Internet Firewall: Firewall Software
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Firewalls come in two variants: hardware and software. Most firewalls of the latter type are personal firewalls, which are programs installed on a computer that control communications made to and from that PC. They either permit or deny the transfer of information based on a security policy. Firewall software are also called "softwall".
To use some firewall software, you've got to pay for them. However, there are also free programs known as firewall "freeware".
Paid Firewall Software
If you're a user of the Windows XP operating system, there's a strong chance that the firewall software you are using right now is Windows Firewall. Technically, it's free as it comes with the OS, but of course you've got to pay for Windows XP.
Windows Firewall comes with the Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), and it is enabled by default for all kinds of network connections (e.g. wireless, Firewire, VPN). If by any chance you've turned off the firewall, Windows XP Security Center will show an alert in the system tray.
Certainly not to be outdone, Apple’s Mac OS X also has built-in firewall software.
The Check Point VPN-1 firewall is one of the pioneers in the business, and was the market leader in the late 1990s. Formerly named the Firewall-1, the software was first released in 1994 by Check Point Software based on the Visas firewall architecture (see Firewall History).
Also coming from Check Point (through Zone Labs) is Zone Alarm Pro. The program has a freeware version that has a local network firewall included.
Computer security giant Symantec also offers the Norton Personal Firewall 2006, while McAfee has its McAfee Personal Firewall Plus. The PC-cillin Internet Security suite boasts of a firewall program aside from having anti-virus capabilities.
Other paid firewall software include BlackIce PC Protection, NeT Firewall, PrivateFirewall, and Tiny Firewall.
Free Firewall Software
Those who don't want to burn a hole in their pockets can choose from a variety of firewall freeware.
First and foremost, users of the open source Linux operating system don't have to worry, as the OS comes with a built-in firewall software, netfilter/iptables. The two are actually more than a firewall, but it is their best-known component.
Devil-Linux is another free firewall and is a Linux distribution. The program runs completely from CD-ROM and is very lightweight as it does not have a graphical user interface (GUI).
There are many open source Linux firewall distributions out there. Two such programs are SmoothWall Express and BrazilFW Firewall and Router. SmoothWall needs no separate OS to install as it includes a subset of GNU/Linux; it is also configured through a web-based GUI that is easy to use. On the other hand, Brazil FW was formerly known as Coyote Linux, and can be run from a floppy or hard disk. BrazilFW can also be used in the Windows environment.
Other firewall freeware include eConceal Firewall, Endian Firewall, and Comodo Personal Firewall.
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