Firewall Recommendations - Number Two!
Firewall Recommendations - Number Two!
Reference: Firewalls: Hardware and Software.
http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=257776
Quote:
“…I think I’ll get a 5th of Jack Daniels and go sit in a corner somewhere.”
Well I should have done that a couple of times to correct my warped obsession with numbers!
Originally I posted “Firewalls: Hardware and Software.” so our Members and Guests could see what recommendations we make when someone asks the question “Which firewall is the best?” or something similar. I didn’t really intend to make it a living document until yesterday when I encountered the Thread: “Any Recommendation for a Free Good Firewall?” As I thought about it for a while, since people will continue to ask, and we are making recommendations, maybe the name of this Thread should reflect that as well. Additionally, if the inquiring mind did enter “Firewall Recommendations” into our Search, they would encounter a Thread on the first couple of pages that provided a unified response. Thus the name change in the title. And with your approval, I’ll keep tabs on our recommendations and every so often post an update. This update covers the period from 17 Jul 2002 thru 18 Jun 2004 and the information was taken from the “Firewall & Honeypot Discussions Forum”.
In the first Thread, I indicated some trends in popularity in the Windows Compatibles. As you will see in this update, there has been a significant shift in our recommendations during the later part of the period.
So directly from the AO Members:
Software Firewall Recommendations - Windows Compatibles:
Sygate – 60 times *Popularity dramatically increased.
Zone Alarm – 48 times *Popularity declining, switching to Outpost and/or Sygate.
Outpost – 42 times *Really favored 2002-2003.
Kerio - 26 times *More popular 2003-2004 and popularity increasing.
Tiny – 26 times *Really popular 2002.
Norton – 10 times
BlackIce - 9 times
Checkpoint – 8 times
McAfee - 5 times
VisNetic – 4 times
Bordermanager – 2 times
ICF (XP) – 2 times
Look’n’Stop – 2 times
Symantic – 2 times
BitGuard – 1 time
Gnatbox – 1 time
Kaspersky – 1 time
OmniQuad –1 time
Changes:
Sygate from 36 to 60 recommendations
ZA from 44 to 48
Outpost from 40 to 42
Kerio – 22 to 26
Tiny – 25 to 26
Norton – 8 to 10
Checkpoint – 7 to 8
All others: No Change.
Software:
*nix:
IPTables - dominated (had to put it by itself) {duh}
Smoothwall – 12 times
Coyote – 4 times
OBSD (default Install) - 4 times
Astaro – 3 times
IPCop - 3 times
Securepoint – 2 times
Devil Linux – 1 time
Mandrake – 1 time
Sentry – 1 time
Hardware:
Pix: dominated (had to put it by itself)
Linksys router (nat) – 6 times
Sonicwall – 4 times
Dlink – 2 times
Netgear (nat) – 2 times
Watchguard – 2 times
Fortigate – 1 time
Netscreen – 1 time
Raptor – 1 time
Sidewinder – 1 time
*** Minimal changes to all *nix and hardware firewalls because of lack of inquires.
Possible new breed of Firewall around the corner: a memory barrier firewall – Posted by foxyloxley.
http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=258503
Zone Alarm is now a Check Point Company. It will be interesting to see what changes transpire.
For those that may not know: The original team that developed Tiny left the company and started the Kerio Firewall. It was based on the Tiny’s engine but with many improvements. That may help explain the popularity of Tiny in 2002 and then the Kerio popularity in 2003-2004.
Summary: For Windows Compatible Software Firewalls – Sygate, ZA, Outpost, Kerio, and Tiny were the most recommended. Sygate did a slam-dunk and took the lead from ZA. However, ZA is under new ownership. For Hardware Firewalls – PIX most recommended. For *nix Software Firewalls – IP Tables was most recommended.
Enjoy!
:cool:
