As it stands right now there are not many Vista-compatible firewalls available. PC Tools is coming through by not only offering one, but they are even making it free! A comment by bloodsugarwilksm convinced me to try out the new Firewall Plus 3.0 that was recently released, and before I get into some of the details I want to say that this firewall works with Windows XP, 2000, and Server 2003 in addition to Vista.
We included Firewall Plus 2.0 in our list of free antivirus, anti-spyware, and firewalls post that was done back in April, and even then it was the only Vista compatible firewall available. Now they have reached another big milestone, but you won’t notice any difference in the interface.
–What’s New in Firewall Plus 3.0?–
The PC Tools developers made changes where it matters most in a firewall: under-the-hood. Here’s a list of what’s new in version 3:
- New Smart Application Rules
Firewall Plus now incorporates a set of new smart application rules, designed to make it simpler and easier for you to continue working with minimal interference from your Firewall. Technically, using the Application Rules, you can create a heuristic set of rules that control how applications are allowed to connect to the Internet/network and their permissions on your PC. If an application attempts to connect to the Internet/network and there are no corresponding rules, Firewall Plus will allow you to choose how the application should behave. - Stealth Mode protection
Firewall Plus provides you with extra protection via its Stealth Mode feature which enables your system to appear invisible to other computers in the network. When in Stealth Mode, your computer is able to make connections to other computers in the network, but Firewall Plus will prevent other computers from connecting with yours. - Data Validation using SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection)
Firewall Plus validates data using SPI – stateful packet inspection – in which it performs a protocol handshake and if successful allows data transfer, otherwise all traffic is blocked - ensuring no unauthorized data is transferred onto your computer. - Application protection
Firewall Plus offers additional application protection by guarding all the applications on your PC from unauthorized access. Enabling this option will shield applications on your system from other applications attempting to take control of them and potentially use them for malicious purposes.
–What I think about it–
I’ve always been a big fan of the Comodo Firewall because of its exceptional performance and outstanding protection, but I give a lot of credit to PC Tools for creating a very strong competing product. Firewall Plus takes up a mere 5MB of memory on my Vista machine, which I don’t feel bad dedicating to something as important as a firewall.
By default Firewall Plus is configured to show notifications that are stripped down to only the information casual users would care about. If you’re a power user that likes to see every little detail then there is an “Expert” mode in the settings. Despite being a power user myself I have found that the basic notifications are nice, clean, and setup so that you can quickly respond.
Am I going to use it myself? Actually I think that I will at least until something better comes along. My heart is still with Comodo, but I’m a bit weary running a beta build of their Vista-compatible version, which has been causing some blue screens of death for some users. I’m guessing that Comodo 3 will be out within the next month or two, and at that time I’ll reevaluate my firewall needs. Right now, however, Firewall Plus is what’s protecting my PC.
–Screenshots–
I’ll go ahead and wrap things up with several screenshots of the different areas in Firewall Plus 3:
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Tags: Freeware, Newly Released, Software, Features, Firewall, Performance, Reviews, Screenshots, Settings
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The best thing about pc tools firewall is that is much lighter on system resources than comodo, but on the other hand , Comodo is much more water-tight.
Thanks, Ryan. I’ll give it a try when I get home today… I’m currently using Look ‘n’ Stop, since it was one of the very few Vista-compatible, reasonably well-rated firewalls available.
I, too, am waiting for Comodo, but if Kerio (Sunbelt Software) releases theirs first, I’ll most likely jump on that one (if the price is right).
Hi Ryan,
Did I miss where you actually had a link in the post to the PC Tools Firewall Plus 3.0 website?
PC Tools Firewall Plus
http://www.pctools.com/firewall/
I couldn’t see where you directly linked to the product itself, just all the references…
I’m just using the Microsoft Vista firewall for now until finals for Vista platforms by Sunbelt (Kerio) or Comodo are released.
It is a shame to see it is taking a while for other Vista firewall offerings to get released. I’m sure there is some tricky coding needed for the new Vista changes.
Cheers!
Thanks for posting the link Claus, we’ve just added it to the post.
Anybody know a firewall that works on Vista 64 bit? I looked at the pctools, zonealarm, and comodo and none of those do. Any ideas?
The firewall is one area that I don’t mind using up some of my system resources. Hackers are getting better every day, and I don’t want them on my computer.
I’ve tried the Look ‘n’ Stop before, but I would say the Firewall Plus is a bit better. So it’s definitely worth trying out if only until Comodo or Kerio update their products.
Unfortunately I don’t. I think the 64-bit adoption rate is still a little too low for companies to draw focus onto that platform.
After uninstalling Look ‘n’ Stop & rebooting, I installed PC Tools Firewall Plus on a new laptop, and after another reboot, I tried to open & adjust the settings for the new firewall. That’s when the “freezing” began. I had to restart, and I tried to get into the settings again, and again it froze. After another restart, I went online to see how to fix this problem, and then the PC froze… This went on 2 more times, until I finally gave up, booted into Safe Mode, and uninstalled PC Tools Firewall Plus. After a reboot, the PC ran perfectly fine again.
I realize it could be a problem with my PC, or with something I have installed on it, but it’s only 3 weeks old, I have nothing “unusual” on it, and I’ve had no other problems of any kind.
I guess I’m back to Look ‘n’ Stop (’n’ waiting on Kerio or Comodo). But Ryan, if you come up with any other Vista firewalls, I’d love to read about them!
i still love zonealarm, very easy to use.
I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for some others for ya, and I’m sorry to hear that you had so many problems with it. At least you were able to get it uninstalled without having it damage anything.
Unfortunately that’s not Vista-compatible.
Ryan,
In your response to Ken’s love of ZoneAlarm, you noted “Unfortunately that’s not Vista-compatible.”
Actually it is and you pointed this out:
Free ZoneAlarm Firewall Released for Vista - http://cybernetnews.com/2007/0.....for-vista/
(unless you and Ken were only referring to a x64 bit version for Vista)
I’m not sure what the current “free” build version is up to now from your previous post. I downloaded the installer and according to the File Version properties, it reports 7.1.100.000 but I didn’t actually install it on my Vista system to confirm.
ZoneAlarm Security Feature Comparison Chart - http://www.zonealarm.com/store.....arison.jsp
The download file itself (zaSetup_en.exe) seems very small (206 KB) so I suspect it is just a downloader app that goes and fetches the main program via a 2nd download process. The ZoneAlarm install package you had linked to in your post (7.1.078.000) was almost 18 MB big.
I was a long-time ZoneAlarm Free enthusiast and highly recommended it, but eventually it began to act a bit flaky with my XP system and seemed to be becoming “bloated” for some reason to me. So I moved on to Jetico (free for XP / $ for a Vista version), then Sunbelt (Kerio) which I use and recommend for my XP systems. As noted, I’m waiting for more options for Vista as well and would rather just use the Microsoft Vista firewall until a Vista version arrives from Sunbelt or Comodo.
I hear the new Comodo v3.0 will support Vista. I think it is coming out this month - anyone out here with an update. The current version just got a bang up review from CNET http://www.download.com/8301-2.....l?tag=head but I want Vista protection
That was a really good article. Thanks for pointing it out.
I can’t believe I had forgotten about that! I must have never gotten around to actually installing it on my own PC, and it just slipped my mind.