Personal Firewalls

PC Tools Firewall Plus is a personal firewall that monitors incoming and outgoing traffic on your computer and allows to to create rules to limit and control network connections. The program includes an application level firewall as well as a rule based TCP/IP firewall. The default settings of the firewall will prevent several common attacks while allowing normal internet traffic. You can create your own rules using protocol, port and IP address - however it requires some experience with TCP/IP configuration, as no documentation is provided. The integrated application filtering engine will prompt you each time an unknown program is trying to connect to the Internet, giving you the option to block or allow current and future activities by the same program. Requires free registration after 30 days.

Privatefirewall is a Personal Firewall and Intrusion Detection Application that helps prevent unauthorized access to your PC, at home, the office, or on the road. Privatefirewall constantly monitors the sensitive areas of a PC where intrusion can occur, including browser security settings, network settings etc. and reports on their status. The program is easy to install/use and provides protection right "out of the box". The interface will accommodate advanced users as well as novice users, it does not overload you with options and features, yet provides access to powerful rule settings and filers for advanced users via the right click menu. Privatefirewall offers everything that you`d expect from a personal firewall, including Packet Filtering, Internet traffic (packet) filtering, port scanning, IP tracking, SecurePOP email protection, and a proprietary Application Control Engine, which monitors all applications that access the Internet. The program integrates with the Windows Security Center, and offers a choice of 3 different profile settings for at home, at work and on the road, which makes it especially interesting for Notebook users that frequently connect to other networks.

Comodo Internet Security (formerly Comodo Firewall) combines Comodo AntiVirus with a personal firewall that filters ingoing and outgoing traffic on your computer. It alerts you of any applications that attempts to connect to the Internet and allows you to permanently or temporarily allow or block the connection. Advanced users can customize the application and TCP/IP rules based on IP address, protocol and destination port, however this is not required unless you have a reason to customize the rules. In addition to application behavior and network connections, Comodo Firewall also monitors components (dll files etc.) that initiate network connections, as well as parent processes and modifications to executables (checksum verification). Other features include attack prevention (port scanning, flooding), adjustable security levels, trusted networks, activity log and more. The firewall and antivirus features can be installed individually, you do not have to install both.

ZoneAlarm provides essential protection for Internet users. Combining the safety of a dynamic firewall with total control over applications Internet use, ZoneAlarm gives rock-solid protection against thieves and vandals. ZoneAlarm makes ironclad Internet security easy-to-use. ZoneAlarm gives you control over the door to your computer. With Stealth Mode enabled, ZoneAlarm`s Firewall renders your computer invisible to the Internet and potential intruders. If you can t be seen, you can t be attacked. Because you tell ZoneAlarm how you use your computer, the firewall only allows traffic that you understand and initiate. ZoneAlarm s firewall provides the ultimate intrusion security for your personal computer. ZoneAlarm also introduces MailSafe which enables users of ZoneAlarm to detect and control Visual Basic Script attachments to emails they receive while ZoneAlarm is running. Free for personal and non-profit use.

SoftPerfect Personal Firewall is a rule based network firewall to protect your PC against incoming attacks from the Internet or the local area network. It offers rule based settings for packet filtering with support for non-IP protocols such as ARP. It supports multiple network adapter configurations and lets you apply rules to all or just selected interfaces. The firewall comes with a learning mode, however even then, requires the user to have a good understanding of TCP/Ip networking. It comes with a set of pre-defined rules that allow you to quickly configure the most common protocols. SoftPerfect Personal Firewall is a standard firewall and does not offer any application level filtering.

Filseclab Personal Firewall is a personal firewall that allows you to control which programs can access the Internet and at what times. It offers an automated rules wizard that will prompt you for action whenever an incoming or outgoing connection is detected, that does not match any of the existing rule sets. You can then choose to grant or deny access, and automatically create a rule for it. The firewall also allows you to create rules manually and supports rules for applications, intranet, network type and time. In addition to connection filtering, the program also offers browser independent web site access filtering, that allows you to block specified sites or limit access to a list of sites. Additional features include control of ICMP packets, traffic graph display, three security levels and more. The interface is a little small (and a little confusing), but overall, Filseclab Personal Firewall offers some good features.

PeerGuardian 2 is an IP address blocker that can prevent access to thousands of sites. It uses multiple, categorized lists and you can choose which type of site(s) you want to block, including spyware/malware related, advertising related, P2P file sharing related and more. The lists are maintained and updated by a community and you can automatically have the program download the latests lists, and also create your own based on your personal blocking preference. PeerGuardian 2 keeps track of all blocked sites, and you can easily overwrite blocking rules or add new site directly from the log viewer.

R-Firewall is a personal firewall that allows you to control which applications can access the Internet. It supports application rules based on protocol, IP and ports. During the initial learning mode, you will be asked each time an application is initiating a network connection and have the option to allow or deny it, and also create a rule for future attempts. The program also includes content and email filtering options based on keywords in the URL, picture size, host and other aspects.

Look 'n' Stop Lite is a rule based firewall that allows you to filter all incoming traffic into your computer by setting up rules for individual ports and protocols. The firewall comes pre-configured with a basic ruleset that filters most common attacks, however requires the skills of a network administrator or user with networking knowledge to be fine tune for your individual needs. Look 'n' Stop Lite, even though fully featured, lightweight and very capable, does not provide application traffic filtering (the shareware version does).