best free firewall

The 3 Best Free Firewalls To Install in your PC

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How do we rate the Best Free Firewall

We can’t stress enough on just how crucial internet security is. Even PC and laptop manufacturers will make sure that they develop built-in firewalls for their devices because they know that a little loophole is more than enough to cause detrimental lose. The saddest part is that most of these firewalls are basic at best, and hence they still leave a big room for cybercriminals to tamper with your gadgets. To make sure that the protection between your network and the internet is secured, you need a watertight firewall that can completely hide the open ports to your network, thus safeguarding all your online businesses.

Here is the thing though, the very best paid Firewalls are costly. We are talking $100+ per year expensive guys, and if you’re looking for one for a business, then the figures get even more insane. This may not sound like a serious issue if you’re getting the Firewall for a commercial system but if it’s one for personal use or even for a startup, paying that much on a firewall may not be possible for a lot of people. With that in mind, we decided to go out in search of a free firewall but not any kind of free Firewall. In as much as we are trying to avoid paying anything for a firewall, we still don’t want to have a false sense of protection with one that’s not good enough. That’s why we were thorough on the tests we submitted these firewalls to before coming up with the final list of the recommended options.

What’s the Best Free Firewall?

The Best Free Firewall at the moment is TinyWall. This non-intrusive Firewall is developed to supplement the Windows Firewall, thus delivering better protection while keeping things simple and without interfering with the performance of your PC.

Here is a more detailed breakdown of all our top picks:

TinyWall

If you are in the market looking for a simple and free firewall, the TinyWall is one of your best picks. TinyWall has simplified protection, making sure that even individuals with no IT skills can still use and get the protection they need without anyone’s assistance. For instance, unlike some of the other firewalls in the market, TinyWall does not require you to know about the complex details on ports, protocols, and many other technical functions. The Firewall is also developed to function from the background with very minimal popups bothering you. In the end, the users get all the protection they need and go on using the PC without any distractions.

Instead of the annoying popups, TinyWall has employed a very easy way of whitelisting the windows that you want to access your network. This can be done through a hotkey, choosing the application from the running processes or by simply selecting an executable. All these options will do the trick to save you from the bother that is popups.

Other than being so easy to use, TinyWall has also proven to be very effective in blocking different kinds of malware. Whether its worms, Trojans, or viruses are trying to slide into your computer, the Firewall will remain very proactive, saving you from having to utilize malware removal software. It will also block any software attempting to adjust or modify the Windows Firewall settings to create vulnerabilities.

TinyWall offers different modes to cater for different needs. The initial one is the automatic learning mode, which is a decent choice for anyone with no experience of using firewalls. You can also use the TinyWall in several other modes, including Block All, Allow All, Allow Outgoing and Normal protection mode.

Other Features

  • Doesn’t install any drivers
  • Password lockdown
  • IPv6 Support
  • Domain and port blocklists
  • Restrict a specific application to LAN (optional)
  • Always allow communication in LAN (optional)
  • You can view open ports
  • Detects both safe and impostor applications
  • Hosts file protection

System Requirements

  • Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 (can also work with Windows Vista but users must download Microsoft.Net Framework 3.5 SP1 or better pus firewall tampering protection is inactive here)

ZoneAlarm by Check Point

Another brilliant free firewall is ZoneAlarm from Checkpoint. This remarkable Firewall impressed us with several layers of protection, offering unparalleled security. Whether you are connecting to a wireless or even a public network, you can rely on ZoneAlarm to shield you from all the mess of malwares. And here is the best part; just like TinyWall, ZoneAlarm is so incredibly developed and super-lightweight to deliver all the protection you need without tampering with how your computer is behaving. Check Point is always releasing real-time DefenseNet security updates to ensure that your Firewall is always armed and ready to fight even the newer advanced malware. Therefore, you can rest easy knowing that the Firewall is always up to date to keep you protected.

With ZoneAlarm, all the incoming and outgoing traffic is constantly monitored. The Firewall is not just designed to deal with malware, but it will also be very proactive to deal with hackers and any other online threats that may arise thanks to the amazing Full Stealth Mode.

Users in the US will also get Identity Protection. The Firewall will safeguard your personal data and monitor your credit details. This should help in preventing identity theft, but in case you were to become a victim, ZoneAlarm will help you get back on your feet.

Although the free ZoneAlarm offers decent protection, you can get even more from the Firewall by purchasing the ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall. This adds more features including an anti-phishing extension for Chrome, OSFirewall for monitoring programs that are behaving suspiciously, zero-hour protection, Early Boot Protection, among others.

System Requirements

  • Windows 7 SP1 or later
  • 2GB RAM
  • A 2GHz processor or better
  • 1.5GB hard disk space
  • Compatible with Windows Defender and other Antiviruses

Comodo Free Firewall

Comodo has both a free and commercial firewall edition. As you can guess, the Comodo Free Firewall won’t give you the full package otherwise what would be the point of having a paid version? Even then, the Comodo Free Firewall has still proven itself to be a very reliable shield protecting you from both malware and hackers, and that’s why it has received numerous awards.

To keep your PC safe, Comodo takes a unique approach in the form of Default Deny Protection also popularly known as DDP. Through DDP, Comodo Firewall works by reference to an extensive list of PC-friendly applications. Every time your computer comes into contact with a file or application, not on this list, the Firewall will alert you promptly, allowing you to react accordingly.  This approach is a lot better as compared to firewalls that work by referencing to a list of malware which means that if the list is not comprehensive – and in most cases they never are – then malware get an easy ride into your system.

Comodo Free Firewall is also a good option due to how easy it is to use. The configuration process is very simple and doable by any amateur. In case you are a techie, and you need to dig even deeper into the details and adjust some of them, you’ll still have that option as the Firewall is highly customizable. The interface is also very intuitive. Additionally, the Firewall is designed to learn and adapt to the user’s behavior, after which it will readjust to deliver more personalized protection.

Other Features

  • Manages PC traffic
  • Fast
  • Monitors in and out connections
  • Auto sandbox technology
  • Cloud-based behavior analysis
  • Personalized alerts

System Requirements

  • Windows XP32bit, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10,
  • 32bit and 64 bit
  • 152MB RAM
  • 400MB Space