Is there a good free Firewall left?

[ZaZ]

I've been a long time free Zone Alarm user. Right now I'm on version nine. I'd like upgrade to the newest version, but it seems so basic, it's not really worth the trouble. All I really want is a Firewall that stops incoming and outgoing traffic with a pop-up box, asking if it's OK or not. All the newest free firewalls seem to just automatically let thing through without any consent on the users part. Firefox, iTunes, Photoshop, Windows Media Player, etc., all just pass through. So I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a good free firewall that meets my needs? Thanks for any help.

[JOSEA]

Good Question, this thread has a few opinions Free Firewall application for Windows-7 64-bit
Personally I use windows 7 firewall and have my FIOS router's firewall set to maximum security.
BTW excellent X230 review!
This thread mentions a 3rd party tool for Win 7 that will make a pop up box appear. http://superuser.com/questions/21755...tbound-traffic
(this may be what LaptopNut refers to in post 4 )

[booboo12]

I've been a long time free Zone Alarm user. Right now I'm on version nine. I'd like upgrade to the newest version, but it seems so basic, it's not really worth the trouble. All I really want is a Firewall that stops incoming and outgoing traffic with a pop-up box, asking if it's OK or not. All the newest free firewalls seem to just automatically let thing through without any consent on the users part. Firefox, iTunes, Photoshop, Windows Media Player, etc., all just pass through. So I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a good free firewall that meets my needs? Thanks for any help.

Hmm a firewall designed for power users, i remember the days of zonealarm, et al, lol. I use Windows Firewall admittely these days mainly because it "just works". Sure it's one way protection but combined with the firewall in my router i think it'll be fine.

[LaptopNut]

I highly recommend Online Armour free but it also comes with a HIPS. There may be a version that only has a firewall or you can disable the HIPS. Once installed, go into Options and uncheck the 'Automatically allow trusted programs to access the internet'. Another alternative is the Windows Firewall Control (Makes the built in Windows Firewall easy to use and configure).

[Baserk]

^+1 for Online Armor. You can easily disable it's HIPS; right-click the system tray icon; click 'Deactivate HIPS features'; link
Also take a look at Private Firewall; the HIPS/process monitor and application/system behavior and anti-keylogging components are optional, it has a more simple gui but also might be just what you need. link

[LaptopNut]

Privatefirewall looks really good and ive never heard of that one. Excellent stuff. I honestly couldn't imagine using any system that didn't have some kind of generic based intrusion protection.

[Steven]

Comodo is what I typically go to for an alternative firewall.