personal firewall

PC Tools Firewall Plus

Our Rating: (Good)

PC Tools Firewall Plus is a personal firewall that monitors incoming and outgoing traffic on your computer and allows to to create rules to limit and control network connections. The program includes an application level firewall as well as a rule based TCP/IP firewall. The default settings of the firewall will prevent several common attacks while allowing normal internet traffic. You can create your own rules using protocol, port and IP address - however it requires some experience with TCP/IP configuration, as no documentation is provided. The integrated application filtering engine will prompt you each time an unknown program is trying to connect to the Internet, giving you the option to block or allow current and future activities by the same program. Requires free registration after 30 days.

This program automatically installs the Google toolbar unless you opt-out. [?]

Pros: Controls incoming and outgoing traffic

Cons: No documentation; application rules are not verified with file fingerprint; default settings block LAN connectivity;

Freeware