EmailBest Reviewed
Firewalls
- Best firewall Online Armor Personal Firewall *Est. $40
- Best free firewall Comodo Internet Security *Est. $0
- Best security-suite firewall Outpost Security Suite Pro 2009 *Est. $50
- Best Mac firewall Little Snitch *Est. $30
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- Effective
- Free live tech support
- Compatible with Windows Vista
- Complicated to learn
- Some crashes or incompatibilities
The most credible reviews say Outpost Firewall Pro 6.0 is the best paid firewall, offering practically leak-proof protection and features you won't get with freebie firewalls, such as anti-spyware protection, free online technical support and the ability to customize parental controls for each user. It's also compatible with Windows Vista. The most rigorous testing of firewall leakage is done by Matousec.com, and it ranks the 2009 update of Outpost Firewall Pro 6.0 (version 6.5) in first place with a 99 percent success rate. We found only a handful of user reviews of the 6.5 version, but most encountered some crashes, and a 2006 professional review indicated that an older version required some computer savvy to operate.
Thanks to its extensive test regimen, Matousec.com provides the best firewall software ratings. The technical information there is fleshed out by reviews by Personal Computer World, PCMag.com and Computer Shopper. There are just a handful of user reviews, mostly negative, at FileForum.com, but it's far too small of a sampling to provide a legitimate assessment. Consumer Reports does not test or rate firewalls.
Our Sources
1. Matousec.com
IMatousec.com evaluates a number of firewall packages, and the 2009 update of Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro 6.0 (version 6.5) gets the top rating, with a 99 percent success rate in leak testing.
Review: Firewall Challenge, David Matousek and editors
The U.K.'s Personal Computer World gives the 2009 version of Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro a brief review and four stars out of five, but there is no description of hands-on testing. Reviewer Paul Rowlingson says that it's flexible enough to appeal to both beginners and advanced users.
Review: Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro 2009, Paul Rowlingson, July 5, 2008
PCMag.com does hands-on and lab testing of many firewalls and gives 3.5 out of five stars to the 4.0 version of Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro. Reviewer Neil J. Rubenking cautions, "Don't give it to Grandpa," meaning it's not for technophobes.
Review: Outpost Firewall Pro 4.0, Neil J. Rubenking, Nov. 27, 2006
FileForum.com members give the 2009 version of Outpost Firewall Pro (version 6.5) mixed reviews overall. One poster reports going back to the Comodo product after trying Outpost.
Review: Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro (32-bit) 2009 Beta, Contributors to FileForum.com
This review is outdated, referring to a previous version of Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro, but still worth a look because there is a detailed account of testing methods and a dozen firewalls are rated. Five firewalls get perfect scores, with Outpost Firewall Pro getting a four stars out of five.
Review: Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro Review, Editors of Computer Shopper, June 2006
Firewalls Runners Up:
2 picks by top review sites.
2 picks by top review sites.
