Here's one I've been using for a while and find to be easy to configure/use, PC Tools Firewall Plus.....it's one of the 'picks' at Majorgeeks and isn't Symantec, so it meets one of your criteria.

WWW Link

if you have windows XP why not just use the Windows Firewall. I have not had any problems with it.

Is it for XP or Vista? There's loads of XP firewalls around,b tu I'm having problems finding Vista compatible ones.

Thanks for the replies...I'm using XP Home SP2. starkers, I'm not getting anything on the link you provided (both IE7 and FF). barsinister, I'm avoiding the Windows Firewall, if at all possible..but thanks for the suggestion!

I'm considering Agnitum Outpostand wondered if anyone is using it, what you think, etc.

Thanks again for the replies.

Just checked the link and it goes to the majorgeeks download page for the firewall. It could be you need to instruct your browsers/current firewall to allow poups for the site....

Alternatively you can check it out at.... WWW Link



I have PC Tools Firewall installed on both XP Pro, XP Home and Vista Ultimate (triple boot) and it works well on all three Oses without issue.

Do you know if that monitors outbounds as well? Thanks for the other link, I'll take a look at it.

Yes, it monitors both inbound and outbound. When first installed you would need to give your internet capable programs permission, then you just forget it as it works quietly in the background. Here is some info from the home page.....

"PC Tools Firewall Plus is a powerful personal firewall for Windows that protects your computer by preventing unauthorized users from gaining access to your computer through the Internet or a network. By monitoring applications that connect to the network Firewall Plus can stop Trojans, backdoors, keyloggers and other malware from damaging your computer and stealing your private information.

PC Tools Firewall Plus is advanced technology designed specially for people, not experts. Powerful prevention against attacks and known exploits is activated by default while experienced users can optionally create their own advanced packet filtering rules, including IPv6 support, to customize the network defenses. All you need to do is install it for immediate and automatic ongoing protection.

* Protects your PC as you are working, surfing and playing.
* Intelligent automatic protection without all the questions.
* Easy to use. Designed for both, novice and expert users.
* Advanced rules to protect your PC against common attacks.
* Best of all it’s FREE. No catches, limitations or time-limits."

As I said before, I've been using it for a while now and have found it to be effective as well as easy to use.

What I can recommend is Jetico Firewall.It's tiny and bulletproof-see charts on web,google it.You can set it pretty tight and it's totally controlable by the rules-both predefined or your own-created.Version 1.0.xx is free and version 2.0 is in Beta stage.Help forum with a bunch explaned rules is here WWW Link.

Been using Comodo Firewall for a few weeks now. It's free & seems to be as effective as ZoneAlarm used to be.