Solved Is Windows 7's built in firewall any good?

[caleb97]

Hi,

I'm currently using the built in Windows 7 Firewall (in conjunction with Avast Free 6). I was wondering if there are any better alternatives out there or if the built in firewall is fine. Which ones would you recommend?

 

[Sardonicus]

It's fine for many users.
If you want something higher up in the firewall chain, try Comodo Free.

 

[DBone]

If you need out going notification, then you might like a 3rd party FW. But if you're like the vast majority of people that don't want to be bothered by a notification that says, "System wants to connect to the internet, do you want to allow?", then the W7 FW is for you. If you are behind a router NAT firewall, it does most of the heavy lifting anyway. I use the W7 FW set to public because I don't share files or print, and it is plenty strong. Ultimately it's up to you, but most every 3rd party FW that I have tried just notifies the user more, and always seems to irritate me at some point in time.

 

[caleb97]

Thanks for your replies p5bdkw and DBone!

I'm going to give Comodo firewall a try and see how I get on.

 

[DBone]

Make sure you do a custom install or the standard installer will install GeekBuddy, and I don't think you will want it. On the installer's first page, there is an option at the bottom that says "options" or "custom", or something similar, choose that and uncheck GeekBuddy.

 

[caleb97]

Thanks for the tip DBone!

 

[JMH]

For Windows 7 OS the Windows Firewall is recommended as being appropriate.
{Used here on all computers}

No firewall can protect you absolutely if you DON'T surf sensibly staying away from sites known to cause problems.
NEVER randomly click on things you know nothing about.

In addition -
ALWAYS use
* Anti Virus plus Anti Malware software,
* have a router plus firewall,
* keep all relevant programs updated & scan on a regular basis for infections.

 

[ddinc]

Firewall and Defender act like Placebo

I am using Win 7 since 2 years.
Not a single alert..

But my virusscanner and Trojanremover software have rescued
me several times.

I still bother to update defender database ...but it is like whistling
in the dark in order to frighten aggressors

 

[caleb97]

Thanks for all the help guys,

I promptly uninstalled Comodo Firewall. I felt that it was over complicating the job that Windows Firewall does just fine. I'm sure it's a very good and useful program if you need all those features, but for now I think I'll stick to Windows Firewall.

 

[DBone]

lol I was wondering how you were getting along with Comodo! It certainly has its places, but for the average user, it is just overwhelming.

 

[damien76]

Agree there that Comodo is a bit overwhelming to some but once you get the hang of it you'll see it's great! It grows on you

 

[shawn77]

Comodo is highly recommended