Battle Online Armor Premium, Outpost Firewall Pro, or PrivateFirewall?

[MRM3601]

I should say, from the start, that I'm a relative neophyte when it comes to personal computers.

I'm an academic and my wife is an engineer. I use the pc for doing research, writing, and communicating with other sociologists. My wife uses SolidWorks and other engineering software. She also does research on the internet.

We are still using Windows XP, SP3. I have the latest edition of BitDefender for anti-virus software and Malwarebytes Pro.

I've read excellent reviews, terms of Firewall software, for Online Armor Premium, Outpost Firewall Pro, and for PrivateFirewall.

Would any of these make good choices given the above? Should I consider other firewall software?

All responses will be appreciated.

Thank you

 

[aztony]

I use, or have used, Online Armor (free) and Privatefirewall. Both are excellent programs that will get the job done.

 

[MRM3601]

Thanks very much, aztony. I appreciate your response.

 

[jerzy601]

Also, I use Windows XP SP3 32bit, Eset NOD32, NoVirusThanks EXE Radar Pro, Hitman Pro. Should I use the system firewall or should I consider other firewall software?
All responses will be appreciated.

 

[Moose]

How much Ram does your PC have, please? This will help for Windows XP users?

 

[jerzy601]

I have 3Gb of memory.

 

[Moose]

Comodo Firewall Free Version, because of the sandbox for Internet Explorer, FireFox Browsers ect....
Downside is that hard to remove/uninstall after being install on to your PC. You may need
Comodo Removal Tool to uninstall this software.

http://www.comodo.com/home/internet...12=2034&key7sk1=19&key1sk1=ors&key1sk2=Google

Second Choice PrivateFireWall: very good in my opinion, only thing is that does not have the sandbox for the Browser's mention above!

http://www.privacyware.com/personal_firewall.html

You may need PrivateFireWall Removal Tool to uninstall this software. For Windows XP!

 

[jerzy601]

Comodo is very good but you can have a problem because it can slow down the websites
in my opinion, Private Firewall is the best firewall

 

[blues]

I've used them all though Outpost, once removed, has never successfully run on my system again.

Of the group mentioned, I prefer and continue to use Online Armor (Premium). To me it's the most intuitive to use and most effective out of the box.

If it works without issues on your machine, Online Armor is the one I would recommend.

 

[DaZa9]

Installed Outpost, uninstalled it after a few hours I didn't like it. Used Comodo Firewall and PrivateFirewall.
Liked PrivateFirewall...

 

[Littlebits]

Out of the three mentioned, I would agree that Privatefirewall would be the better choice.
It is free, lite and doesn't cause the issues that is related to the others.

But if you already have a router with a firewall, it would be recommended to configure it to protect your complete network.
Router firewalls do a much better job keeping your network protected, if configured correctly you will not need to use another software based firewall besides Windows Firewall. Only download files from safe sources and utilize UAC and then you will not need advanced security like HIPS features.

Thanks.

 

[blues]

I like PrivateFirewall as well, and have had great support from their development team through many contacts with Greg Salvato over a period of a couple of years.

That said, PF is not without its quirks and issues. However, Greg and staff are usually pretty quick to address them if they can (as well as incorporating new features).

 

[jerzy601]

Littlebits completely agree with you.
thanks

 

[Ink]

I would too choose Private Firewall. It's small, light and free without any bloat or risk of your (SolidWorks) files going missing.
That would be my main concern with Comodo Firewall, it's Auto-Sandbox (included with the Firewall) relies on it's own (TVL) Trusted Vendors List, and you can't be sure if all SolidWorks components are listed on it.

@Littlebits They're using Windows XP, no UAC available.

Also you may want to contact SolidWorks about Antivirus/Firewall compatibility, their current lists are limited:
http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/AntiVirus_SW.html

 

[jerzy601]

Littlebits I have a question?
and what do you think of DefenseWall Personal Firewall with Antivirus EsetNOD32 their cooperation?: (

 

[Exterminator]

I think OA is an excellent firewall.I use it on Win 7 as part of EIS
Outpost is also good but was very buggy when I tried it in Win 8
I think based on OP's question I would say Private Firewall just for the previously mentioned facts that it is light and stable.
Best of all it's free with good support!

 

[arsenaloyal]

I have been a long time Outpost Firewall Pro user and have grown accustomed to it on every PC i own.

 

[Littlebits]

Littlebits I have a question?
and what do you think of DefenseWall Personal Firewall with Antivirus EsetNOD32 their cooperation?: (

DefenseWall is different than most other firewalls it is like having Sanboxie or BufferZone Pro with a network firewall.
DefenseWall is the first sandboxing-style personal firewall, it is a good product if you learn how to use it correctly.

For myself is is not worth messing with since I don't need that kind of protection and if I did need it, I would use a free product instead. If you already use your web applications sandboxed with Sandboxie then DefenseWall is not needed. Eset NOD32 is probably the best paid AV solution to buy, if you don't want to use free AV's.

For myself I never buy security products since free product do excellent keeping my system protected along with my own actions.

If you do want to buy, first give the trial version a full test run to make sure you like the products and they have no conflicts.
You don't want to end up buying products that are not compatible.

Enjoy!!

 

[MRM3601]

Thank you for all of your responses. I'll load PrivateFirewall for now on my wife's PC and I'll replace it with Online Armor it it acts up.

Than you again.

 

[blues]

If you should encounter issues with PrivateFirewall, please shoot an email to their customer support. You'll never find a quicker response and attempt to put your issue right. Greg and company take their product very seriously and while not perfect they do make every effort to address issues and new features when they can.