A Firewall Question

[bighappyface]

A Question about software firewalls, to be precise.

I am curious if anybody knows which one uses the least amount of system resources, RAM, CPU time, etc., on old Win 9x systems.

Here is the list I've been perusing: http://www.mdgx.com/fw.htm

Zone Alarm is probably one of the best overall protections, but seems a bit of a hog? I only really require basic functionality and ease of use. I can personally handle something a little more complex, as far as setting up rules and whatnot, but as a hobby, I help friends, etc, keep their old dinosaurs running tip-top, fix them when they have probs, etc. My machine needs lots of attention too But anyway, want one that just does the most basic stuff (stealth ports, etc), that a mostly computer configuration illiterate won't have too many problems with if they run a new app that accesses the internet.

Also, I have been installing AVG free edition on most computers, is there another frequently updating free AV app that uses less resources if left running in the background?

[azagahl]

I am not sure about resource consumption but I have found Agnitum Outpost Firewall adequate and easy to use for 98 SE.

Sygate Personal Firewall caused me problems with shutdown and also mouse motion stuttering.

BTW, what is AVG free edition?

Isn't there a 30-day trial only?

[bighappyface]

BTW, what is AVG free edition?

Isn't there a 30-day trial only?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

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I'm leaning toward ditching Zone Alarm, and giving Tiny Personal Firewall a whirl, based on what I've read after searching some other forums.

Kerio doesn't have a download link (that I could find) for the old 2.x versions of Personal Firewall anymore, but I found a link to get the old version here, via MDGx's site

http://gwdu05.gwdg.de/samba/windows/persfw/pf2.exe

Seems Kerio's new 4.x version is quite a bit more bloated then the old version, from what I've been reading. Probably great on a new machine, but not for the older PCs

[bighappyface]

Wait, I'm confused, are Tiny Personal Firewall, and Kerio's older Personal Firewall, the same thing, or were at one time?

[nateklomp]

AFAIK, Tiny and KPF (old version) are the same, just changed names...

My Netzero dialup software won't work with them, so I'm unsure of their performance.

I've used Outpost Pro, it's pretty good but tends to hog up and I'd really recommend it only to folks who have a lot of patience in setting it up. I last used their first SP2-enabled version, it was terribly buggy and support is nearly nonexistent. I'm not particularly firewall-literate, but it took me a good 2 weeks to get it set up properly, and even then it tended to "forget" settings. Outpost FREE is pretty good, bit easier to set up, but also buggy and stripped-down as well.

AVG is probably the least resource-hogging autoupdating AV you can get for free.

[MDGx]

Because TPF + KPF [old 2.xx versions] are so small and simple, they are in my experience the fastest and take up the least memory.

As for CPU time, most firewalls I've tried are similar.

I have tried @ some point in time [all freeware versions]:

- ZoneAlarm

- Outpost

- TPF 2.1x

- KPF 2.1x [freeware] + 4.xx [time limited shareware]

- Sygate

- Omniquad

- Securepoint

- Primedius

My favorite, for simplicity + speed is KPF 2.15 , which is same as TPF 2.15.

Note that KPF 2.15 has newer [cleaner] code than TPF 2.15.

Tiny sold the 2.xx firewall code to Kerio, who later developed KPF 4.xx [became shareware since 3.6].

Tiny took a different route, and now produces TPF 6.0 [only for Win2000/XP/2003/Longhorn].

[bighappyface]

My favorite, for simplicity + speed is KPF 2.15 , which is same as TPF 2.15.

Note that KPF 2.15 has newer [cleaner] code than TPF 2.15.

Cool, I just found a working link to download KPF 2.15 from Kerio's site, so I'll go with that instead of the Tiny (TPF) version

http://www.kerio.com/dwn/kpf2-en-win.exe

This links to a thread in another forum (posted here for other's who might look in here in the future, and want to give KPF a try):

BZ Kerio 2x Default Replacement Update

^seems pretty informative, insofar as configuring KPF 2.15

Thanks, MDGx, for all the historical info too!

[MDGx]

Cool, I just found a working link to download KPF 2.15 from Kerio's site, so I'll go with that instead of the Tiny (TPF) version

http://www.kerio.com/dwn/kpf2-en-win.exe

This  links to a thread in another forum (posted here for other's who might look in here in the future, and want to give KPF a try):

BZ Kerio 2x Default Replacement Update

^seems pretty informative, insofar as configuring KPF 2.15

Thanks, MDGx, for all the historical info too!

Thanks for the KPF rules URL. Great find.

I've added it to my KPF page:

http://www.mdgx.com/fw.htm#MON