CyTRAP Labs choice - free tool - replacing Window XP or Vista firewall
- Windows Vista has a firewall included but it will not stop E.T from reporting home to Redmond. The question you must ask is “Would you let a fox guard your hen house?”
This post explains why you should install the Online-Armor firewall including the pros and cons of doing so, step-by-step.
The last couple of weeks we brought you:
CyTRAP Labs quicktip - checking your Windows Vista firewall settings
CyTRAP Labs quicktip - replacing Window Vista firewall - what one should avoid
These posts gave you some tips regarding your Windows Vista firewall as well as which ropes to skip when trying to install a new firewall. Today I explain a few things you may want to consider when installing your firewall.
what not to do
Before you turn off the Windows Vista firewall you need to make sure that you have installed the latest version of Windows Vista on your PC. For instance, I purchased another PC last week from Toshiba and, unfortunately, the latest Windows Vista with SP1 was not installed. In turn, I downloaded the SP 1 fix from here:
check if update is needed SP1 for Windows Vista - March 2008
It will take some time to download this program and make sure that:
- before downloading - please turn off power saving on your notebook - because it will interrupt the download and you will have to start again (imagine you have 40 megabytes and must start anew… tedious).
Once you have updated your Windows Vista you can go ahead and install a firewall. This procedure prevents you from having to uninstall your firewall after having downloaded and installed SP 1 - happened to me - because the firewall had problems to work properly.
FACTS ABOUT Online-Armor
We chose Online-Armor for now because it runs smooth, does not take too many system resources and has a user-interface that makes it easy for you to teach the firewall what you want it to do. Again remember these things and be cautious:
a) your software-based firewall learns - it is wise to be careful and restrictive with telling the firewall to establish a rule…. let it ask you each time so you know which program wants to send infos out from your PC and why
b) if in doubt say no when asked, do it step-by-step and do not rush your decision when the firewall asks you to make a decision
Our choice, including details and where to download it for your PC is listed below.
| cost | free |
| software | Online Armor 3.0.0.190 or later |
| release date | 2008-08 |
| platforms | Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista |
| author | Tall Emu - Sydney, Australia |
| languages | English, German, French AND many more |
| size of download | 12.7 MBs, depending on version downloaded |
| download | free Online Armor firewall - latest version download |
| more information | FAQ and more Info about free Online Armor firewall |
Yes your new PC has a firewall pre-installed from some software vendor, before activating it might be wise to get rid of it unless it is better than Online-Armor, which will not be the case for 95% of them.
No, nearly all of the firewalls that were pre-installed on your new PC by the manufacturer are not as good as Online-Armor according to various benchmark tests including our own. Most importantly, they require more system resources and, thereby, slow down your PC in those cases were you run several programs at once (e.g., Word, Thunderbird, Firefox, etc.) Worst is that they do many things without asking you first for permission. Big brother watching you….
We advice you to uninstall such programs before installing Online-Armor.
Installing the firewall
As the screeshot below shows, the Online Armor firewall makes it easy for you to follow instructions and install the package. The Safety Check Wizard guides you through the set-up.
Just make sure you have 10 minutes, uninterrupted please…. focus on this job and do it carefully and wisely. Mistakes made will haunt you… Do not rush through it.
The screen below shows what the answers will likely be if you have a new PC and Windows Vista SP 1 installed.
Does not mean you did anything wrong nor that something is amiss, instead you will have to instruct the firewall and tell it what you want it to do in case …. some program like Microsoft Office wants to execute something.
When you proceed from the above screen, Online-Armor than guides you through some question and answer routines. For instance, your hardware manufacturer has set up some programs to start automatically. I had one program called desktop SMS start each time I booted the PC even though I did not want it to.
I instructed Online-Armor not to permit it being started, tested the SMS program once or twice and than just uninstalled it. However, until I did that Online Armor prevented the program to be launched automatically during the boot up of the system.
The above screen makes it easy for you to tell the program what you want it to do. In many cases, you want the firewall to stop certain programs from starting up when you boot the system. They slow down the boot process and use up system resources. So what you do not need for sure each time you start a work session should not be launched that simple.
Incidentally, the above indicates that today’s firewalls are far more than just firewalls but act as intrusion detection systems and help you to take charge over which programs may start and which ones may not on your notebook without your explicit consent.
So take back control with Online Armor, it works (no we neither have shares in the company nor any other business relationship with them 
)
EVALUATION SHEET ABOUT Online-Armor
| advantages | Online Armor is a software-based firewall solution with a low requirement of resources and it has worked on some of our machines for years.The user-interface makes it easy to install and work with the tool - for novice as well as expert users alike. |
| disadvantages | Windows Vista may release an update that may require you to re-install the firewall. So install SP1 first and than you should be fine.
Once you have let the program establish a rule based on your decision, it is not that easy to change your mind. This needs to be improved to make this program even better - screen that would allow to remove rule check mark and put one at - ask me each time the program starts… |
The above choice is fine as well we just prefer Online-Armor which we think works a bit faster and has a slightly better user interface.
Get some test results here:
The above lists one set of tests that might be helpful to you including links to those firewalls that cost. Nevertheless, Online-Armor is in the top 3 in these tests and ours and comes free.
For Windows XP users, see our free firewall choices here:
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