I've been using Zone Alarm. I worked fine for a while, but finally it just completely prevented me from accessing the internet. I had to turn it off. Z/A tech support never responded to my cries for help. I paid a local "guru" and he told me to get a hardware firewall (about $60) and do away with software firewalls. I'm not sure what to think about that; what do you think?
Hi Fred, I'm not surprised that ZA didn't write back. Your local guru is right about getting the router firewall. It can get complicated if you have a dialup connection though. I'll write you an email and offer up some good places for advice. I'm not a security expert by any stretch of the imagination.
How does one know if they have firewall protection when they have a router. I have Bellsouth and they supplied a DSL router that is hard wired to my desktop and wireless to my laptop. There isn't anything that indicates that it has a firewall. Prior to this I had a Dell router, same thing. What kind of routers have them and how can you see what they are doing. Not seeing what they are doing is a problem, with ZA I can easily see what is happening. This is one complaint that I have with Windows Defender, no icon and nothing to tell me what it is doing.
Hi Phil B. The easiest way to see how well your hardware firewall is doing? Shut off you ZA, then go to http://www.grc.com and run the Shields Up! test. Very good test, used by millions.
Commenting by HaloScan
