So, what firewall for Vista?

[walshie]

Hi,
I've just changed to Vista Home Premium with a new machine.
I was using AVG for anti-virus and Zonealarm as a firewall (your recommendation last time!)
Can you please tell me what you'd recommend for use with Vista for best protection?
Thanks again for your help!
W

[NonSuch]

Hi, walshie.

I am moving your topic to the General Discussions room as that is a more appropriate area for your question.

I'm sure you'll get lots of input.

[turtledove]

Hello walshie,

AntiVir is a good Anti Virus, they also have a suite that includes firewall. Here is some information:
http://www.free-av.com/en/products/index.html
Hope that helps.

TD

[Axephilic]

If you are willing to pay, then I would recommend using the AntiVir suite as turtledove said. I recommend downloading the demo first to see how you like the feel of it and how it will run with your system.

If you are looking for free, then I recommend the following:

• Avira AntiVir Personal (free) for your Anti-Virus
• Comodo Firewall Pro 3.0 (free) - it provides excellent protection for a firewall and has Defense+ for added security.
• WinPatrol 2008
• MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware has a free and paid version. The free version will only allow you to scan on-demand. I recommend doing a full scan once every few weeks to make sure there is nothing.
• Spybot Search & Destroy has awesome, free realtime protection and can make your system quite a bit less vulnerable.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Adam

[GGiTzKevin]

For free security software, I'd use Avira Antivir, WinPatrol, a HOSTS file, SpywareBlaster, ZoneAlarm (Comodo if you're more advanced at the computer), and MBAM as a backup malware scanner.

[NonSuch]

One word of caution... Of late, I have seen a number of Vista systems that were blocked from internet access by third-party firewalls and/or overzealous security suites. I saw three of these just yesterday. Don't overdo.