Looking to get rid of MS firewall and get a free one. I checked out the pinned list but cant distinguish free ones. Which free one or trial (yet still good after trial period) is/are the best? Thanks

You could try Comodo. I haven't used it (I use a hardware firewall), but it is well regarded.

ZoneAlarm is another popular one.

I use SUNBELT. You download a trial but after 30 days you are left with a free version. Works well for me.

Do I have to do anything first before I install one of those? Like unistall MS firewall!

I am not sure you CAN uninstall MS firewall?? You can disable it and you should do that, then install the firewall you want. MS security center will pick it up and show that firewall in its recap (WINXP)

Start>Settings>Control Panel>WindowsFirewall, then check the off button.

Click to view attachment

The comodo firewall askes for 32bit or 64bit install and I'm not sure which one I have. Where do I look?

LOOK HERE

Thanks for the links but before I get started I would like to get some opinions please. Are any of these free Firewall programs better than the MS built in one? Or is there really no good reason to change the one I have. I personally haven't noticed anything wrong with the MS Firewall I guess I was hoping there was a better program out there and didn't want to miss out on it>>>Thanks

PC WORLD ARTICLE

You might look at the above. A lot of people are not too high on Windows Firewall, but that is for you to decide.

Thanks I went with COMODO. I can all ready tell that its much safer although how safe is it? is there a test I can run the program through? What about peer to peer programs like bearshare are they safe?

You might try FIREWALL TEST.

I don't know about the safety of the others you mention.

is that leak test program is safe to install for one (unknown publisher)and depending on the results can you help me through it. I've read alot about firewalls the last few days and still need some help. I'm particularly concerned with having open ports and which ones are not safe to have open + how to close them. Thanks ken

Hey Thanks for the link and my apologies if I seem overly cautious just new at all this and sick and tired of all the viruses, trojans and all that.. I found a web site that checks all your ports too. everything looks good now. Comodo is a very secure firewall. On a side note though I couldn't believe how much info we actually give out while surfing the web... At this Site they were able to find out more info on my where abouts than I thought. I wonder if there is a way to hide your I.P. address without have to purchase software?

I am glad you got it going..
Don't panic over the address. A lot of those ads are just scare tactics to sell you something. As long as you have a good firewall active, you are ok.
A lot of people use a router instead of relying on a firewall. But, I am not the one to explain why that is better.

Get your system clean and use a good anti-virus and firewall and you will get through. Good luck.

I know that I am coming in late for this, but let me put in a plug for Comodo. As everyone knows, I have always been a Trend Micro fan. But for the last year this program has given me so many headaches I cut it loose. I installed Antivir as my (free) av, and Comodo as my Firewall. Comodo is totally the greatest firewall I have ever used. Extremely powerful, and once you learn how, very easy to configure. You made a very wise decision. This firewall is a total pro package, and allows you to configure far, far deeper than even Zone Alarm (which I consider tops also). You made a gold decision, in my opinion. This for free? I can't believe it!

It seems very easy to use for the inexperienced user, They made it easy and provided a wealth of information to become firewall savy. I'll tell you what I have a lot of reading to do.

A word about the Microsoft firewall that comes shipped with WinXP SP2.

Whenever a new firewall is installed, it detects this and turns itself off, giving way to the new one. This is called degrading gracefully.

You can usually configure programs for access through the firewall. Thus your P2P program will have to ask for permission from the firewall before being allowed onto the Internet. Any firewall should do this, but there may be a prebuilt list with certain programs in it that are allowed through from the word go.

The main criticism of the Windows firewall that I've heard is that it is turned on/off via a Registry setting. Now consider this scenario:
1. A malicious program gets downloaded onto your box, allowed through because it was downloaded (unintentionally) via a P2P program.
2. You run that newly-downloaded program.
3. That program goes for the firewall settings in the Registry and turns the Windows firewall off, or adds itself to the list of trusted programs to be allowed through the firewall. Your shield is now down.
4. It then broadcasts its presence to servers that are listening out for it, and once it's sent your details the other server calls the lads in.
5. You end up with a compromised machine.

A word of caution on P2P programs: these alone are a great source of viruses, spyware, and other malicious code. Be careful about what you download from them or you might get more than you bargained for.

I used to use Zone Alarm; if you go for that one, then UNcheck the box that asks if you want to install a new toolbar onto IE for added security: you end up with the Ask Jeeves toolbar if you don't!

Nowadays, I have a hardware firewall (on the router) and let the Windows firewall stay on. Haven't had a problem for ages.

I'm now using hardware, but in the past i used Zonezalarm succesfully, may be you can try.
cheers,
oldrider

Hi Angoid... interesting comment on XP's firewall disabling itself; I have never had that experience. I have always had to go in and disable it manually. Another bad thing about XP's firewall is that it stealths incoming, but not outgoing. I discovered a Vundo infection with a keylogger (!) on my wife's machine two weeks ago only because Zone Alarm (note, not my D-Link router firewall!) stopped the keylogger from dialing out to its source. I immediately disconnected from the internet and removed the infection (and that was an all-day experience). Just a thought.

zone alaram firewall orks gud...it stops many unwanted intrusions...its free

better move on to a total securrity suite