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Thread ID: 26464 2002-10-28 05:14:00 Firewall Problem - Please Help! floppy (2368) Press F1
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93657 2002-10-28 05:14:00 I have recently have a major problem(s) with Zone Alarm (free vision), luckily I managed to resolve the dilemma. I would like to know what free Firewall problems do you recommend, besides Zone Alarm. floppy (2368)
93658 2002-10-28 05:23:00 There a number of free firewall comparisons on the web and ZoneAlram is always recommended as the best.

What problems did you have ?.

There is the option of creating your own Firewall from an old 386 etc . There is some good Linux options.
boga (2298)
93659 2002-10-28 05:23:00 if u have windows xp, it comes with it's own version of a firewall. The only free friewall that comes to mind is Zone Alarm. but u already have it. Why not just pay for a firewall like BlackIce or Norton's Internet Security.

cheers,
v.K
vk_dre (195)
93660 2002-10-28 05:27:00 Windows XP firewall is not worth a tin of fish.

Zone Alarm would be the best free one in my opinion.

I use Norton Internet Security.
Elephant (599)
93661 2002-10-28 06:44:00 Why not
just pay for a firewall like BlackIce or Norton's
Internet Security.

Be warned, Some expert opinion is that 'Black Ice' doesn't work! Vince
Vince (406)
93662 2002-10-28 07:06:00 My opinion is a firewall is not even necessary if you are on a dialup modem, just an unnecessary complication and something else to cause problems.

I know that opinion is divided on this but when you connect with a dynanmic IP address as you do with a dialup modem the possibility of problems is very remote.It seems to me to be just a trendy thing to do for some people but unless you are reasonably experienced with computer systems they seem to cause more problems than they prevent.

They are of course essential with ADSL connections which are always on and have a fixed IP address. .
Jim B (153)
93663 2002-10-28 07:13:00 I'm quite happy with my Outpost firewall from Agnitum . It has quite a few nice features and works very well with my Win 98 . It's probably not as much as a load and forget program as ZoneAlarm but I had so many problems with that one that I gave up on it .

You can find it here (http://www . agnitum . com/) .
Susan B (19)
93664 2002-10-28 07:19:00 > My opinion is a firewall is not even necessary if you
> are on a dialup modem, just an unnecessary
> complication and something else to cause problems .
> They are of course essential with ADSL connections
> which are always on and have a fixed IP address . .

I agree Jim, I have yet to see a real problem on a dynamically assigned IP address . Those using KaZaar etc may be connected a long time, but the firewall is useless against their largest threat, that of downloading some nasties . .
godfather (25)
93665 2002-10-28 07:25:00 Hi Floppy,
I had Zone Alarm (the free one) & then it said there was a free upgrade to 3.0 so I did that & was then getting no end of grief with it. I removed it & downloaded Outpost as others on this site said it was good. I could not get the hang of Outpost so went back to Zone Alarm & everything is great.
Pauline.
Pauline (641)
93666 2002-10-28 07:39:00 I consider firewalls to be NECESSARY even for dialup users. You could argue against my opinions but the reason it's essential to have is firewalls let you know which programs are accessing the net. If it's trojan/virii trying to access the net you can stop it with your firewall before confidential data is sent to the unknown.

Also "script kiddies" can strike any IP (static or dynamic) to test their programs off the net they found on anyone. The chances of them getting your IP is very slim but if they are looking for computers which reply to their request because no firewall was in place then you'd be sorry if you never had a firewall. It's more precaution against the unknown than thinking you're safe.

The best protection on the net though is your own "smarts". Things like disabling file sharing on internet connections, password protecting if you have shared drives/files. Configuring your firewall properly so to not allow nasties connecting to their clients.
~qwerty (2369)
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