A Guide To The 10 Best Firewalls For Windows

When you’re carelessly using the internet, you’re bound to get malicious threats to your computer. To protect yourself and your computer, you must get something that will protect you when browsing the internet. One thing that can protect you from internet-based attacks is a firewall. A firewall is a privacy protection software that protects your computer from internet threats.

Most operating systems have their own built-in firewall. One example of an operating system that has a built-in firewall is Windows. While Windows comes with a built-in firewall, did you know that there are other firewalls that are one hundred percent free? While Windows Firewall has great features, many of these free firewalls have additional features that Windows does not have, while offering equal or better performance. Let’s look at a firewall guide for the 10 best firewall apps for Windows.

Comodo Firewall

Comodo offers a free firewall that is easy to use, perfect for novices to the security game. Comodo Firewall offers virtual Internet browsing, ad blocking, custom DNS servers,  Game Mode, and a Virtual Kiosk. This is in addition to all features that block processes or programs from accessing the network.

Aside from these features, Comodo also offers more noteworthy features. The first is a Rating Scan, which shows you how trustworthy the processes running on your computer are. The second is Kill Switch, which gives you an easy way of shutting down any running process on your computer.

Glasswire

If you want simplicity and ease of use, then take a gander at Glasswire. Glasswire gives you a look at real-time and historical app network traffic and provides the user with visual network monitoring.

The app also gives you the option to run Glasswire in incognito mode, turning off notifications until you switch them back on. The firewall also detects changes in the proxy settings and DNS and detects ARP spoofing too.

ZoneAlarm

ZoneAlarm is an industry leader in the cybersecurity field, with over 20 million downloads. The ZoneAlarm Free Firewall continues that tradition, bringing a slew of useful features to free users.

It identifies unsafe traffic, hides open ports on your computer and detects and disables malicious programs. It also features a two-way firewall that monitors traffic coming to and from your network, hides your PC from hackers, and stops spyware from broadcasting personal data. Early boot protection protects your computer from being booted from dangerous rootkits aimed at taking over your PC.

ZoneAlarm also includes anti-phishing scanning of URLs that stop you from entering your personal data on websites that have been identified as threats and remove malicious code from downloaded files.

Sophos XG Firewall Home Edition

A rising star in the field of security, Sophos is responsible for quite a few high-quality firewall products and services. The XG Firewall Home Edition brings the power of an enterprise firewall and makes it available for home users.

It includes anti-malware and provides web security, connection privacy, and URL filtering. You also get application control, an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), plus traffic-shaping features. The firewall console includes a network monitoring and reporting dashboard. This dashboard provides all the system management facilities that large companies enjoy on their networks right at your fingertips.

All this power comes at a cost, as the Sophos XG Home Firewall requires a dedicated computer to act as its server. It also overwrites the Operating System of the host computer, so you better have a spare computer handy to act as the server.

TinyWall

Are you shopping for a lightweight and unobtrusive firewall? Then look no further than TinyWall.

Built to enhance how Windows Firewall works, TinyWall works alongside it, adding features to assist Windows firewall. TinyWall actively blocks malware. It also prevents the modification of Windows firewall’s settings by malicious programs. It does this without you needing to be a computer security expert.

You do need to manually whitelist applications, which takes a bit of the shine off of TinyWall, but for a free firewall that enhances your existing Windows Firewall, it does the job well.

Outpost Firewall

While many would consider Outpost Firewall to be abandonware, this security app deserves a spot on our list. The firewall is licensed to other security companies like Sophos, who put their own spin to its features. The free version of Outpost is still in use, with several million users across the globe.

This outstanding security has several nifty features available, including automatic whitelisting for well-known software, an anti-leak module used to block suspicious messages, a file and folder security lock, and a pop-up blocker.

OpenDNS

OpenDNS is a business firewall that also offers a free home edition. It not only protects your computer but all internet-ready devices on your network too. Smart TVs, DVRs, and smartphones are all covered by OpenDNS.

OpenDNS is available as a cloud service, so there is no software to install. The service instead makes changes to your router settings, letting it channel your traffic through OpenDNS’ servers. This protects you from hacking attacks, such as DDoS attacks.

Peerdlock

PeerBlock works in a slightly different way from other firewalls. Instead of blocking programs, it instead blocks a range of IP addresses instead.   

You can customize the list of blocked IP addresses, allowing you to add and categorize your blocked IPs. You can even block friendly organizations.

Easy to turn off and on, PeerBlock stops most pop-up ads but requires a fair bit of IT knowledge to set up effectively.

AVS Firewall

A user-friendly interface is just the start for this firewall. It monitors and blocks changes to your computer registry and includes a pop-up blocker, ad blocker and parental controls.

AVS also allows you to allocate bandwidth to other devices on your network, allowing you control over how other devices use the internet while on your network.

Evorim Free Firewall

A simple, minimalist design earns Evorim Free Firewall a spot on our list of the best free firewalls.

This free security tool offers quite a few bells and whistles alongside its default abilities. These features include Access notifications, malware and virus detection and several protection modes, such as Paranoid, Cooperative and Credulous mode. The interface is also touch-screen friendly, and multilingual language settings make this firewall inclusive.

The Runback

The rise of the internet has bought everyone a bounty of information, opportunity, and communication options. Using it is not without risks, but with proper care and the right security tools, you can be safe and sound on the internet. So go install a firewall today and keep yourself safe on the world-wide web.