# Personal Firewall



## fredtgreco (Feb 18, 2006)

Does anyone use a personal firewall software program? I am wondering what people use. I want low system resources and relative set it and forget it.

Any recommendations?


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## Swampguy (Feb 18, 2006)

Symantic Norton Personel Firewall. Have used for years and it is easy to use


[Edited on 2-19-2006 by Swampguy]


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## raderag (Feb 18, 2006)

> _Originally posted by fredtgreco_
> Does anyone use a personal firewall software program? I am wondering what people use. I want low system resources and relative set it and forget it.
> 
> Any recommendations?



If you have XP, I have heard the built in firewall is good. Otherwise, I have heard things about ZoneAlarm. Also, sometimes McAfee or Norton has good bundles that include virus protection and firewalls.


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## Pilgrim (Feb 18, 2006)

I use Zone Alarm free firewall and AVG antivirus


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## JohnV (Feb 18, 2006)

I have Norton as well. But I also have a firewall on my wireless modem. On top of that I have XP HOME edition, which, as I understand, also has a firewall in it. 

My computer is now part of my work, so it is now set up properly. At least I hope so. Still, I rely more on common sense than on the protection programs.


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## Pilgrim (Feb 18, 2006)

I'm no expert but ZA certainly seems to use less resources than Norton did.


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## JohnV (Feb 18, 2006)

Chris:

My brother is kind of a computer doctor, and he uses Norton. He's the one who put onto the Symantic fix-it site. And since Norton has fixed so many of my problems, and doesn't have problems with this Windows set-up, like the other computer had, I go with it. It works for me. I've had no problems at all. But then, I don't go all over the I-net either.


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## Pilgrim (Feb 18, 2006)

I didn't really have any problems with Norton either. But my computer is really an antique and it runs much better now with Zone Alarm and the AVG firewall. I'm thinking part of it is that Norton used more resources and slowed it down. I haven't had problems with viruses under either setup.


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## historyb (Feb 18, 2006)

On windows I use their firewall and my NAT in my router. On Linux just the NAT, Linux is just better


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## JohnV (Feb 18, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Pilgrim_
> I didn't really have any problems with Norton either. But my computer is really an antique and it runs much better now with Zone Alarm and the AVG firewall. I'm thinking part of it is that Norton used more resources and slowed it down. I haven't had problems with viruses under either setup.



That's the problem I had with my old computer too. It slowed it down by quite a bit. I tried a couple of free anti-virus programs, but they did the same thing. Then someone on the Puritan Board put me onto AVG, and that worked. But that is not firewall. 

I have my computer set to do regular checkups, and also defrags. Its what Fred called "Set it and forget it." I like that.


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## Presbyrino (Feb 18, 2006)

I use Zone Alarm. Easy to setup, works pretty good, non-intrusive. 

Although, I think WindowsXP comes with a free firewall with SP2.


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## Semper Fidelis (Feb 19, 2006)

Trendmicro Internet Security - fast, minimizes system resources, and has some intrusion detection for wireless networks.

I used Norton products for the longest time. I've been a computer enthusiast for about 25 years now. I remember Norton's products when it was just Peter Norton's company. I've owned nearly every version of Norton Utilities released over the years.

I say "used" because I became increasingly frustrated with how bloated Symantec's code is and how nearly impossible some older versions became to uninstall once installed on my system.

I went to a forum of some fairly knowledgeable network security folks and there were many people who commended Trend Micro. Kaspersky was also highly commended. I have been very happy with Trend Micro since making the switch.


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## Romans922 (Feb 19, 2006)

I have TrendMicro too.


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## mgeoffriau (Feb 19, 2006)

I would recommend not relying on just the XP firewall. It is not terribly robust. If you have XP, use it, but supplement it with a third party program.

Norton is better, but it hogs resources.

I prefer ZoneAlarm (free). It's very robust, and easy to set up. It doesn't steal resources, and doesn't pester me to install any related software. I can review and control what programs are allowed to open ports, and also review who is attempting to access my computer.

I've heard Kerio's good as well.


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## Pilgrim (Feb 19, 2006)

> _Originally posted by mgeoffriau_
> I would recommend not relying on just the XP firewall. It is not terribly robust. If you have XP, use it, but supplement it with a third party program.
> 
> Norton is better, but it hogs resources.
> ...



I have heard similar things about the XP firewall.


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## Pilgrim (Feb 19, 2006)

> _Originally posted by SemperFideles_
> Trendmicro Internet Security - fast, minimizes system resources, and has some intrusion detection for wireless networks.
> 
> I used Norton products for the longest time. I've been a computer enthusiast for about 25 years now. I remember Norton's products when it was just Peter Norton's company. I've owned nearly every version of Norton Utilities released over the years.
> ...



 to difficulty with uninstalling and removing Norton components.


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## fredtgreco (Feb 19, 2006)

You need to do more than just uninstall Norton.

You should run the Norton Removal Tools program from Symantec:
ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/linked_files/tsgen/SymNRT.exe

And then it would not hurt to run the registry cleaner they provide as well:
ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/linked_files/tsgen/SYMMSICLEANUP.reg


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## fredtgreco (Feb 19, 2006)

Personally, for AV I have settled on Eset NoD32. Very good in tests, very low resource usage. Pretty fast full scans too. I have found that I don't need 75% of the "combination tools" in most Security Suites. (I was using Trend Micro before this). All antispam programs slow down opening Outlook, so I just use the native Junk Mail feature now. That's part of the reason for looking into a firewall.


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## Pilgrim (Feb 19, 2006)

The antispam programs definitely slow down opening up an email client, whatever it is. I could be wrong, but I'm thinking if you know what you're doing, you're probably not likely to be infected that way anyway.


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## Pilgrim (Feb 19, 2006)

> _Originally posted by fredtgreco_
> You need to do more than just uninstall Norton.
> 
> You should run the Norton Removal Tools program from Symantec:
> ...



Thanks Fred. The Removal Tool removes components from 2004-present. I had Systemworks from 02 or '03 installed as well. Do you know if they have a removal tool for that? 

I ran the removal tool and it said I had "Symantec Winfax Pro" and that I needed to remove it through Add/Remove programs before proceeding. But it doesn't appear in Add/Remove programs. I see Fax Tools, but I'm thinking that's a Windows program


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## fredtgreco (Feb 19, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Pilgrim_
> 
> 
> > _Originally posted by fredtgreco_
> ...



Chris,

Start here:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/docid/2001092114452606

Then:

Here is the KB article on removing WinFaxPro manually:

http://tinyurl.com/rnntq

And here is the one for Systemworks 2003:
http://tinyurl.com/oo862


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## Pilgrim (Feb 19, 2006)

> _Originally posted by fredtgreco_
> 
> 
> > _Originally posted by Pilgrim_
> ...



Thanks, Fred. I had managed to find the some of those in the meantime, except for the WinFaxPro. I think I was able to remove most things last year when I made the switch, but it wasn't in a systematic way. I still have a little cleaning up to do.


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## Semper Fidelis (Feb 20, 2006)

> _Originally posted by fredtgreco_
> You need to do more than just uninstall Norton.
> 
> You should run the Norton Removal Tools program from Symantec:
> ...


Roger that Fred. I knew that. It's just an increasing annoyance for me. I don't like their code and how sticky it is. Should not need a special utility to uninstall a program. I'm comfortable with Registry Editor and have used that to find some things that even the cleanup utilities still left that were being loaded into memory after my NAV products had been removed.


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