[BlackBlade]

The Review: Firewalls

Part I

Each firewall was tested under the same conditions. A testing computer was completely wiped clean and given a fresh Windows XP SP2 operating system with all updates and patches. I then used numerous port scanners, as well as another computer of mine to try and gain control over the testing computer. Each firewall was installed one at a time and tested for its ability to lock out ports, block bad incoming connections, block potentially harmful outgoing connections, for overall ease of use, for permissions rules, any extra features, and for its UI. The maximum amounts of points that a firewall could receive was based out of a 800 point total. For ease of use, the scores of the firewalls have been converted into a “star” rating system. Half stars are not awarded. The top three programs contain a detailed explanation on why they scored the way they did. The remaining programs may have a shorter explanation, or none at all. The stars are as followed:

0 – 160:


161 – 320:


321 – 480 :


481 – 640:


641 – 800:

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