You can search for any of these:
Sygate - has a pro and free version
Zone Alarm - pro & free
Outpost - pro & free
Look n Stop - pro & free
Kerio - pro & free
I’ve never tried Look n Stop along side of avast but all the others have worked for me during testing. If you’re looking for a free fw, I think Sygate is the best overall, but any of these will get the job done.
Hopefully this gets you started.
Is this problem particular to your setup or a general known fault?.The reason i ask is that i have installed sygate on two friends computers .They also registered and use avast free.They dont use any proxy servers so sygate seemed the easier firewall for them to use (i use outpost pro).I havent heard them mention any particular problems between avast and sygate , but then again as newbies they may not notice any thing anyway.Is there a known problem between sygate and avast or is it possibly individual setup problems between different users software /hardware etc?
tia
me
From what I’ve heard, and from personal experience, when Avast! does a program update Sygate will continually say that it needs permission to access the internet (even if you’ve already given it permission to do so). So, after every major program update you have to reinstall Avast!
I too became frustrated with Norton–every two years my program goes on the blink (by which time I’ve thrown out the download for one reason or another) and they expect you to buy the new one.
Avast! I installed earlier this week and have been surprised how fast it runs (much less memory than Norton) and how well it integrates with SpamPal.
Now, I’ve just installed Sygate and up my browser cookie permissions to ask me everytime they are downloaded so I should be protected just as well as I was with Norton.
But this upsets me a little.
If I just added an Advanced Rule asking Sygate to accept everything that Avast! does. Will that not reconcile this problem?
I think what happens with Sygate is it will ask you for permission to access each of avast’s update servers that are on different subnets. After each subnet has been granted permission (I think there should be about 4???), Sygate will shut up. Also sygate will probably bug you about where inside the avast software you initiate the update (whether you right click the A in the task bar, or if you start the update from inside the program…). This is part of Sygate’s intrusion detection system. Once you permit each one, Sygate will leave you alone.
I’m just guessing as I don’t use Sygate anymore, but it makes sense to me.
I use Look n Stop and just updated to the newest version 2.05 and love it. It runs with Avast! without a problem. I recommend it over any firewall I’ve tried, and I’ve probably tried most of them. A big plus is the tiny footprint and that it’s low on resources.
I use Look n Stop pay version. The Lite (free) has problems with some XP machines, including mine. On others, it seems to work OK.
I personally prefer Outpost 1.0 (free) version. I have used McAfee (paid vs), Norton (paid vs), Zone Alarm (free), Sygate (free), and have found that Oupost does a better job for me while using “Avast 4 Home”. Once again these are all good programs but just personal preferences among the replies you will see.
Thanks for all replys.Personally i use and prefer outpost pro , but outpost can be a bit daunting for complete newbies , especially as they would be using the free version which had some quirks on some systems.Sygate and avast has been installed on one computer for about 2 months and onther for about 6 weeks.I allowed all things avast when setting up sygate though i believe i didnt let any act as a server.I spoke to them both last night and neither has had any proplems whatsoever updating avast.Im not sure when the last programe update of avast was so maybe they havent experienced that yet, or if there has been a recent programme update ,then the problems are not arising
me