OK ... we'll start with one of the err,
market leaders, ZoneAlarm.
The 'free' version is crap ... it does beat MS's own firewall ... it comes in 8th place
from the bottom of the pack at #24... anybody who solely relies on ZA free don't get any sympathy from me. You certainly get what you pay for.
However, I will add, ZA Pro7 is a very good firewall and deserves its #3 spot.
I'll cut to the chase here ...
Comodo is ranked the best firewall of 'em all ... but you will have to do a little tweaking and it can still be a little bugger at times blocking innocent website completely. Oh, and surprisingly, it's still free for personal use.
Jetico Personal Firewall 2.0.0.28 beta gets the #2 spot ... no need to tweak this one ... the free version, Jetico Personal Firewall 1.0.1.61 Freeware, is a damn good alternative if you like Jetico and need free and comes in at #7.
So, there you have the top three firewalls as recently tested as last month.
However, solely relying on a firewall with no antivirus or anti-malware-anti-Trojan-anti-spyware anti-nastie kitchen sink and all ... is just asking for trouble.
We who use Kaspersky Internet Security do so because we have,
amongst all its other attributes, the #5 most rated firewall ... it
is all its other built-in products that sway it for us.
KIS is an all-in-one PC security software, that is second to none.
Who is to say what will be number one next month ... I ain't to bothered, I like what I have 'cos it does the job I want it to.
There are not many "security" software I haven't tried out for myself I have used all the above at one time or another, and then some.