as in I need a good one. One that's flexible, One that will allow me to use all the p2ps I use now like winmx, morpheus, bearshare, gnucleus etc, Internet radio including Winamp, WMP & Spinner. doesn't have to free, just has to work and not lock me out. i've heard about black ice, norton & mcafee. zone alarm, tiny and others. the last time i put one in, (tiny i think) my dsl refused to connect after install. i could not uninstall and had to do a system restore! so...i need to avoid that fiasco. it will have to have INSTRUCTIONS!

any ideas?

- js.

From what I've heard, ZoneAlarm is one of the better ones around. You can check it out at:

http://www.zonelabs.com/

thanks Chagur, i hear that a lot. but like tiny and mcafee, once installed it slows or kills my connections. no amount of "user selectable" configuring resolves it. now i'm considering hiring a consultant (and) or getting a router.

- js.

Might want to check out your memory - Either insufficient or defective could result in the slow-down.

ZoneAlarm pro and Norton personal firewall are both very good, as is Tiny.
Don't use BlackIce Defender by any means, as it has very poor protection.

If you get the registered version of ZoneAlarm, I think it'll work fine. If you have an old computer laying around somewhere, you could always configure it as a router with the right software. I'm using Freesco myself, and it's working great!

simply install a systematic cybernetic spider 2000
it will moniter all attempts and di its best to track down the culprit

you can find it at www.veronaisntsafeforthecapulets.hq/url.by:) :( :o :D ;) :p :cool: :rolleyes: :mad: :confused: :eek:

You could install Conseal Firewall: it you configure it right, it's the best you can get.
But you know I think that every memory resident program will slow down (more or less) your machine.

I have been very happy with Network Ice's BlackIce Defender

try Sygate Personal Firewall.its great,works fine prevents intrusions pretty smartly.

however for proffessional computer purposes or for company purpose,i highly recommend:Cisco f/wall.

I wote for "Zone Alarm". The free version of it is better than many other expensive firewalls(Norton, MCafee).

I myself use Zone Alarm Pro and I have tested it with different port scans and security scanners and it passed them all.
You can check how secure you are @ Shields Up (https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2)

You have some serious config issues if tiny is taking up more than 908k of your memory. It is the best size to performance ratio out there for personal firewalls (which are not the best by any means).

If you are serious about security and don't mind setting up a router and a few ip firewall rules through a web GUI interface than http://www.astaro.com is for you. Works from WinMx to Edonkey and back through everything else.

I've run it on a pentium 60mhz with 1 machine behind it to the current 375mhz amd that easily supports 6 computers.

If you havve the financial means, I would suggest a hardware firewall over a software one.

Why? I mean your run of the mill SOHO firewall is not going to be nearly as functional as a software one. Plus software firewalls double as DNS/HTTP/SOCKS proxies if you need them. They may be more secure because of their purpose being so singular but you can get the same sort of security with a stripped down obenbsd firewall. I mean the only advantage I can think of is the sound of the fan running in the computer vs the silent operation of most hardware firewalls.

Has any one tried to configure CSCO PIX 501?