Windows users are familiar with the vulnerabilities inherent in a widely-used operating system. A couple years ago I did a round-up of security programs for Windows PC’s, including virus scan software, adware software, and firewalls. My recommendation then was ZoneAlarm, but that was before I tried Comodo Firewall Pro. After reading a lot of reviews and tests, I now recommend Comodo Firewall Pro 2.4 as the best free firewall I’ve seen.
Comodo works in the same way other firewall software works, by running in the background and detecting when a program tries to connect to the Internet or send information to an online server. You’d probably be surprised to learn how often different programs try to go online without your knowledge. Comodo warns you when a program tries to connect, or when another program uses that program (such as your web browser) to connect. The first few days of running firewall software can be a little annoying because you have to frequently tell the firewall which programs are safe and which should be blocked. But Comodo quickly remembers your preferences, and soon you forget about it until it pops up with a new attempted connection.
Comodo has received top security ratings, and its free version outscores ZoneAlarm’s free product. Its interface is also a little easier, which I like. I haven’t had many real security worries, but I have discovered several annoying programs that run in the background and try to connect to the Internet all the time. Thanks to Comodo I tracked them down and removed them from the list of programs that starts up when Windows starts.
Comodo Firewall Pro is available for free download from this page, with a direct link to the download here. I currently recommend that you use version 2.4, because many of the reviewers of the more recent 3.0 have had stability problems. The 2.4 version still uses the updated database of bad programs, and it still has a full feature set.
