QUESTION: ''Best'' Firewall for XP and/or POS Ready 2009 anno 2022 ?

[mina7601]

3 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

The portable version is not compatible with Windows XP. Only the versions ending in their name on XP are written for Windows XP. This is the free version for Windows XP: https://www.sphinx-soft.com/download/W10FC7.5/Windows10FirewallControlFree-XP-Setup.exe
And this is the Plus (paid) version for Windows XP: https://www.sphinx-soft.com/download/W10FC7.5/Windows10FirewallControlPlus-XP-Setup.exe
The Plus version is the one I use for years. It's definitely worth the money. I wouldn't use a portable version in case of a firewall. There are components which have to be installed in Windows sytem folder, otherwise the services couldn't start at Windows startup. The goal of a firewall must be in managing and controlling all connections, especially at system startup. A firewall should be deeply integrated into the system. Therefore a portable version isn't a good idea.

Cheers, AstroSkipper 

Funnily enough, these 2 direct links worked for me.

[Monroe]

I still use an older version of Zone Alarm ... when it was still just a 'firewall' and nothing else. It is a small download and the free version was very good and easy to set up. It does all the work and then after using it a few times it will know from your input what to do. I have the Pro version on my XP computers now (last 10 yrs or so) but for years the 'free' version was all I needed. The Pro version is really not needed, I just decided to bump up. This was all before Zone Alarm started adding items to their firewall and messed everything up.

I have tried several other XP versions of various firewalls over the last eight years or so but ZoneAlarm 4.5.594.0 is still the easiest to use and understand.

This web site seems to still have this old version from around 2003 / 2004 ... and a search should find some others also.

http://www.oldversion.com/windows/zonealarm-4-5-594-0

Other early versions:

http://www.oldversion.com/windows/zonealarm/

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Edited May 28, 2022 by Monroe
correction

[Monroe]

Just a small add to my last post on ZoneAlarm 4.5.594.000. I was sure it was the very last ZA version that was only a firewall but I had to search around to be sure since it was over 15 years that I had been using it ... starting with Windows 98SE.

It was the last version to only be a firewall. ZoneAlarm 4.5.594.000 was the last version of the ZA - 4.0 Branch. The very next version released was the new ZA - 5.0 Branch which now had Antivirus Monitoring.

5.0 Branch / ZoneAlarm 5.0.590.015 (May 24. 2004)

+ Antivirus Monitoring - Helps manage other security solutions by alerting you when your antivirus protection (even from another    vendor) has been disabled or is out of date

+ Alert Viewer - New Alert viewer functionality organizes log details by feature category

+ Various other enhancements for increased reliability of operation

Release History / ZoneAlarm Free Firewall

https://www.zonealarm.com/software/free-firewall/release-history

That last 'ZA firewall only' version was well liked as I remember ... it was simple to use, not bloated and worked.

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Edited June 2, 2022 by Monroe
add

[AstroSkipper]

On 6/2/2022 at 4:01 PM, Monroe said:

Just a small add to my last post on ZoneAlarm 4.5.594.000. I was sure it was the very last ZA version that was only a firewall but I had to search around to be sure since it was over 15 years that I had been using it ... starting with Windows 98SE.

It was the last version to only be a firewall. ZoneAlarm 4.5.594.000 was the last version of the ZA - 4.0 Branch. The very next version released was the new ZA - 5.0 Branch which now had Antivirus Monitoring.

5.0 Branch / ZoneAlarm 5.0.590.015 (May 24. 2004)

+ Antivirus Monitoring - Helps manage other security solutions by alerting you when your antivirus protection (even from another    vendor) has been disabled or is out of date

+ Alert Viewer - New Alert viewer functionality organizes log details by feature category

+ Various other enhancements for increased reliability of operation

Release History / ZoneAlarm Free Firewall

https://www.zonealarm.com/software/free-firewall/release-history

That last 'ZA firewall only' version was well liked as I remember ... it was simple to use, not bloated and worked.

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I had used ZoneAlarm Firewall for a long time in the past, long time ago. All versions of ZA v4 and v5 too. It was a good firewall at that time. But it was never a very stable and reliable one. Some versions were more stable, others less. Nowadays I wouldn't use any of these versions. The reason is there are much more better firewall solutions available, more stable and more recent without the problems I had to observe in the case of ZA. Some connections were not really blocked contrary to my settings. A lot of hanging at startup and so on. In those days I replaced ZA by Sygate Personal Firewall Professional which was much better than ZA. But for me, all these solutions are obsolete. The best firewall I have ever used is definitely Windows 10 Firewall Control XP Plus 7.5. No problems, no hanging and no unwanted connections anymore. So, spoken for me only, I have to say: Bye, Bye, ZA and all old not always properly working firewall solutions!   
And rest in peace! 

Cheers, AstroSkipper 

PS: Regarding to security solutions generally, the property "more recent" is very important due to changes in establishing secure connections, structure of internet and existing threats!

Edited June 4, 2022 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[Monroe]

AS ... thanks for the input. I just mentioned the older version of ZA as another 'option' for the OP to consider ... or anyone still on Windows XP. I downloaded four or five other firewalls that also worked with XP many years ago. That was 'just in case' one day the ZA version I was using started to give me problems or didn't work anymore.

Happy to say that has never happened so far ... everything seems to be OK.

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