Contents
Viruses and other threats to Windows security in 2022 are aimed at extracting financial benefits from fraudsters. Therefore, network security must be taken care of in advance. Usually, it means anti-virus protection of computers, networks, servers, mobile devices. But not only antivirus can protect your PC from external intrusions. A firewall is an effective means of traffic control. It is also called “firewall” or “firewall”.
The tasks of the best firewalls for Windows in 2022 can be roughly divided into two large groups:
- prevent the penetration of viruses from the outside;
- prevent installed programs from accessing the network without permission from the administrator or if the site does not have security certificates.
That is, the purpose of a firewall is not to allow traffic that can harm the system.
– A firewall is installed not only on users’ computers, but also on servers, or on routers between subnets. Applications have been an integral part of Windows since XP SP2 (it was released already in 2004, that is, the idea of the program is not new – Ed.). The built-in firewall can be included in the software of routers – routers. The former are more accessible, but they take up part of the computer’s resources and are not so reliable, but for ordinary users they are quite enough. The second are corporate solutions that are installed in large networks with increased security requirements,” says Associate Professor of the Department of Information Management and ICT, Faculty of Information Technology, Synergy University Zhanna Meksheneva.
In this material, we are talking about software, not hardware firewalls. That is, applications (not gadgets) that are installed on a computer and filter Internet traffic. A firewall that claims to be the best in 2022 must be able to:
- block phishing sites that try to gain access to confidential user data;
- cut off spyware like “keyloggers” – they record all keystrokes;
- protect Windows from external denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and remote desktop attacks;
- protect access through open ports – connect to your computer from the outside through them;
- stop IP spoofing – a cyber attack in which a fraudster pretends to be a reliable source in order to gain access to important data or information;
- control the access of applications to the network;
- protect against malware that can use a computer to mine cryptocurrencies;
- log (i.e. keep a record of all decisions) and alert users of various actions;
- analyze outgoing and incoming traffic.
In modern versions of Windows (we are talking about licensed versions) there is Microsoft Defender antivirus – in “Defender”. It has a built in firewall. However, developers release independent products.
– Defender consumes a minimum amount of system resources, does not require financial investments, does not collect user data and does not use it for profit. At the same time, it is believed that solutions from third-party developers can provide more reliable protection. They are highly configurable, include intelligent malware search algorithms, and other useful features. And most importantly, they contain fewer vulnerabilities known to attackers,” says the Healthy Food Near Me expert.
Editor’s Choice
ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall
Check Point, a developer of antivirus software, offers its own proprietary firewall. Its main advantage is the “stealth mode” into which the computer can be switched, after which the device actually becomes completely invisible to hackers.
The development of OSFirewall Monitors is built into it – it monitors suspicious behavior of programs, helps to stop attacks that bypass traditional anti-virus protection. You can also praise the program for the know-how of Application Control. Its essence is that the firewall is loaded simultaneously with the system.
Usually, Windows boots itself first and gradually loads other programs with autorun. Including antiviruses. It takes seconds, but for modern viruses it may be enough. ZoneAlarm starts immediately with the start of the system.
Official site: zonealarm.com
Features
| System Requirements | 2 GB RAM, 2 GHz processor or faster, 1,5 GB free hard disk space |
| Support | online 24/7 |
| Price | $22,95 per year per device |
| Free version | no, but within 30 days after payment you can cancel the program and ask for a refund |
Advantages and disadvantages
Top 5 best firewalls for Windows in 2022 according to KP
1. TinyWall
A popular firewall by just one developer from Hungary Karoli Pados. The program is famous for its ease and ease of setup. In fact, this firewall is an organic addition to the built-in Windows, which allows you to cover up vulnerabilities that the base application for some reason missed. The same Defender, for example, cannot determine which applications are exchanging data.
In addition, most ordinary firewalls are configured only to filter incoming messages, while TinyWall allows you to control outgoing network traffic. Designed for home use and small offices (up to five computers on the network).
Official site: tinywall.pados.hu
Features
| System Requirements | the developer does not have specific requirements for PC power, but reports that he works with OS from Windows 7 and older, as well as server Windows from 2012 P2 and older |
| Support | only reference information on the site, you can write to the developer, but not the fact that he will answer |
| Price | free (you can support the creator with an amount of your choice) |
Advantages and disadvantages
2. Convenient Firewall
Comodo Firewall has gained wide popularity due to its “free” nature. Only this firewall, unlike TinyWall, was created by the large corporation Comodo. One could go on and on about private business motives for making free products, but it seems pretty obvious: they want to advertise their commercial programs with it. So if you choose this software, then get ready: pop-up notifications with ads will become companions of your work at the computer.
The firewall is notable for its Default Deny Protection or DDP technology, which translates as “Default Deny Protection”. Most firewalls use a list of known malware to decide which applications and files should not be allowed to access your computer. What if the list is not complete? DDP not only has its own virus database, but is also wary of all strangers, warning the user about it.
Official site: comodo.com
Features
| System Requirements | operating system from XP and older, 152 MB RAM, 400 MB hard disk space |
| Support | forum and help information in English |
| Price | free, but with ads or $29,99 per year for one device, but without ads, but with full antivirus |
Advantages and disadvantages
3. SpyShelter Firewall
Antivirus developer SpyShelter offers its own firewall in 2022. It has a popular zero-day threat protection feature. This is how the cybersecurity community calls viruses that have not yet managed to be registered in databases, but are already walking around the network.
You can praise the creators of the firewall for a concise and at the same time visually pleasing interface. The firewall controls incoming and outgoing traffic. If your local network has administrators, they can fine-tune the firewall for specific employees.
Built-in anti-keylogger to prevent password theft. Firewall warning pop-ups offer to send the file to VirusTotal, a service that checks the file against 40 anti-malware programs and lets you know how many have flagged the file as dangerous.
Official site: spyshelter.com
Features
| System Requirements | the developer does not have specific requirements for PC power, but reports that it works with OS from XP and older |
| Support | online appeals through a request on the site or searching for information in the knowledge base |
| Price | 35€ per year per device |
| Is there a free version | 14 days |
Advantages and disadvantages
4. GlassWire
Firewall for Windows stands out from its peers with its striking design. It can be seen that the development team worked closely with specialists who understand graphic content. As a result: informative colorful network monitoring graphs. They literally answer the question: with what and how your computer communicates.
Blocks outgoing traffic of suspicious applications. Issues a notification if some program starts behaving suspiciously. Allows you to monitor other devices on your home network and receive alerts if someone unidentified has connected to your Wi-Fi.
Official site: glasswire.com
Features
| System Requirements | operating system from Windows 7, 2 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, 100 MB hard disk space |
| Support | online emailing or knowledge base searches |
| Price | $29 for six months for one device or $75 for a lifetime license for 10 devices |
| Is there a free version | yes, with limited functionality or full version for seven days |
Advantages and disadvantages
5. I will vomit
A small company that makes several software options for sale, such as a backup program or a combination of different cloud storage, is offering a free firewall for Windows in 2022. The firewall is quite standard: it signals as soon as something tries to access the Internet, blocks outgoing and incoming traffic of specific applications at your request. Of the interesting findings: blocking the tracking system on websites. This software is used by companies to monitor how users behave, where they click, what they are interested in.
That is, their interest is purely marketing, but if you are one of those who in every way strives not to leave traces on the network, then you should like the “invisibility” function. Also, this firewall prevents Windows from transmitting your telemetry (information about the state of the system and its usage) to its servers.
Official site: evorim.com
Features
| System Requirements | operating system from Windows 7, 2 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, 400 MB hard disk space |
| Support | online emailing or knowledge base searches |
| Price | free, but you can support the developers financially |
Advantages and disadvantages
How to choose a firewall for Windows
– The firewall is designed to improve the security of information. For the corporate sector, this is an indispensable element of protection: it will protect against external attacks, limit unwanted access to the Internet for employees. For ordinary users, the firewall will reduce the chance of infection with worms and limit the activity of “suspicious” programs, our expert says. Zhanna Meksheneva.
System requirements
The firewall in the operating system is consuming the processor resource. This means that the performance of the system and the speed of Internet access are reduced. For powerful devices with high-speed Internet access, this is not critical. But on weak budget devices it causes discomfort.
Aggressive firewalls prone to false alarms
The firewall has false positives: it can “swear” at the work of the antivirus and other proven programs. In these cases, resort to fine manual configuration of the firewall. It is highly recommended to enable it on insecure networks such as public Wi‑Fi. Or for certain applications – browsers, instant messengers.
The complexity of setting up may lie in creating a dozen different rules for incoming and outgoing connections manually, but this will allow you to completely take traffic under control.
The question of price and number of devices in a subscription
In 2022, there are free firewalls that can be downloaded directly from developer websites or software aggregators. At the same time, companies continue to make paid versions. When you choose the best application, the question of price will inevitably arise. For a home or small office, you can purchase a license that includes protection for 3-5-10 devices at a reduced price.
Firewall is not a panacea for viruses
Even the presence of a bunch of antivirus and firewall together does not guarantee one hundred percent protection. Hackers are resourceful and work on their worms every day. In order not to be excruciatingly painful when data is lost, it is recommended to store all important data in the cloud – on a remote server that you trust.
Popular questions and answers
We have compiled a ranking of the best firewalls for Windows. asked Associate Professor of the Faculty of Information Technologies of the University “Synergy” Zhanna Meksheneva answer frequently asked questions.
What settings should the Windows firewall have?
• number of devices per license;
• learning mode for each application: what to allow and what to prohibit;
• interface and reference information;
• additional functions: password manager (data for online accounts are stored in encrypted form), webcam access control;
• Customer support via email, chat or telephone.
How is a firewall different from an antivirus?
The firewall is not able to protect against malicious links: they can be sent as spam to e-mail and instant messengers. At the same time, a computer can become infected with malware not only through the network, but also through USB drives (flash drives, external hard drives), optical drives – the firewall does not control reading and copying files from these media.
Because firewalls work on multiple layers, each layer has its own filters. And if the traffic matches the rules, for example, at the link (higher) level, then the firewall will let such data through, although at the application (lower) content can be encrypted and lead to problems in the system.
If traffic is sent through a VPN connection and other secure tunnels, when one network protocol is packed into another, then the firewall cannot interpret such data packets. It works on the principle “everything that is not forbidden is allowed”, and skips them.
Another difference between a firewall and an antivirus in 2022: the firewall cannot do anything about the destruction that a virus that has already entered the computer can cause. The malware will encrypt your files or try to transfer stolen data. The firewall with a high degree of probability will not react to this in any way.
Antiviruses, like firewalls, are able to analyze network traffic, but usually this function is not the main one. They are created to protect the device in real time, detect viruses in the most vulnerable areas of the system, automatically update databases, alerts when third-party access to the computer is attempted, and other additional features.
Third party firewalls are tools for advanced users, not the most important part of security applications. At the same time, the free Windows Firewall is able to provide sufficient computer protection for most people.
Do you need a firewall if you have an antivirus?
If you use hacked programs, for example, download pirated versions from torrents, visit suspicious sites, then you should think about additionally installing a separate antivirus or firewall. Please note that installing third-party software may disable Windows Firewall. In any case, it is not safe to keep a computer without a firewall enabled.
What to do if the firewall is blocking the right programs?
Modern firewalls show a notification to the user at the time of operation. Next to it, there is often a button “Allow this application to access the network” right away. But if you didn’t have time to press it or missed the notification, go to your firewall settings and look for the item about exceptions.
What are the basic rules for configuring a Windows firewall?
Rules can be created for any programs and system components. Prohibit or allow them to send requests to servers and control the process of “return”, namely, to connect with data protection protocols.
It is better to manually configure the firewall for a user who is well versed in the system. For other users, you can leave everything by default and add to the list of exceptions those applications that you trust. Also, modern firewalls for Windows have built-in profiles – combinations of settings for a particular situation, which the user can enable and configure on their own.