Software FireWalls to Protect Your Computer System

Jan 2001

Blackice Defender 2.1 ( To their website ) is a personal firewall that specializes in precise and detailed intrusion detection. It's so protective that even Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) -- Windows' protocol for allowing two or more systems to share an Internet connection -- is treated as an attack until you apply the clear-cut configuration changes specified on Network Ice's Web site. You choose a level of protection -- Trusting, Cautious, Nervous, or Paranoid -- and the program takes care of the rest. If it detects an attack, Blackice Defender can immediately lock out any further access by that particular IP address, trace and log the intrusion, and alert you to the incident.

Because some malicious code attempts to access your PC's ports, which are used for networking connections, Zone Labs' ZoneAlarm 2.1 ( To their website ) is free for personal use. It blocks all your ports and blocks NetBIOS security holes. Example, though NetBIOS intentionally allows networked systems to share files, this capability can also allow others to browse your PC's contents. ZoneAlarm warns you when a program attempts to access the Internet. You can set it to allow access always, block it always, or have it ask each time.
ZoneAlarm Pro 1.0( not free) adds features like support for ICS and enhanced e-mail protection. ZoneAlarm's MailSafe renames executable e-mail attachments, so you can't accidentally launch them. This can prevent you launching a virus

eSafe Desktop 2.2 ( To their website ) is another firewall that's free for personal use. It concentrates on defending against malicious code in active content such as scripts, Java, and ActiveX controls. Known scripts such as the Back Orifice Trojan are blocked before they are saved on your computer. Other active content is quarantined in a "sandbox" that permits execution while protecting system resources against any potential invasions. It's configuration dialog is quite complex.

McAfee Firewall 2.1 ( To their website ) analyzes network and Internet communication to and from your computer, so it can both prevent hackers from accessing your system and block unauthorized programs from calling out over the Net. When it detects an attempt to use the Internet, McAfee Firewall asks whether it should trust the program. Based on your answer, it will always allow or always deny that program access. McAfee Firewall fails in key areas. It requires Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later, doesn't support Internet Connection Sharing, and lacks full support for Windows 2000.
McAfee Internet Guard Dog 3.0 ( To their website ) is fanatical about protecting your private information. When any application attempts to send your specified personal information over the Net, whether through Web forms, e-mail, chat, or instant messaging, Guard Dog intercepts it. You can permit or block the application's use of your information, either always or on a case-by-case basis. On first launch, the program sets off a flurry of activity, confirming such things as whether your e-mail program is allowed to send out your e-mail address. This initial configuration, however, is accomplished fairly quickly.
Privacy settings are user specific: You can permit your own credit card numbers to be sent on the Web but not allow your children to send these numbers. Any attempted violations are logged. Among other actions, the unique Security Check feature scans your hard drive for files containing personal or financial information and adds them to the list of guarded files. Access to these files is blocked from all applications that aren't specifically approved. Guard Dog also deters programs from formatting your disks or reading your password files and stops attempts by ActiveX controls to delete or scan files.
Among its many other features are site blocking, secure password storage, cookie blocking, and a full copy of McAfee VirusScan. The Pro version adds an integrated copy of McAfee Firewall. Guard Dog runs on Windows 9x and Windows Me.

Norton Personal Firewall 2001 ( To their website ) is loaded with dozens of preset rules. Some are program specific, such as one that denies all access to the NetBus Trojan. Others apply systemwide, like a function that stops attempts to connect to drives through NetBIOS. If an unknown application attempts an Internet connection, a wizard leads you through the process of defining a new rule.
The Norton Privacy Control module lets you specify confidential information that should not be transmitted through Web forms. For instance, you can protect your credit card number against Internet Explorer's AutoComplete feature. This module does not filter information from being sent via chat, e-mail, or instant messenger.

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