I have been using Sygate firewall for several years and found it to be very good at defending my computer.
However, Sygate has been acquired by Symantec and will support for a short time.
I am looking for a quality firewall to replace it, not necessarily free!
Please pass your experience on to me
Full Version: Firewalls
I've used both Sygate and ZoneAlarm and would recommend the latter!
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/cata...d=dbtopnav_zass
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/cata...d=dbtopnav_zass
This smacks of paranoia to me. 
All security software phones home. How could it maintain itself otherwise? A security suite which you installed and then didn't communicate with it's home servers would have to rely on the user checking for updates manually all the time. Which they wouldn't do. And I'd be seriously worried if the communication that took place WASN'T encrypted. A security suite that communicated in plain sight wouldn't be secure for long.
All security software phones home. How could it maintain itself otherwise? A security suite which you installed and then didn't communicate with it's home servers would have to rely on the user checking for updates manually all the time. Which they wouldn't do. And I'd be seriously worried if the communication that took place WASN'T encrypted. A security suite that communicated in plain sight wouldn't be secure for long.
Exactly 
In regards to the recent Infoworld article:
Zone Labs has a variety of solutions, including the ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite, that offer consumers protection against Internet threats such as spyware, viruses, Trojans, rootkits, keyloggers and more. A recent report in Infoworld included information that may be misleading, and we would like to assure all of our customers that the integrity of our security solutions and the privacy of our users are not only intact but of the utmost importance to us.
To clarify, in order to ensure that users have up-to-date protection, the ZoneAlarm product family relies not only on powerful desktop technology but also a central server-based infrastructure. Security software is no longer a self-contained program that can be updated annually. With zero-hour threats emerging, consumers need dynamic ongoing updates. For example, the ZoneAlarm SmartDefense Advisor service allows us to block rapidly propagating malware trying to enter a user’s system - long before a signature can be written. These communications are not only essential to the effectiveness of our products, they are a significant part of the reason why most customers purchase our software.
The only way to deliver those updates is to maintain some level of communication between the software on a user’s PC and the Zone Labs servers. If a user disables that communication, they can significantly compromise the protection offered by their ZoneAlarm product. Our customers need their anti-virus product to update regularly. They want to know if a newly discovered keylogger is trying to install on their computer.
Despite the value of these services to our customers, we realize that a very limited number of users do wish to disable all communication and cut off all updates - even though this will weaken their security. We’ve done our best to accommodate these users over the years. We do currently have an issue where ZoneAlarm continues to ping a server when in fact a user has asked it to be disabled. It will be fixed as soon as possible.
For any users who are concerned about this communication between the user’s PC and the Zone Labs servers, it is important to note that Zone Labs does not infringe upon the privacy of our customers. We don’t save personal information. We don’t do many other things that legitimate software companies do to enhance their marketing efforts, like use persistent Web cookies. This conservative approach is intentional because we take privacy extremely seriously.
After being contacted by James Borck of Infoworld, we maintained an ongoing dialogue with him to discover the source of his issue. Initially, we were unable to reproduce it in our labs, until he submitted his log files. At that point, we were able to identify the bug and provided Mr. Borck with a temporary workaround. We never refuted his contention that an issue existed, although it did take some time to replicate it.
The actual communication in dispute is a simple encrypted GET request that is checking to see if the user’s security software is current. We will continue to work with Mr. Borck and anyone else who might have any concerns about this issue.
With the Internet threat environment having evolved to the point where viruses can propagate around the world within hours, we must recommend that people do not disable their ZoneAlarm product features that connect your PC to Zone Labs’ servers. Security software today can no longer be perceived as a static product. It is a service, and only through dynamic updates can we ensure that consumers have relevant, proactive protection.
In regards to the recent Infoworld article:
Zone Labs has a variety of solutions, including the ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite, that offer consumers protection against Internet threats such as spyware, viruses, Trojans, rootkits, keyloggers and more. A recent report in Infoworld included information that may be misleading, and we would like to assure all of our customers that the integrity of our security solutions and the privacy of our users are not only intact but of the utmost importance to us.
To clarify, in order to ensure that users have up-to-date protection, the ZoneAlarm product family relies not only on powerful desktop technology but also a central server-based infrastructure. Security software is no longer a self-contained program that can be updated annually. With zero-hour threats emerging, consumers need dynamic ongoing updates. For example, the ZoneAlarm SmartDefense Advisor service allows us to block rapidly propagating malware trying to enter a user’s system - long before a signature can be written. These communications are not only essential to the effectiveness of our products, they are a significant part of the reason why most customers purchase our software.
The only way to deliver those updates is to maintain some level of communication between the software on a user’s PC and the Zone Labs servers. If a user disables that communication, they can significantly compromise the protection offered by their ZoneAlarm product. Our customers need their anti-virus product to update regularly. They want to know if a newly discovered keylogger is trying to install on their computer.
Despite the value of these services to our customers, we realize that a very limited number of users do wish to disable all communication and cut off all updates - even though this will weaken their security. We’ve done our best to accommodate these users over the years. We do currently have an issue where ZoneAlarm continues to ping a server when in fact a user has asked it to be disabled. It will be fixed as soon as possible.
For any users who are concerned about this communication between the user’s PC and the Zone Labs servers, it is important to note that Zone Labs does not infringe upon the privacy of our customers. We don’t save personal information. We don’t do many other things that legitimate software companies do to enhance their marketing efforts, like use persistent Web cookies. This conservative approach is intentional because we take privacy extremely seriously.
After being contacted by James Borck of Infoworld, we maintained an ongoing dialogue with him to discover the source of his issue. Initially, we were unable to reproduce it in our labs, until he submitted his log files. At that point, we were able to identify the bug and provided Mr. Borck with a temporary workaround. We never refuted his contention that an issue existed, although it did take some time to replicate it.
The actual communication in dispute is a simple encrypted GET request that is checking to see if the user’s security software is current. We will continue to work with Mr. Borck and anyone else who might have any concerns about this issue.
With the Internet threat environment having evolved to the point where viruses can propagate around the world within hours, we must recommend that people do not disable their ZoneAlarm product features that connect your PC to Zone Labs’ servers. Security software today can no longer be perceived as a static product. It is a service, and only through dynamic updates can we ensure that consumers have relevant, proactive protection.
take it that its aload of rubbish then 
The article, not the product!
Are Grisoft (AVG) and other presumably legitimate companies 'spying' on you when their programs search for updates?
Possibly but they'd have nothing to gain and would run the risk of being found out and going out of business.
Through experience we've found AVG, ZoneAlarm and the others we recommend to be reliable, effective and trustworthy. However, thanks to forums like UKT and the numerous computer mags. any identified issues are quickly investigated and the concerns can be dealt with by the software vendors.
Fortunately there are a number of online scans that can be used to supplement the installed programs, so you can rest assured that your system and sensitive files are as safe as possible.
Paranoid? - get off the net then!
Are Grisoft (AVG) and other presumably legitimate companies 'spying' on you when their programs search for updates?
Possibly but they'd have nothing to gain and would run the risk of being found out and going out of business.
Through experience we've found AVG, ZoneAlarm and the others we recommend to be reliable, effective and trustworthy. However, thanks to forums like UKT and the numerous computer mags. any identified issues are quickly investigated and the concerns can be dealt with by the software vendors.
Fortunately there are a number of online scans that can be used to supplement the installed programs, so you can rest assured that your system and sensitive files are as safe as possible.
Paranoid? - get off the net then!
QUOTE (Kimbo @ Jan 26 2006, 03:56 PM) 
The article, not the product!
Are Grisoft (AVG) and other presumably legitimate companies 'spying' on you when their programs search for updates?
Possibly but they'd have nothing to gain and would run the risk of being found out and going out of business.
Through experience we've found AVG, ZoneAlarm and the others we recommend to be reliable, effective and trustworthy. However, thanks to forums like UKT and the numerous computer mags. any identified issues are quickly investigated and the concerns can be dealt with by the software vendors.
Fortunately there are a number of online scans that can be used to supplement the installed programs, so you can rest assured that your system and sensitive files are as safe as possible.
Paranoid? - get off the net then!
Are Grisoft (AVG) and other presumably legitimate companies 'spying' on you when their programs search for updates?
Possibly but they'd have nothing to gain and would run the risk of being found out and going out of business.
Through experience we've found AVG, ZoneAlarm and the others we recommend to be reliable, effective and trustworthy. However, thanks to forums like UKT and the numerous computer mags. any identified issues are quickly investigated and the concerns can be dealt with by the software vendors.
Fortunately there are a number of online scans that can be used to supplement the installed programs, so you can rest assured that your system and sensitive files are as safe as possible.
Paranoid? - get off the net then!
was talking about thae article NOT the product.
Sorry Superman, I wasn't having a go at you.............I mean't the authors of the article, they seem determined to pick holes in security programs which is all well and good if it identifies a potential problem but they sometimes lose sight of how these things are supposed to work!
no probs m8
was just trying to clear up that zonealarm is fine and my first post in this thread turned out to be aload of rubbish
then whats new
was just trying to clear up that zonealarm is fine and my first post in this thread turned out to be aload of rubbish
then whats new
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