Can anyone recomend a free Vista compatible firewall. I used to use Comodo but i believe it is not Vista compatible yet? James

There is nothing wrong with Vista's own built in firewall. Unlike XP's firewall, the new Vista firewall scans both incoming and outgoing traffic. I have always used the free versions of Zone Alarm with previous versions of Windows, but with Vista I haven't even bothered installing a third party firewall. I have simply stuck with the Vista firewall. I haven't had any problems with it.
John Barnett MVP Associate Expert Windows - Shell/User
Web: xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Web: vistasupport.mvps.org
The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy, reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this mail/post..
"James Truelove"

"James Truelove"

As John said the Vista firewall includes outbound connection filtering. You can download an add-on for the Vista firewall called (appropriately) Vista Firewall Control (there's a free version and a payware version) which creates an interactive layer that pops up permissions requests for applications when they first attempt an outbound connection. See link below:
sphinx-soft.com/Vista/index.html
I found this a bit too simple though and am currently using PC Tools Firewall Plus which is very stable on my system. It is Vista compatible freeware and is constantly being improved. It supports advanced "rule-making" which enables you to target and tighten the filtering. I like the Comodo firewall too, but unfortunately Comodo has not even released a Vista compatible beta yet (coming in May). ZoneAlarm does have a Vista compatible beta, but as always you use beta software at your own risk. Hope some of this is useful to you. Link to PC Tools Firewall Pro below:
pctools.com/firewall/

Thanks for advice James "Victek"

The only free firewall out so far for Vista seems to be the one from PC Tools, and it has been very problematic. I don't know if the latest release may have fixed the serious bugs it had. pctools.com/firewall/
As John Barnett noted Vista's firewall has a 2 way capability. However, this is disabled by default (a point that MS never mentions when hyping it as an improved security feature). It is also less user friendly than the better free firewalls have generally been. See this link for more information. searchwindowssecurity.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid45_gci1247138,00.html
"James Truelove"

why did ms disable the 2-way capability of vista' firewall?
how do I enable it? is there a reason why I should not enable it?
in what way is vista's firewall "less user-friendly," and are you saying that there are better firewalls available? if yes, then how can I disable - or uninstall - ms's firewall and replace it with another, given that I have installed ms's onecare package?
I will read your link and ask further.
thanks

/s/ Neal Weissman (212) 591-1531 "GTS"

"James Truelove" wrote

In my opinion, you don't need a 3rd party firewall in Vista. There are many improvements to it from the XP firewall.
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

On Wed, 18 Apr 2007 19:05:44 +0100, John Barnett MVP wrote in

The Consumers Association ("Which") here in the UK made a similar mistake in reporting the outbound traffic was being checked. When there is a clean install of Vista (even an upgrade) the outbound firewall is *not* on by default. If you load the firewall configuration plug-in at the "Run" box by typing "wf.msc" this disability can be seen.
Mike Tullett - Coleraine 55.13°N 6.69°W posted 19/04/2007 07:50:29 GMT

See inline
"nweissma"

Probably because it might have been confusing to less knowledgeable users who are not used to having to manage permissions. There's some truth to this and it may arguably make sense, but MS misled the public into thinking it was in fact functional, in order to hype it as a security improvement in Vista.

That is answered in the second link I provided. You should not enable it if you are using MS Onecare becasause that includes a firewall with outbound functionality. (It probably interacts with or is a front end to the Vista native firewall.)

though there's an ad-in to enable that. Also, it's not all obvious how to enable it and configure permissions. Again, if you are using Onecare, don't also add a 3rd party firewall. Use one or the other.

"GTS"

PC Tools Firewall Plus 2.X initially had a bug that caused the firewall to block all traffic when enabled, but that was fixed months ago. There have been numerous updates since then to improve the firewall, however users should be aware that this firewall is rules based and requires more user input then ZoneAlarm to work optimally. For instance, my computer is behind a router and a cable modem, so I needed to make rules allowing the router and modem IP's access to the computer. That was easy enough for me, but someone without basic knowledge of TCP/IP might have a problem. It easy though, to turn OFF PC Tools Firewall Plus (and turn the Windows firewall back ON for protection), restore internet access and get support from the PC Tools forum.

"Mike Tullett"

Wow! Thank you for posting this. I was also under the impression that out-bound traffic was blocked but, as you note, it is not by default.

23 Apr 2007,"PTravel" in news:u1uroRchHHA.4704 TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl:

can go to some of the fw test sites and tryout your setup

list . not sure if current iexbeta.com/wiki/index.php/Windows_Vista_Software_Compatibility_List# Firewalls_.2F_IDS.27s
jetico.com/ [v1 has lots of rules to manage. don't know about v2.]
both jetico's and kis (kaspersky) 6 did well at matousec and firewallleakter (dated ratings, but has tests). kis is payware.
check fileforum, softpedia, snapfiles, wilderssecurity for user comments. eg, google.com/search?q=vista+wilderssecurity+compatibility+firewall+2007

take a look at Vista Firewall Control from sphinx-soft enables the outbound and gives interface to enable/disable as needed.

mikeyhsd comcast.net

23 Apr 2007,"PTravel" in news:u1uroRchHHA.4704 TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl:

can go to some of the fw test sites and tryout your setup

list . not sure if current iexbeta.com/wiki/index.php/Windows_Vista_Software_Compatibility_List# Firewalls_.2F_IDS.27s
jetico.com/ [v1 has lots of rules to manage. don't know about v2.]
both jetico's and kis (kaspersky) 6 did well at matousec and firewallleakter (dated ratings, but has tests). kis is payware.
check fileforum, softpedia, snapfiles, wilderssecurity for user comments. eg, google.com/search?q=vista+wilderssecurity+compatibility+firewall+2007

02 May 2007,"mikeyhsd" in news:#DvJGuMjHHA.680 TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl:

i saw that (above in thread) but didn't realize the significance. an "addon" for ms builtin vista fw. have you tried this?
i'd rather see some feedback or tests before trying (the vista's not mine) I don't see enough info on the sphinx-soft website to see what kind of rule-edits are possible (or doably possible!)
sphinx-soft.com/Vista/using.html ui is more convenenient for the pay version
and skimming short text, sphinx-soft.com/Vista/settings.html Settings (Plus version only) i don't see differentiation between this and the free version.
groups.google.com/groups?q=%22Vista+Firewall+Control%22+%7C+sphinx- soft+Firewall+rules+free+%7C+freeware
link from freeware ng articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10877_11-6131599.html articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10877_11-6098592.html
"But once you discover the secret of accessing its advanced configuration settings via the MMC snap-in"

maybe if editing via the free version of sphinx is limited, the original ms ui is enough? edit details in mmc, then use sphinx to toggle fw's modes?
but so far, none of this (Kaspersky or ms fw) is easy enough for "grandmom or grandad" to use.
thevistaforums.com/index.php?act=findpost&pid=60516 msmvps.com/blogs/hostsnews/archive/2007/03/07/windows-vista-firewall.aspx

snip

am currently using it. when a programs needs to go out, a pop up comes to ask you to enable or disable or temp enable the out request. only thing I have found is you may have to refresh the request that caused the pop up. like click open a link to get IE to open. have to close IE and click link again, first time only. from then only it is approved for out going.

mikeyhsd comcast.net

02 May 2007,"mikeyhsd" in news:#DvJGuMjHHA.680 TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl:

i saw that (above in thread) but didn't realize the significance. an "addon" for ms builtin vista fw. have you tried this?
i'd rather see some feedback or tests before trying (the vista's not mine) I don't see enough info on the sphinx-soft website to see what kind of rule-edits are possible (or doably possible!)
sphinx-soft.com/Vista/using.html ui is more convenenient for the pay version
and skimming short text, sphinx-soft.com/Vista/settings.html Settings (Plus version only) i don't see differentiation between this and the free version.
groups.google.com/groups?q=%22Vista+Firewall+Control%22+%7C+sphinx- soft+Firewall+rules+free+%7C+freeware
link from freeware ng articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10877_11-6131599.html articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10877_11-6098592.html
"But once you discover the secret of accessing its advanced configuration settings via the MMC snap-in"

maybe if editing via the free version of sphinx is limited, the original ms ui is enough? edit details in mmc, then use sphinx to toggle fw's modes?
but so far, none of this (Kaspersky or ms fw) is easy enough for "grandmom or grandad" to use.
thevistaforums.com/index.php?act=findpost&pid=60516 msmvps.com/blogs/hostsnews/archive/2007/03/07/windows-vista-firewall.aspx

snip