Guide to Personal FireWall

Why do you need a Personal FireWall?

Your Windows operating system (including Windows XP) is not secure enough to protect you from hackers, spying and pop-up ads. A Personal FireWall is all you need today to set up your best defense against attacks on your laptop. This page will provide you with the best guidance for selecting a Personal FireWall.

What is a Personal Firewall

A software that is loaded onto your computer to (1)-filter or block the external requests that travel from the internet to your hard drive and to (2)-filter your own requests before they travel to the internet.

What is a request? Sending email, opening your internet browser, downloading a file, sending your credit card information, and receiving a pop-up add or a cookie are all examples of requests.

What features should a Personal FireWall have?

A good personal firewall software should:

• be not too costly and easy to install and use
• offer clear configuration options
• hide your laptop ports to make them invisible to hackers' scans
• alert on attacks
• check and prompt to filter for any personal information before it left your laptop (example: emailing your credit card information)
• detect the spyware or "adware" and block it from sending your personal information (your browsing or music listening habits) to marketers and spammers.
• should still let you utilize any legitimate secure sites.

What FireWalls don't do?

Most FireWalls are not designed to protect your computer against Viruses or Trojans. Get the Anti-Virus software for that.

Try a Personal FireWall for free first

Today, the choice for Personal FireWalls is overwhelming, and some are more or less user friendly, easy to set up and convenient to use... so I suggest you try one or more for free and play with it before you buy it. (Note: you should unload the old FireWall before installing a new one). Zone Alarm offers a free download. Try Kerio Personal Firewall - Free for home and personal use. Or download a trial version of Sygate Personal Firewall Pro.

Check if your FireWall is set up correctly

To make sure that it is set up correctly test your firewall by checking if your laptop is vulnerable to any simulated attacks. You can do this at SecuritySpace Audits by taking the Desktop Audit or Basic Audit.

Well-known Personal FireWalls (low-cost)

Zone Alarm Pro
McAfee Firewall
Norton Personal Firewall
BlackICE PC Protection
Kerio Personal Firewall
Outpost Firewall Pro
Sygate Personal Firewall Pro
Terminet SmartFirewall.com

More FireWall Info ...

http://www.firewall.com/
http://www.firewallguide.com/software.htm

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