is there any good free firewalls??

iptables and ipchains are by far the best free ones. Don't forget the smoothwall project. www.LinuxISO.org

I do not recommend ZoneAlarm. though I have never had a problem with it(of course that was years ago). I have just heard to many complaints from friends that are network engineers & security engineers that work for the military. I tend to believe ones who I look up to.

But I have used this free SYGATE real easy to configure you will have no problem buddy.
It's a practical step. Adding layers of security can't be a bad thing... No one can argue against having security. Some members on this site show no need for security which is ashame.

http://www.sygate.com/

Alt mirror www.WebAttack.com
or www.Downloads.com


cheers

While iptables and ipchains are great, as far as I know they're only for linux. Zone Alarm is the only free one I know of for Windows.

While iptables and ipchains are great, as far as I know they're only for linux.

Who said they were for NT? Its was a joke. :D

dvr's initial question was about free firewalls. I just wanted to make sure that he knew they weren't for Windows ... so this way he doesn't spend 1000 hours looking for them on download.com :-P

[sidenote] When I had my linux box up, I *gasp* didn't have it firewalled at all. It was behind an XP machine running WinGate which was behind the Windows XP built-in firewall which was behind my linksys switch. I am the only user of my home network. However, I would like to say that I DO NOT recommend this at all. I was just lazy.[/sidenote]

thanx fo your replys.
I guess I should of said I am running win2k for an OS.

just wondering?
(i know i'm piggy backing) but would any one recomend using a linux box settup as a firewall only with only a local login? or is it still better to use a solid box of tricks like a watchgaurd or a sonicwall?


spikes

You can use any Linux distro as your firewall if you take the time to configure it properly, or you can download any number of "boot-off-the-CD" firewall distros, which don't take as much time to configure.

As far as logins, I'd suggest only having one user account (besides root) with a password that's difficult to crack. Something like yO!*8034g7 isn't very common.

As far as cost, it's up to you if you want to spend a few hundred bucks (an up) to protect your data, or if you feel comfortable enough doing it yourself using Linux/UNIX. If you build your own box, you can add your own "bag of tricks" by adding nmap, snort, tripwire, and a dozen other utilities for intrusion detection/auditing/etc.

Sygate is free & very good.

Member Avatar for TKSS

thanx fo your replys.
I guess I should of said I am running win2k for an OS.

Sygate always worked for me in the past. I liked its interface and I had my buddy test it out for me. It blocked every attack he threw at me from his linux box. So, I liked Sygate quite a bit...try it and see what you think. it's available on download.com

Member Avatar for TKSS

just wondering?
(i know i'm piggy backing) but would any one recomend using a linux box settup as a firewall only with only a local login? or is it still better to use a solid box of tricks like a watchgaurd or a sonicwall?


spikes

If I were to install anything for JUST a firewall...I'd go with http://www.smoothwall.org

It takes about 10 minutes to install...5 minutes to configure...comes with a good manual and online help. Very active forum. You can be up and running in about 20 minutes.

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