need a recommendation for a firewall

BiG Kahuna · Post by **BiG Kahuna** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 4:41 pm

hey guys
untill now, I've been using the SP2 firewall
My friend told about this small yet allegedly good firewall that he uses, called Look'n'Stop, but I didn't succee to configure it so it would allow my bit-torrent client (azureus). even following the steps of a guide in the website of that firewall didn't help
moreover, it caused some problems in my LAN (I was able to see the other computers, but couldn't enter them)

Anyway, do you guys have a suggestion for a good (but not so complicated) firewall? or is XP's firewall good enough?

(if it matters, the AV I'm using is Eset's NOD32)

thanks!

pointreyes · Post by **pointreyes** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 5:03 pm

If you are on broadband can you list what type of modem/router you are using? Sometimes you already have a stateful packet inspection firewall in the device. And no, I'm not talking about NAT which is not a firewall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stateful_firewall

BiG Kahuna · Post by **BiG Kahuna** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 5:10 pm

I have an Edimax ADSL modem-router, the model is AR-6004A

pointreyes · Post by **pointreyes** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 5:19 pm

Based on this:
http://www.inter-comp.pl/pub/manual/AR-6004.pdf
You have a SPI firewall.

Make sure to configure the modem to not make it pingable. That protects you from scanners trying to find your network. It does not affect your network.

Then follow this guide to ensure that port 6881 is opened up for bittorrents.
http://www.portforward.com/english/rout ... rindex.htm
Unfortunately, the Adimax model you have is not listed but the 6024 is listed.

Zonealarm is a popular software firewall for the OS side of things. Or rather many people recommend it.

pcrobot · Post by **pcrobot** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 8:51 am

I have the McAfee Personal Firewall, and it works pretty good.

BiG Kahuna · Post by **BiG Kahuna** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 9:53 am

pointreyes, I know how to forward ports in my router, the problem I had with Look'n'Stop is that It kept blocking Azureus even though I configured it to allow Azureus's ports
I didn't find a place to activate that SPI firewall in my router. Is it a hardware firewall that's always on and does not need to be turned-on by the user?

pcrobot- thanks, I'll try that soon. anyone else have good opinions on the McAffee?