Brian,
I have used all the third party firewalls over the past few years,
both paid and free, including those that come with various security
suites. I just uninstalled Comodo's free firewall today because of
problems it causes with downloading Windows Updates and receiving and
installing its own updates. I am going back to the advanced firewall in
Vista and I seriously doubt that I will change again.
I have also used the Windows Firewall included with Vista and I find
that it is more than adequate, although many people will disagree with
me. If you desire more functions from the Windows Firewall in Vista you
can configure the Advanced Windows Firewall to do most of what you wish.
However, if you are unfamiliar with configuring a firewall I would
suggest you have a knowledgeable person assist you.
C.B.
I would second this advice. While I haven't tried "all" 3rd party
firewalls, I've tried several, and agree that Vista's built-in firewall
is perfectly adequate for most people. While it's not quite up to the
ease-of-use standards of Kerio or ZoneAlarm, it has been noticeably
improved over WinXP's version.
There are two interfaces for Vistas built-in firewall:
1) A simplified one accessed through the Control Panel that is the only
one most people see. To further supplement this view, Sphinx's Vista
Firewall Control
http://sphinx-soft.com/Vista/) is a piece of freeware
that makes the Vista Firewall much more easily manageable to the average
user.
2) And the more advanced "Windows Firewall with Advanced Security
(WF.msc), accessed via the Start Menu's Administrative Tools folder, for
the experienced user who wants more granular control.
--
Bruce Chambers
Help us help you:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375
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