new avast user wondering what free firewall runs well with avast 4 hme on xp hme :-[
Zone Alarm free http://www.zonelabs.com works fine with avast and has a reasonably friendly user interface. There are others, Jetico, Sunbelt Kerio, etc.
See some firewall tests for comparison, some are freeware but many are paid for versions http://www.firewallleaktester.com/tests.php. Also see http://www.thefreecountry.com/security/firewalls.shtml