Green has recommended Windows7 Firewall Control makes it alot easier. I was using it up until 2 days ago when I decided that I wanted HIPs protection as well. Windows 7 Firewall isnt third party software based so your guaranteed maximum compatibility with your Windows OS and other Windows based programs. Your also not giving up un-needed resources.

If your still opposed to Win7 Firewall consider reading this thread Ive created here to help novices out like you:

http://lounge.windowssecrets.com/index.php?showtopic=769764

If you want just a basic light firewall check out Look’N’Stop, Rising Firewall, and the one Im using now PC Tools Firewall Free. PC Tools is very light on system resources and earned the best possible rating at Matousecs proactive defense testing. They all play nicely with Avira. I was using Avira as well before I switched to NOD32. I still use Avira Free on my wifes laptop along with the Windows 7 FW.

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i use premium on-line armor PCTool is a great freeware Comodo is nice as well but a lot of pop-ups
http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive-security-challenge/results.php

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