Firewall for windows 7

[rclint]

I just done a custom install from Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional. So far it's great!! zero problem during install, and it was a download install at that I could not resist the temptation as I get student discount from Ultimate Steal cost was $30 ( I added a full version backup disc to be mailed for extra $13) I also purchased the 2007 Office Ultimate for $57 (and another $13 for back up disc) everything installed and running great.. Now that I'm finished boasting about the super good deal !!

I want to add a firewall, and by all means free !! I always used sygate, however it had compatibility issues with Windows 7, so I done a google search, and tried Comodo (maybe spelling ?) it wanted to add way to many tool bars, trash, change IP etc so I uninstalled everything, cleaned registry etc. I need a simple firewall that works, easy to setup, and forget about it. No Norton I don't care for Norton at all !! Any advise would be appreciated, I'm running AVG free anti-virus as well.

 

[pcfxer]

Save your money.

Windows' network stack is plucked from one of the best operating systems in the world; FreeBSD. Of course they modify it, but the core code/algorithms are still used.

Having said that, I will now explain what an SPI firewall is and how it works. A stateful packet inspection firewall will compare the outgoing packets and incoming packets. If an outgoing packet is sent using a port then the firewall expects that an incoming packet will be received using the same port. If this is not the case, the SPI will then compare running services and open sockets and if the packet doesn't match up with any of these criteria the packet is BLOCKED! Yay!

The good news is that Microsoft bundles an extremely powerful firewall that is rarely unreliable and lets you go about your daily business safely. Again, save your money because it just isn't necessary to add-on seperate firewall software unless you REALLY REALLY want a particular feature.

And if there is a firewall application that will ONLY add to the current firewall (no firewall app REPLACES MS's firewall, they all throw API calls to the built-in one but manage it differently), I would hope that you check out OpenDNS.

Heck, if you aren't using OpenDNS now I'd recommend you visit them immediately and check things out

. This is coming from a FreeBSD/PC-BSD user and I use OpenDNS to block bing.com

.

While you are at it, update your hosts file via mvps.org.

Enjoy

 

[rclint]

pcfxer

Thank you, I was going to ask if a firewall is really even needed with Windows 7, however with past editions there was a loop hole, I was more familiar with XP, I had Vista for a short time, and with no exploring, only reading it was a much safer platform concerning the firewall than any before, and I also looked around on google, it seems Windows 7 is even better.

Now that I have everything installed I wished I had gone 64 bit, however my computer came with 32 bit, and I did not want to chance anything going wrong on a dl upgrade as I didn't have the patience to wait on the disc.

 

[rclint]

One more thing, I'm way out of the loop on current offerings, loops etc, but back in the day a fellor could find a gate, and well go surfing with ease of use not worrying about anyone tracking you down if you were careful LOL

 

[OVERKILL]

Software "Firewalls" are a joke anyways. Are you behind a router? That's the best firewall investment you can make.

Other than that, saddle it with NOD32 or Avira and call it a day.