I have done extensive research online this morning. I’m not impressed with the info I’ve read about the firewall included in Avast Internet Security. I’d also prefer to have something stronger than my Windows Home Vista firewall. If I install Avast Antivirus Pro 5, can someone suggest a good firewall that isn’t a nightmare to use? I don’t care if it’s free or paid.
The two I trust the most in life
Outpost Pro version 7.02
http://www.agnitum.com/products/security-suite/index.php
Online Armor
http://www.online-armor.com/products.php
you wont be disappointed 
Iv had good results with comodo,pc tool’s and private firewall of which i found private to be the lightest and easyest to configure and had no conflicks whatsoever, also scored a 100% on shield’s up when i tested it. If you try pctool’s make sure that if you delet it, do it in safe mode or it will take your windows validation with it. And there all free 
I have been using outpost firewalls for well over 7 years and for me they work well. There is also a free version of Outpost firewall.
Many forum users are using these:
- PC Tools Firewall seems to have the least user headaches as it doesn’t seem to be constantly asking the user questions about this and that.
- Online Armor for the most parts fine but it has caused some users grief after avast program updates and that is something you have to watch out for.
- Outpost Firewall 2009 free, a cut down version of the Outpost Firewall Pro version, which should still provide good protection, http://free.agnitum.com/. Download, http://www.filehippo.com/download_outpost_firewall/
You could always wait a bit and see what firewall fixes AIS 5.1 brings?
If you are looking for something easy to use AIS is definitely the easiest I have come across.
I have had some problems with it.
The problem of it stopping without warning now seems fixed.
The problem with file recognition still seems to persist. I have been promised it will be fixed (though I admit Lukas didn’t actually say that it would be fixed in 5.1). It seems to be a problem that afflicts very few users though.
The avast Firewall works fine for me without any problems, and it won’t bug you with popups (unless you want it to) Here’s a review if you’re interested. (rating: 4.5/5)
Other than avast, I recommend Outpost Firewall, Online Armor, and Comodo. These are all free.
This no longer holds true with Avast 5.0 and the newer versions of Online Armor (OA). I have beta tested OA with Avast on XP and Vista in all versions for the past almost 2 years. OA also leaves no remnants behind on uninstall and gives no constant pop-ups while giving you the option of using it as a novice or advanced user.
PCTools also runs smoothly with Avast, however in the advanced mode does give you constant pop-ups (search in this forum). Uninstall can leave many remnants.
Since everyone’s machine and set up is different, I would recommend that you trial a software to see how you like it and more importantly how it plays with your other software on your system. Just remember before you install, know how to uninstall and make a snapshot/back up/system restore of your system as a “just in case.”
Before you try anything new, do a penetration and leek test.
Go to: GRC(dot)com
DO: Shields Up (all)
DO: LEAKTEST
Adjust your firewall accordingly.
I have WIN FIREWALL and it tests out 100% good on BOTH tests.
ZoneAlarm Free is the most user-friendly firewall,
the perfect match for avast! 5. http://www.filehippo.com/download_zonealarm_free/7854/
I also recommend:
MailWatcher http://www.filehippo.com/download_mailwasher/
OpenDNS http://www.opendns.com/start/
Opera http://www.filehippo.com/download_opera/
SpywareBlaster http://www.filehippo.com/download_spywareblaster/
In my personal opinion:
I was not aware of problems with the avast! firewall.
Personally, I am very satisfied with it.
IMHO the main problem is that avast! does not provide enough documentation/screen-shots of all the firewall’s features/settings so one can fully see what the avast! Firewall can or can not do, to make any detailed comparison to other firewalls.
The Best Firewall is always a Hardware Firewall! Most software firewalls can be hacked but if a hardware firewall is configured correctly then Hacking becomes so very difficult. Most hardware firewalls are unix/linux based and provide the best security.
Most hardware routers/firewalls have zero/very limited outbound protection unless it is specifically stated, so any malware that manages to get past your defences has free reign to get out and download more of the same.
Without outbound protection any connection originating from your system will have associated inbound traffic pass right through your hardware firewall.
So if your hardware router/firewall doesn’t provide that level of protection you still need a third party firewall.
In all of the years of using my computers I have not needed a software firewall and was a devout follower of Steven Gibsons’ GRC site and newsgroup.
I find that MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) paid resident protection with its Website Blocking is a great feature.
Thanks to all of you. There is so much good information here. I will try to comment on just a few things.
I didn’t say there were any “problems” with Avast firewall. Just that reviews and comments I read are that it really isn’t a very GOOD firewall. One comment was that it offers about the same protection as the Windows firewall.
I was actually thinking about Online Armour. I have done research and read a few comments about Zone Alarm recently developing some problems. I just didn’t want to get something that was not going to work well with Avast Antivirus Pro 5, and Spyware Doctor which are up and running beautifully right now. I just finished a long stint dealing with such a problem.
I would like something stronger than Windows for a firewall because I do a lot of purchasing and bill paying online, but I don’t want something that is going to interfere with the two aforementioned programs and cause continuous frustration.
If there are any more comments to this response, I’d appreciate them.
I agree totally with yokenny, malwarebytes is a top product and work’s great with avast, with the paid version and avast you would be banking safely. Another thing you could do is turn off remote assistance in system under control panel, this setting might not give you the outbound protection of some of the third party firewall’s but it scores 100% against inbound attack’s with shield’s up.
I do run the free version of Malwarebytes; about once a week do a full scan. I have no doubt it is excellent, but could it run in the background with both Avast, a firewall and Spyware Doctor, which is also excellent? I don’t think I want to get too many security programs running at the same time.
I’ve been doing some more surfing and Online Armour is sounding better all the time. Just one more question about this. Is this a firewall where I don’t have to interact too much, because I’m not a computer tech? I did just read something about having to add Avast to the exclusions, something about temp files. I could probably do something like that but if it’s a program that needs me to make decisions all the time it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for me to have it. 
I know I’m bending ears here, but I’d like to end up with a workable combination this time. Thanks for your advice and patience.
Online Armor tries to limit the amount of popups that ask you for decisions. Outpost is also good for a quiet firewall. Although, avast’s is completely silent.
Don’t know where you heard that, but according to pcmag.com’s review here, avast’s firewall is actually better than most other suites’ firewalls. It makes your computer invisible to hackers, makes its own program control decisions so you don’t have to, and blocks/identifies exploits. IMO, you should use Comodo with D+ disabled if you want no popups, Online Armor, or Outpost, if you really don’t want to go with avast. These are all pretty quiet.
I think you misread this part…
[b]Cons[/b] Less effective than top suites at removing and blocking malware. Minor drag on system performance.