Are there any decent, free firewalls left?

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2007-01-06 08:14am

For the past two years I've been using Zonealarm and I've been generally pleased with it, except it's incompatible with the Nintendo USB connector. Well, sort of; I got it to work once using a horribly complex tutorial on how to prod and poke Zonealarm into working with the connector, but it only worked until I rebooted.

I thought about switching back to Sygate, but their free version's been replaced by Symantec's internet suite. Is there an alternative?

Rin · Post by **Rin** » 2007-01-06 10:09am

Only other free firewall that I know is Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall (30 day demo of full version, after that "it shuts down advanced privacy protection features, but will continue to run with reduced functionality for free" Comparison table on linked page)

Add: Can't comment on decency as I have never actually used it.

McNum · Post by **McNum** » 2007-01-06 12:09pm

Horribly complex tutorial on getting the USB connector to work? I just turn the Internet Firewall to Medium which "uncloaks" the PC (at least that's what ZoneAlarm says) while playing with my DS online. When done I put it back to Full. Of course you still need to allow the Nintendo WiFi Connector program Internet and Server accesss, and I think one of the Win32 Generics needs something along those lines, too.

Am I doing something stupid here, like putting my PC at an unneeded risk?

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2007-01-06 12:55pm

Turning it to medium or even shutting it down completely didn't work. Nintendo even updated their FAQ to say you need to uninstall ZA for the connector to work.

I suspect my problem is related more to the shit router I have. The most frustrating thing is that I got it to work, once, so I know it's possible...I just can't seem to do it anymore.

Software Firewalls Identified as Being "Incompatible" with the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector
We have identified the following software firewall(s) as being incompatible with the use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector. We suggest using another firewall product, if possible:

* Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite
Important Note: In order to use the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector, Zone Alarm Internet Security Suit must be completely uninstalled from your computer. Simply disabling (turning off) this program will still not allow a successful connection.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2007-01-06 03:11pm

Even if I turn off free zonealarm and use my piece of shit router with the right settings, shields up says there's nothing wrong. If a firewall program costs 100+ bucks, maybe it's time for a new router.

Or just get the professional version, I think it gives a lot more options.

Lisa · Post by **Lisa** » 2007-01-06 04:53pm

in my professional experiance zone alarm is notorious for not shutting down when requested, I've often had to have customers uninstall that crap in order to get network devices (hd, printer, scanners etc) to be detected even though it was told not to be on. Norton and Macaffe are the same with this issue too.

In my opinion if you're using a hardware router you're protected from outside intrusion, what your firewall is doing at that point is protecting us from your system. So unless you're connecting directly to the internet software firewalls are a waste of resources They are useful for the rest of us when some peon gets his system owned by a virus/trojen from visiting a less reputable web site or opening a shadey attachment in email.

I dumped zone alarm years ago when it was blocking usb devices and my computers from logging in on the network.

Datana · Post by **Datana** » 2007-01-06 04:57pm

Rin wrote:Only other free firewall that I know is Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall (30 day demo of full version, after that "it shuts down advanced privacy protection features, but will continue to run with reduced functionality for free" Comparison table on linked page)

Add: Can't comment on decency as I have never actually used it.

When it was Kerio, it was very good, but Sunbelt has added nag screens to it -- every time you start up, it bugs you to buy the full version. After the 30 days has expired, it will pop up a nag screen randomly every few hours, interrupting whatever you happen to be doing (kicking you out of fullscreen applications and covering windowed ones with a nag that stays on top) and being a general nuisance. If you can find a copy of Kerio 4.22 (the last version before Sunbelt acquired it), it's still a solid firewall.

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2007-01-06 05:50pm

If anyone's interested, I still have a copy of Tiny Personal Firewall 2 (before Kerio bought it from TiNY Software). It's even more lightweight than KPF 4, and it runs on Windows 9x (but if you're using that, you have issues).

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2007-01-06 09:53pm

The built-in Windows firewall is probably good enough.

Resinence · Post by **Resinence** » 2007-01-06 11:35pm

Calling "windows firewall" an actual firewall might be stretching it a bit.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2007-01-06 11:45pm

Resinence wrote:Calling "windows firewall" an actual firewall might be stretching it a bit.

What, because it doesn't silently drop packets unallowed packets or monitor outbound traffic? A firewall is not required to do either thing.

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2007-01-07 03:29am

Resinence wrote:Calling "windows firewall" an actual firewall might be stretching it a bit.

Strange windows firewall works in exactly the same way as my Cisco PIX, allows all outbound connections and their inboud answer. And it denys all inbound requests buy default.

Than if you are so inclined you might open it up to allow inbound request to specific ports.

To bad that that whacko Gibson from grc.com and his "stealth" and his idea of what a firewall is has so much attension.

Vohu Manah · Post by **Vohu Manah** » 2007-01-07 01:15pm

I must second, third, whatever the use of a hardware router or firewall. I use an Apple Airport Extreme with a PC on the network hosting my Nintendo WiFi USB connector and it works flawlessly.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2007-01-07 01:19pm

You know, I'm really tempted to just go out and buy a new router all together, one that's out-of-the-box compatible with WFC. The old one's getting flaky anyway - though that might have something to do with the 6 month+ uptimes.

What do routers go for these days? €50-ish? They're all interchangeable, right - I can just plug it in, enter my ID and pass, set up security and surf?

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2007-01-07 04:17pm

Before you unplug your old one, you probably want to go in and tell it to release its IP address.

McNum · Post by **McNum** » 2007-01-07 06:03pm

Bounty wrote:Turning it to medium or even shutting it down completely didn't work. Nintendo even updated their FAQ to say you need to uninstall ZA for the connector to work.

I suspect my problem is related more to the shit router I have. The most frustrating thing is that I got it to work, once, so I know it's possible...I just can't seem to do it anymore.

Software Firewalls Identified as Being "Incompatible" with the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector
We have identified the following software firewall(s) as being incompatible with the use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector. We suggest using another firewall product, if possible:

* Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite
Important Note: In order to use the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector, Zone Alarm Internet Security Suit must be completely uninstalled from your computer. Simply disabling (turning off) this program will still not allow a successful connection.

How odd. I just connected through my USB connector with Mario Kart and I got through ZoneAlarm by setting it to medium.

Here's exactly what I've done.
ZoneAlarm v.6.5.737.000
Internet Firewall: Medium.
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connector has complete acces, including server acces. (As in four checkmarks on the Program Control screen)
Generic Host Processes for Windows also has four checkmarks. Full access. (This may be a security risk, although I'm not sure. You can set it all to ?s and only allow it when you need the DS online.)

That's all. Four checkmars with the USB Connector software and four with the Generic Host Process and Internet Firewall set to medium.

This works for me, in fact my DS is online this way right now.

I think the idea is that you're taking advantedge of Windows XPs internet connection sharing ability, so your PC must be allowed to play server for the DS.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2007-01-07 06:55pm

In a different direction, wasn't the Wii supposed to be usuable as a DS ... wireless... thingy? I don't like the idea of reducing my wireless network security to WEP every time I want to use a DS.

Spyder · Post by **Spyder** » 2007-01-07 08:38pm

Kerio does something really weird to the way certain programs are executed. Fresh PC, pop in the Starcraft disk and it'll run fine. Install Kerio then suddenly the exe that autoruns on the disk will take up to ten minutes to execute. Uninstalling Kerio doesn't seem to fix it either.

It's a very bizzare problem as it seems to affect very specific executables, most of everything else would run without problem.

Magus · Post by **Magus** » 2007-01-07 11:25pm

I get good results with Tiny Personal - and it's completely free for personal use.

Basically, you can set it to query you whenever it wants to send something in or out, and you can quickly build a database of allowed and disallowed connections from various programs. Simpler, more hands-off modes are also available.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2007-01-08 05:33am

I think the idea is that you're taking advantedge of Windows XPs internet connection sharing ability, so your PC must be allowed to play server for the DS.

My current setup is this:

USB Connector with the 1.0.4 drivers; the installation was dodgy (the first time I got an ICS error, had to uninstall and reinstall completely) but it works fine now, my DS recognises the connector and manages to connect to it.

Now, when I try to go online, I get one of two errors:

- Unable to get IP, when my firewall (testing Comodo right now) is on;
- Connected to access point but unable to connect to server when the firewall is set to 'allow all', or when it's shut down completely.

When I try to connect directly to the router (ie, without the USB connector), I get the same errors (the IP one when I use automatic setup, the connect to server one when I enter the details manually).

I had it working for a few hours, so I know it's technically possible, but I can't find the guide that explained how to do it anymore. Which is mighty frustrating.