system
11
BCB,
Before selecting a firewall, you must have some idea of what demands you will place upon it.
There are 2 kinds of FWs: Application based and rule based.
Application based are the simplest and monitor the “applications” the computer starts, while Rule based FWs allow the user to set specific rules as to what the computer allows in and out which includes “direction”, “type of trfc”, “ports” and such.
Then again you have the “combo FWs” which can be either or both.
So now that that is explained:
- Zone Alarm is Application based. Simple and stable.
- Sygate is combo, but works very well as App only.
- Outpost is combo and a very good FW out of the box.
- Kerio is tends to be more rule than app based in actual operation even though it is a combo. I found it a bit difficult for a novice to use.
Any of the above will get the job done. If you hate setup and monitoring…then go with ZA. I use it on my W98 as Sygate gave me some trouble.
Good luck.