Firewall for Windows 7 (64 Bit)

Hello guys,

I upgraded to Windows 7 (64bit) recently (had been using XP for the past couple of years).

I need a firewall whereas the most important feature is Applications access control! I need to be able to control the access of all programs and application to internet and should be asked every time an unknown program is attempting to access internet.

A simple task actually, but seems to be hard to accomplish - I was using ZoneAlarm with XP and it is exactly what I need, but has some compatibility issues with Windows 7 - had to uninstall it!

I also tried another Firewall which was supposed to be one of the best (don't remember the name) but it had everything else, but not a simple Block/Allow list and the ability to simply allow or deny access!

I can't manage to set the native Firewall to do so - it somehow allows access to all programs without asking...

Could you recommend a solution please?

Thank you in advance!

 

I think KIS can do that... although it will automatically create a list of allowed programmes... KIS = Kaspersky Internet Security - not just a firewall...

But can't the Windows 7 Firewall do that?

 

I don't mind automatically creating a list of known allowed programs such as IE, Mozilla and so on - they should be editable afterwords.

But I am looking for just a firewall - no antivirus, security packet and other crap.

 

You could switch the rest off.

 

hi Gracy
have you tried downloading the latest zone alarm as im sure thats 7 compatable.
Clikety Click

 

The Windows Firewall is more than capable of handling your needs. If you are missing the popup notifications ZoneAlarm provided, I highly recommend Windows 7 Firewall Control. It extends the Windows 7 Firewall with extra functionality including ZoneAlarm style notifications. There is also an easy to use block/unblock list for network connected programs.

I used W7FC on both Vista and 7 beta / RC when I moved away from ZoneAlarm myself. I no longer use it only because I have become familiar with the Windows Firewall native interface. I can still block/unblock programs as needed.

If you are unsure, try the latest version of ZoneAlarm since you seem to be most comfortable with that product: http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/zonealarm-pc-security-free-firewall.htm

--L.

 

I did try the latest ZoneAlarm - it does run, but a lot of other stuff stopped responding, services became unavailable, devices in Device Manager not working properly and many other issues. Read a few threads about it and it seem there is a problem there.

Once uninstalled everything started working again

I will try the recommended from Ibohn extension. Thanks!
Will let you know afterwords

 

Installed Windows 7 Firewall Control... I guess it will do for now, but if you have any other ideas - let me know please...

I can't believe it is so hard nowadays to find a simple firewall with this basic option....

 

I tried once again ZoneAlarm (this time the Pro version) and it runs ok now - could solve the small issues, but that is only possible with the Pro and not with the Free version.

I really thought ZoneAlarm is one of the many similar firewalls, but it seems that it is in fact (one of) the most user friendly and handy ones! Can only recommend it!

Thanks for your suggestions and see you around

 

outpost pro has been trouble free on my win-7 ult 64 . easy to set rules , has never crashed .I use it on xp-32 and 64 bit as well . Has never screwed the system up like bone alarm has in the past .
try it you'll like it on install just don't install spwaremodule if you don;t want it , it will be disabled automatically if your AV has spyware detector , but you can run manual scan if you want . I let it install and run scans once a month , on my netbook i did not install it
the outpost firewall also has great detailed logging , might not be of intrest to most , but I sure like having it . Has helped a few times tracking problems

 

Firewalls have come a long way from the aggressive screen boils of ZoneAlarm. I used it for several years until Microsoft decided to include a firewall in the OS. And what a relief that was!

The options you are asking for are definitely placed in the Advanced category, as time goes on, they will disappear. There are very few people who actually need a screaming firewall to tell them every time their HP printer driver tries to update.

I really don't ever recommend anyone use anything other than the built in Windows Firewall, unless they are doing IT work on a corporate network. In other words, I typically shun 3rd Party Firewalls.

But I'm not just here to chide you, it's a free world.

I hear good things about Comodo Firewall, or at least I hear it is incredibly robust and full of options.

http://www.comodo.com/

Just remember, if you happen to be behind ANY sort of router, you already have a decent hardware firewall blocking silly things like port scans. The modern firewall in Win 7 and Vista also does a good job blocking both incoming and outgoing traffic (and often pops up a one-time dialog making sure you want to allow a new program to have access to the network).

Otherwise, once you install your new firewall, make sure to disable the built-in Win7 firewall.

 

Sometimes you have to take the bitter with the sweet to make it profitable for software manufactures--hence the proliferation of security suites.

Still, W7 went through a lot of trouble to provide a pre-packaged, and pretty good no cost firewall that was supposedly aimed specifically at users like yourself--who didn't want to spend the extra money on aftermarket security software. It's a shame you still can't use it.

That's a pretty powerful statement, don't you think?

Norton 360 does this automatically.