Re: Free Firewalls: ZoneAlarm vs Tiny Personal Firewall

From: John Smith (no.spam@no.spam.fi)
Date: 06/16/02 

From: John Smith <no.spam@no.spam.fi>
Date: Sun, 16 Jun 2002 01:24:36 +0000 (UTC)

x y wrote:

> I personally like Sygate

knuj wrote:

> Try Outpost from www.agnitum.com better than both of the ones you
> tested.

janus wrote:

> TPF 2.0.15 is outdated. Try same tests with Kerio Firewall 2.1.4

Thanks for the tips! As you already know from the earlier postings, after
ZoneAlarm 2.6.362 I tried Kerio Personal Firewall 2.1.4, Agnitum Outpost
Firewall Free 1.0.1804.2212, and Sygate Personal Firewall 5.0 Build 1117.

All the four firewall programs passed the three security tests
(http://www.pcflank.com/,
https://secure1.securityspace.com/smysecure/basic_index.html,
https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2), and that's enough for me. Maybe the
programs are quite about as secure. But I can only use one, so maybe the
criteria for selecting the program is with usability and user's
preferences and needs.

Tiny and Kerio have almost identical user interfaces. I don't like it when
the logo of either of the programs appears before logging on Windows.
Windows seems to start slower with Tiny or Kerio installed, but I haven't
taken time, so I can't say about that - maybe I just imagine slower
startup. Agnitum and Sygate have some similarities with their interfaces.

I like the ZoneAlarm's User interface the most, but Sygate gives the most
information about programs when I use them at the first time.

But the programs don't give enough information about the packets to my
needs. ZoneAlarm gives a warning from maybe almost every suspicious packet,
and I like that. But, when wanted, I want to see all the fields of the
suspicious/damaging TCP/UDP/ICMP packages/messages, like e.g. ICMP message
types (0 - Echo Reply, 3 - Destination Unreachable, 4 - Source Quench, and
so on).

After trying all the programs, I still like ZoneAlarm and Kerio the most.
But all the programs do their job, so it seems to me to be a matter of
taste, which program you choose, though the firewall program should be
updated regularly because of the new threats some people will invent.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Regarding sygate and Kerio (TPF)
    ... I've had pretty great results with Kerio Free pfw v2.14. ... tests using TaskInfo 2002 Sygate uses over twice the ram, ... >> How many umbrellas does one person need on a rainy day? ... >> One firewall is adequate and this is echoed in every software ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)
  • Re: Understanding Firewalls
    ... >> and it is not aplication based firewall neither. ... > (Outpost, Kerio, Sygate, and ZoneAlarm) give control of IP numbers, Ports ... Outpost Pro is very nice, haven't had any problems so far. ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)
  • Re: Agnitum Outpost FW users?
    ... > opinion of the product? ... please share your opinions about this firewall. ... I am a bit used to Kerio, ... considering switching to Outpost. ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)
  • XP firewall woes - help please
    ... ethernet LAN ... enable any firewall 98se cant see the internet..... ... i like sygate and kerio both being quite configurable... ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)
  • Re: kerio or psygate
    ... do a reasonably decent job and a lot comes down to personal preference. ... recently switched from ZAF to Sygate because I wanted a bit more control. ... firewall but likes the convenience of a plug and play firewall and ... Kerio is for someone who wants complete control ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)