Warning for zone alarm users

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » July 9th, 2008, 14:53

It's shit.

Also, it can get broken by a windows update

buzzmong · Post by **buzzmong** » July 9th, 2008, 18:45

msupdates, lol

Cheers for the heads up Berk.

And correct, it's shit, but I really can't be bothered to find something different that works and is easy to setup and as invasive as ZA.

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » July 9th, 2008, 18:50

buzzmong wrote:I really can't be bothered to find something different that works and is ... as invasive as ZA.

Why would you want an invasive firewall? I prefer them to stay the fuck out of the way.

Post by **deject** » July 9th, 2008, 19:16

I've found that Zone Alarm just interferes and really doesn't do shit to protect you. If you've got decent anti-virus and a properly configured router you should be well protected.

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » July 9th, 2008, 19:18

deject wrote:I've found that Zone Alarm just interferes and really doesn't do shit to protect you. If you've got decent anti-virus and a properly configured router you should be well protected.

Shada · Post by **Shada** » July 9th, 2008, 20:01

Why would anyone actually use a software firewall beyond the windows default one?

Post by **Dog Pants** » July 9th, 2008, 20:03

I use Sygate Personal Firewall for program control and an additional layer of protection. I don't let Windows connect to the internet, so I've turned the whole suite off. Saying why use any software firewall beyond the Windows firewall is like saying why use another web browser when Windows comes with IE.

Post by **fabyak** » July 9th, 2008, 20:06

deject wrote:I've found that Zone Alarm just interferes and really doesn't do shit to protect you. If you've got decent anti-virus and a properly configured router you should be well protected.

although you missed off "It will also cripple your machine"

Post by **deject** » July 9th, 2008, 20:45

fabyak wrote: although you missed off "It will also cripple your machine"

Well, that's covered under "interferes" but yeah it was making playing games online a futile effort so I just dumped it.

buzzmong · Post by **buzzmong** » July 9th, 2008, 23:22

Gaems work fine for me (although, I've managed to peak from 15-20ms to 250+ in DoD1 and other HL1 based games). Need to test out CoD4 actually for ping issues.

I do like the program control though. I might however go looking for a new one soon though.

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » July 9th, 2008, 23:30

I've heard good things about Comodo Firewall and ESET Smart Security. not used either at all though. so there.

Post by **Dog Pants** » July 10th, 2008, 7:04

buzzmong wrote:Gaems work fine for me (although, I've managed to peak from 15-20ms to 250+ in DoD1 and other HL1 based games). Need to test out CoD4 actually for ping issues.

Rendered CS:S unplayable for me, really fucked it over. No great loss, but I ditched it anyway for that.

Wiggy · Post by **Wiggy** » July 10th, 2008, 14:35

Oh, just get Nod32. It's only 12 quid and it's fucking brilliant

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » July 10th, 2008, 15:36

Dog Pants wrote:Saying why use any software firewall beyond the Windows firewall is like saying why use another web browser when Windows comes with IE.

I don't think that comparison really holds up; it's not like you need to use a GUI to manage and control this service on a regular basis. And, as deject said, if you have a decent router that's well configured and a decent anti-virus solution then a software firewall is mostly redundant anyway. The built in Windows firewall may help and little and doesn't hinder so it's enough for me, it's free and it can mostly be left to do it's stuff without user intervention.

Where's as you have to look at and use IE actively, which is a terrible crime.

Baliame · Post by **Baliame** » July 10th, 2008, 15:48

Wiggy wrote:Oh, just get Nod32. It's only 12 quid and it's fucking brilliant

This, hard.

Post by **deject** » July 10th, 2008, 16:29

I also paid for NOD32, I haven't had any complaints about it yet.

I did have trouble with ThreatFire interfering with Firefox for some reason. It was fucking up my extensions and all that, like I couldn't install any new ones and updates would never work. So if you have ThreatFire installed, either bypass it when you're updating Firefox or figure out how to configure it to let Firefox work properly.

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » July 10th, 2008, 17:04

It's probably worth mentioning at this point that windows xp firewall is basically useless for application control, as it only filters inbound traffic, so any apps phoning home won't be affected, at least not immediately.

I also agree with the use of a decent firewall if you feel you need it, I personally don't see any point, as I trust my AV enough to catch any mistakes I make, and don't use much software prone to phoning home.

Post by **deject** » July 10th, 2008, 17:17

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:It's probably worth mentioning at this point that windows xp firewall is basically useless for application control, as it only filters inbound traffic, so any apps phoning home won't be affected, at least not immediately.

I also agree with the use of a decent firewall if you feel you need it, I personally don't see any point, as I trust my AV enough to catch any mistakes I make, and don't use much software prone to phoning home.

it can be handy for controlling floorware, but other than that most outbound traffic should be legit.

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » July 10th, 2008, 18:45

Lee wrote:It's the other way round isn't it? It only filters outbound traffic, that's why it always asks you what you want to do when you open a new program that uses the internet.

Nope, You'll notice it never blocks anything immediately, usually takes at least a few seconds.

That's because it doesn't block outgoing, just stuff coming back that the app has asked for.

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » July 10th, 2008, 18:45

Dammit, I hate when posts go away.