Please Vote! Please Vote! Please Vote!
1100 plus views only 40 votes, YUCK
Let me know if I have missed any. This poll will help everyone trying to decide which one to use with Avast. Which one do you like best and why?
Well i used to use Kerio v2.15 with Avast with no probs at all other than i had to block inbound access for the mail scanner or else my pop,smpt&imapi ports were open.Version 4 of Kerio is way to buggy to use the now, it still technically a release candidate, but they dont tell U that on the site.
I been using Outpost pro v2.1 for about 6 months & find it among the best firewalls U can buy, very easy to use & also to make rules, there is a thread at the outpost forum that tells U how to secure the cfg even further.
Zonelabs i find slow & bloaty, has a habit of forgetting its rules & has so many backdoors into it, also has a habit of not loading at startup sometimes.
Tiny i did try once, but found the GUi to be hideous & it took ages for it to even refresh its info, it also not a firewall for beginners as U need to have some knowledge about how firewalls work to use it.
Primedius i never heard of before, but after looking at its homepage seems to be a custom version of 8signs firewall
BaNzI ;D
Outpost, why, its the best. Good help forum, good rule setup. Actualy works for outbound leaks, and is user friendly.
Hands down the best out there.
KPW 2.5.1 
ZoneAlarm causes no problems with avast! And I’m very pleased with it. One annoying thing: When avast! updates then ZA recognizes the new version of the avast! updater and mail-scanner as a new program and I need to “approve” them again. This can be fixed in ZA Pro, I’m conciddering buying it…
With ZA the ports are not open (according to GRC) but I still blocked all Internet Server acces for the avast! mail scanner so that no one can use it as a mail-server (to spread spam/virus) from outside.
Same with outpost, and there isnt any problems whatsoever with new versions of avast. All outpost sees is anotehr program, and asks for permission again, this is normal, and is the best way to see if there are any outbound leaks. It looks at every single change that may happen in your computer, and asks you such. That means ig spyware alters IE somehow, it will ask if this is ok, so no worries on outbound leaks. Outpost also, unlike the others has optional filters you can buy to add to the entire program. Which means you dont have to have 10 programs, to do the job of 1.
Personally I run kerio 4.0.16 without any problems… But when I have to install a firewall with friends and family I allways install the free zonealarm. It’s much easier to use for the computer illiterate…
I had za plus running for a while but that gave me loading problems. Sometimes it just would not load, sometimes it would hang on the truevector engine, sometimes it just worked like it should. I have only had those problems with the plus version, the free version never gave me any problem whatsoever. Maybe because it is just a firewall without all the extra tricks they built in plus and pro…
Peter
Peter,
To air is human, to scuba divine
I love your saying.
I use Zone4 Pro and find that after a while it seems to forget some of the programs that it has been told are ok and asks permission for them every time i reboot.
Any ideas?
Bob
Fully agree with Lars 8)
While we are talking about firewalls,here is the workaround for the failed patch issued by MS
" postings indicate
that the problem still exists on fully patched XP/2000 systems. A workaround is
to block ports 139/tcp and 445/tcp at the network perimeter to prevent attacks
from the Internet."
Just want everyone to be safe.
-max
I have used ZoneAlarm for years without ever having a problem with it loading on start-up. I allow no programs access to the internet without first my OK. After all, it only takes a few seconds to click “yes” or “no”. Am I not sitting here in front of the computer anyway? GRC has always given my computer a “full stealth mode” report. 
Plus, ZoneAlarm and avast! work very well together … like 2 peas in a pod! ;D
I started out using Zone Alarm Free version when it also had a free log feature letting you see who, and where some of the probes were coming from. That feature was removed from the free version. Also using Zone Alarm with a V.O.I.P. program I use I always had to lower the security setting from “High” to “Medium” in order to use the program. I then tried the free version of Sygate and found it was better for my purposes than was Zone Alarm. If I am not mistaken it also had a free log you could view to see where incoming probes originated from. Then, I found out about Outpost, version 1.0 (free). Found it to even be better for my purposes than Sygate. With Sygate or Oupost I have never had to change or compromise my security setting to use the V.O.I.P. program that I use regularly. As with Sygate I do have the ability to view a log to see where incoming probes have originated from. I have also taken several tests including one from GRC and others and have always received a report that I was in complete “Stealth” mode while using Outpost. My choice of course is Outpost for alot of different reasons but if I didn’t have it I would go back to using Sygate before using Zone Alarm. 
I use Avast and Outpost together with no problems at all.
I use Kerio (free) at home and Outpost (free) at work. Both are very good firewalls.
hi
i am french user and i use look’n’stop, i think is good firewall.
I installed Windows XP SP2RC1 a couple of days ago.
Checked grc after install–FULL STEALTH!!! That’s with no other firewall than the one in SP2.
My system is humming along–no problems.
So maybe MS finally got it right. ;D
bc
i remember vlk saying something negative about this sp2 firewall after he tried it…and i seriously believe him ;D
Added a new comer to the poll
Look and Stop
As suggested by another user on this forum. Look and Stop does offer a free “Lite” version of their original firewall. However, I could not find a comparison chart, stating the differences between the “Lite” version and the “Pro” version.
You can download a free program from majorgeeks.com called visual zone. It reenables this feature.
A little clearer info on Visual Zone. It does not re-enable this feature in ZoneAlarm itself. Visual Zone is a seperate program that works with the info in ZoneAlarm to give the desired results.
I’ve used Visual Zone for a few years and it works very well.