Which Firewall is best suitable with Avast? I am currently using Window XP Firewall and just remove Zone Alarm cause it was causing problems with the internet.
This was discussed a lot of time.
Better will be the secure one that works in your system 8)
I suggest ZoneAlarm, or Outpost, or Sygate, or Kerio.
All of it have advantages and disavantages. All works with avast.
I just do not recomment you stay without one (using only the internal XP firewall…) 
just remove Zone Alarm cause it was causing problems with the internet.The only time ZA causes problems with the internet is if you don't permit access to a program or a service.
I am sorry to say that - but ZA may cause problems with the internet (with webshield more frequently that without it) when Privacy features are enables - especially Cookie blocking.
Cookie Blocking ? I don’t even have that featue in my ZA Free… it really works flawless… I had some of those mentioned problems with Outpost though, but it was few months ago… I don’t know how everything works with latest avast! releases. When I loose connection, nothing, absolutely nothing, would help, except turning Outpost OFF, and then ON back again…
ZA works fine here… maybe just because I use Freeware edition, I don’t know…
Cheers !
Lukas, ZA (free) + my local proxy + avast is not a stable system.
I’m sure it’s ZA, not avast. But, is there anything that could help you?
Does ZA have minidumps?
If I send you a minidump from my local proxy, can you read it?
Thanks.
If you’re a home user, there’s really no point in paying $40 for a firewall, as there are good free ones available.
I’ve tried ZA and Kerio.
ZA was the most user friendly but as well as the problem mentioned above, it also tends to corrupt it’s own database or something and forget the rules you make as to which programs you want to be able to access the internet, which is annoying.
Kerio is a little more tricky to set up, but works smoothly, at least with XP. (I think the new version might have a few problems with 98, from what I’ve read on this forum.) Kerio does have a ‘simple’ mode, which is extremely easy to set up, but, like the XP firewall, doesn’t control outgoing traffic. But then, all of the free firewalls can be a bit ‘leaky’, according to leak tests done by PC Flank for example. Kerio 2 has a lot of fans, but is more hands on.
(If you want the ultimate in outbound traffic control, Outpost is the one to beat at the moment, but does cost $40.)
Sygate also has a free firewall, very popular with many here, but often described as very user UNfriendly. It does apparently have a lot of advanced features (for advanced users?) but if you want an install it and forget it firewall, this might not be the one. It also doesn’t have the intrusion detection feature of the pay version.
Outpost has a free firewall, but it is a very old version of their firewall and only recommended if you have need a firewall which takes up the minimum of resources.
My recommendation for the best free firewall at the moment is…
drumrole…
Well, I suppose I have to agree, whatever works for you.
But if you want a user friendly, set it and forget it firewall, ZA (if it works for you) or Kerio, if are prepared to use simple mode, or to have to think a bit more carefully about setting it up.
For more hands on users, Kerio 2 or Sygate.
I have a page on my site about free firewall, with my experiences of using ZA and Kerio, if anybody is interested. (Geocities + IE = crazy rendering, but Firefox is fine.) http://www.geocities.com/dontsurfinthenude/rec_firewalls.htm
As people have already said its comes down to personal appearance, me personally, i find Sygate is the best (its just ZA with extra ability), and very user friendly, closely followed by Outpost Pro then Zonealarm. (not tried Kerio)
But if you want a user friendly, set it and forget it firewall, ZA
How you can say ‘corrupt it’s own database or something and forget the rules you make as to which programs you want to be able to access the internet, which is annoying.’ is user friendly is beyond me, but hey, we all have our own opinions.
So anyway, try them, see which one you like, the use it 
–lee
I think the Pro version of Outpost offers the best ease of use, features and protection.
I use Sygate because it is easy to allow local area network connections and that allows me to share my internet connection. I found ZoneAlarm arduous in this respect.
I use McAfee Personal Firewall Plus 6. I’m really happy of it. There’s only one problem and is not the firewall but the Security Center: this panel is studied to allow integrated access to the bundle (Virus Scan, Privacy Protector, ecc) but if you try to uninstall it, then in a few time you find problems with graphics, not about the efficiency. Now I have uninstalled it to try the new release of Outpost. I think it is not for lazy users. The automatic configuration for non experienced users - in my opinion - take the program out of control: pray and surf!!! The normal configuration is really complicated and is not certainly easy to learn. It seems the most professional firewall for home users but is also more expensive then McAfee… Outpost 2.6 don’t support many languages, don’t have the online support (chat, telefone), etc. Honestly, it seems built for IE, not surely for Firefox or Opera, in fact a lot of options are dedicated to AD blocking, Image blocking and other functions already supported by alternative browsers. In conclusion: thumbs up, about the power. thums down for the support.
We’ve been thru all of this before. ;D
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=10539.0
The end result still comes down to personal choice as long as the firewall your using passes all the tests.
I think you probably mean Outpost Pro 2.6, which has just been released 2 days ago. I was very happy with the free version of Outpost 1.0 but there has been no further development on it for some considerable time.
So when a great deal to upgrade to the Pro version (lifetime updates) for a one off payment it took it. Would I have upgraded if I had to pay an annual fee, or for each further upgrade, probably not.
With the exception of one occasion when web shield first appeared on the scene and Outpost didn’t ask permission and blocked it. That situation has been resolved and further updates have been recognised and requests for access were initiated as they should.
Technical, unfortunately such dumps are not very useful (at least for me). On our own software we can mentally trace how the program must have behaved so it came just to this point snapshotted in the memory dump, but for foreign products it’s usually very hard to guess what they were trying to do. Of course, sometimes you may search for a specific situation but generally speaking it would not help much. :-\
Hi, Bob & David! How are you?
Well, just this morning I was thinking about the hrdware firewalls. The magazines says this is the best solution but I see ALL the PCs in my workplace (more than 4500!!!) are infected
day by day. My Hospital use hardware firewall + Sophos Antivirus: bad marriage! ;D. I think "If my firewall costs 39.00 € year… maybe the best solution is a HW firewall: 110-150 €… for life. Or not? What’s your opinion, my wise evangelists? ;D ;D ;D
Thanks for sharing Lukas…
As I can see by other threads (http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=12320.msg107678#msg107678) that ZA is working bad with avast.
Worst: ZA support is useless…
The magazines says this is the best solution but I see ALL the PCs in my workplace (more than 4500!!!) are infected
Unfortunately they don’t tell you the full story.
A hardware firewall provides great inbound protection but most provide zero outbound protection, for that you still need something to plug that gap and for most that means running a software firewall.
Many can’t use a hardware firewall, such as myself as I’m on a dial-up connection. As far as I’m aware there is no router, come firewall, come dial-up modem to act as a hardware firewall.
that ZA is working bad with avast. Worst: ZA support is useless...Not in my opinion and I use it. ;D
[quotemaybe the best solution is a HW firewall: 110-150 €… for life. Or not?]
The best solution is one of each. IMHO
Fair comment, Lee. (Re. Zone Alarm userfriendlyness.)
That’s why I switched to Kerio, 'tis true.
I’ve never tried Sygate, but the reviews I’ve seen don’t describe it as user friendly: in fact they say ‘suitable for anyone who knows their way round an advanced firewall…too complicated for anyone who just wants to protect their computer and get on with their lives…competent software for experts on a budget.’ Computer Shopper. And ‘Our only concern is the interface, which won’t suit novices.’ Personal Computer World.
With reviews like that, I recommend ZA with its faults before Sygate, but recommend Sygate to experts like yourself. 
Despite the lack of support, I still find ZA to be a very effective and easy to use Firewall.
I have recently switched from ZA to Kerio pf and am happy with its performance and ease of setup.
Having read this and numerous other threads on the subject I decided to have a closer look a KPF and how it works. Can any other KPF users interpret this log report and confirm what i suspect in that there are 2 instances of active trojans sailing right by my hardware firewall as if it wasnt there and although caught by KPF ,how many other unidentified new ones are out there sailing by as well?