Firewall & Adblocker

Our "pub" where you can post about things completely Off Topic or about non-silent PC issues.

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andyb
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Firewall & Adblocker

Post by andyb » Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:45 am

I need a new Firewall program thats:

Good
Easy to configure (rules out Tiny Personal Firewall from what I have heard).
Free (Rules out Norton and McAfee).
Problem Free (rules out Zone Alarm, Norton and McAfee).

I know its a bit of a tall order, any reccomendations, my old Norton firewall is unsupported from the end of the year, and I need a new one.

Ad-Blocker.

I spend 99% of my time using Seamonkey (Mozilla Foundation), so I really dont care about adblocking IE.

I have heard of "Ad-Blocker Plus", is it any good.??? Again recomendations are welcome.


Andy

vertigo
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Post by vertigo » Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:53 am

I use Sygate Personal Firewall, it seems to work well enough. The only problem is that there is no firewall protection before it loads, which could be a risk.

Devonavar
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Post by Devonavar » Sat Dec 02, 2006 12:11 pm

What are the problems with Zone Alarm? I've been using it for ages problem free. Should I be switching?

andyb
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Post by andyb » Sat Dec 02, 2006 12:12 pm

Thanks, I have got rid or Norton :twisted:

And I am now running Sygate, looks pretty easy to use, and I dont really care about not having protection before it loads.

Cheers, now I just need to get an Add-Blocker, ABP didnt work at all :roll:

The Zone Alarm problems I have bumped into are varied, I have seen half a dozen PC's that are unusable on the net that have turned out to be Zone Alarm, and its not always a straightforward case of uninstalling it, I have had to manually remove ZoneAlarm files from the "C:/Windows/System32" folder before.

I imagine its quite a rare occurance, but I am not a fan of software that spontaneously combusts (Windows pre W2K SP2 for example). If your PC suddenly wont work on the net, and you have ruled out LAN/router problems, Malware/Virus problems, take a look at ZAP.

Sorry if I have made you paranoid.


Andy

AZBrandon
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Post by AZBrandon » Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:07 pm

Just curious, but if security is important to you, why aren't you willing to pay for it?

andyb
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Post by andyb » Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:29 pm

Security IS important to me, but having used every version of Norton over the last 9 years, I an now willing to pay for it, likewise McAffee (although I havent used every version).

They cause huge amounts of problems, and I am only willing to try any security software on recommendation and I an NOT willing to pay for it unless it actually proves itself to be worthwhile. This means that I need a FREE fully working copy for 1 month, most companies dont do that. The exception is Nod32, which is an excelent AV package which I am more than happy to pay for (1 month totally free fully updated fully working copy got my attention).


Andy
Last edited by andyb on Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

UK-Bob
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Post by UK-Bob » Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:43 pm

Used to use Zone Alarm with no prolems, infact I liked it very much though I am now using the Sunbelt Kerio Firewall which is also a top product with great features. Other software I use is AVG and Ad-aware SE pro and all this together should be all you need. I also use homecall from Trend Micro every now and then just to make sure.

AZBrandon
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Post by AZBrandon » Sat Dec 02, 2006 3:38 pm

I see what you're saying.. you just want to at least be able to try the software before you buy it. Nothing wrong with that!

vertigo
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Post by vertigo » Sat Dec 02, 2006 4:05 pm

I don't need trial software to be fully capable, I would only buy it for the specific functionality I required, and I wouldn't buy it blind so as long as the functionality I need is in the demo, that's great.

NeilBlanchard
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Post by NeilBlanchard » Sat Dec 02, 2006 4:07 pm

Hello Andy,

I like Kerio by Sunbelt Software. It does have a trial period, and it does block ads. The only default settings that you need to change for it to work on a LAN are one or two options in the Trusted Area.

It defaults to a no-pop up mode, which is very nice indeed.

andyb
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Post by andyb » Sat Dec 02, 2006 5:22 pm

Cheers Neil, I will give that a whirl tommorrow, I was quite impressed by the ease of use of "sygate" but it seemed to igore me when I asked it not to ask permission for a part of windows that does not need internet access. It keps on asking me, I will re-install it tommorrow have a play with it and then try "Kerio".

Any suggestions on other adblockers, or any help to install "adblock plus".


Andy

peteamer
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Post by peteamer » Sun Dec 03, 2006 9:57 am

Devonavar wrote:What are the problems with Zone Alarm? I've been using it for ages problem free. Should I be switching?
Hi Devon, I don't recall ever having read that there are any particular problems with zonealarm... other than it's a software firewall rather than a 'safer' hardware firewall.

That said I have often read (though I'm too useless to remember where...) that not all software firewalls are equal.

Zonealarm is easily configured and quite good, though sygate is generally considered to be better at it's job though not quite as 'Mum friendly'... :D

I used sygate for years on windows and it always tested well on port test sites. I believe it's now been bought out by symantec and is no longer free, if at all available.

The last version of sygate personal (free) is still googleable and worth the search.

I still have it for the inevitable windows builds I do for other people (because i was stupid enough to let slip that I can... :roll: )


Pete

sjoukew
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Post by sjoukew » Sun Dec 03, 2006 10:52 am

I am using kerio a couple of years, without any problems :)

vertigo
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Post by vertigo » Sun Dec 03, 2006 1:01 pm

Andyb, if you look on the Applications screen, you should be able to find the one that was asking you, then set it to denied or allowed.

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