Secure your devices with the firewall.
To keep your favorite devices free from malware and other cyber attacks, you must consider adding an extra layer of protection. A firewall is different than antivirus, and it provides comprehensive security protection against online threats. Not only that, but some of the firewalls also got privacy protection.
For Computer Devices…
BullGuard
An advanced security firewall that is affordable yet impressive, BullGuard has been in the business since 2001. This solution works for Windows, Mac, and as well as Android devices. So, if you have any of these devices, you can pick one of their three “device-specific” plans and keep yourself protected from nasty malware.
Talking about features, there are a lot of them as a whole. But, here are some of the highlights:
- In-built secure browser for safer internet surfing
- Advanced virus detection with machine learning
- High-performance gaming backed with the security
- Automatic alerts of untrusted and suspicious websites
- In-depth scanning for installing and future applications
- Blocks viruses from entering your device
- Parental controls to keep a watch on your child’s browsing
- And a lot more!
This tool’s pricing starts at $29.95/year for PC and goes up till $99.95/year for PC, Mac, and Android. It also offers a 30-day free trial for you to try it out before buying. Cool enough!
Comodo Firewall
Comodo Firewall got FREE and paid edition, both. It works on Windows PC.
The configuration is straightforward, and amateurs can get used to it in no time, thanks to its attractive and user-friendly graphical interface.
Highlights
- It’s sandbox features keeps an application away from Windows until Comodo is sure that it is safe. It works on the principle of default denial, which means that it assumes that an unknown application is malicious unless proven guilty. It has a database of over 2 million safe apps at its disposal. Thus, the possibility of flagging a false positive is very low.
- It has an intuitive user interface that not only notifies you when files are unsafe but also when it is safe to use
- The File Rating feature check files against Comodo’s cloud database and checks if a file or a process is malicious
- Its Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) gives a pop-up and asks you for the suspicious behavior by a program. You can either block or allow the behavior.
TinyWall
TinyWall is a lightweight free desktop firewall solution that works with a built-in Windows firewall. The installation package weights around 1MB.
Highlights
- Once installed, it silently keeps working in the background. If you are looking for a set-and-forget solution, you should try TinyWall
- It puts all the system ports in stealth mode making them invisible to outside attackers
- You cannot terminate its main process using Task Manager. You can kill the user interface, but the core firewall functionality continues to remain active
- There are no explicit notifications or popups to show that it has blocked a program. Anyway, the popups can sometimes get confusing, and a user might end up giving unnecessary permissions to certain apps. With TinyWall almost blocking everything, users need to give permission to the application or software they trust
NetDefender
NetDefender is an open-source packet filtering firewall completely written in VC++ 7.1 (Visual Studio 2003) using MFC, Windows API, Filter-Hook Driver (Provided with Windows 2000).
Highlights
- It has a very easy to use old school interface
- Users can define rules based on the protocol used, source and destination IP address and source and destination port number
- Port scanner helps in scanning the system for open ports
- It gives you a list of applications that are currently trying to connect to the outside network
ZoneAlarm
ZoneAlarm is a very popular firewall that will stop all the intrusion attempts on your computer. It has a number of useful features (apart from firewall) that many companies offer in their paid subscriptions.
Highlights
- It puts the system ports into full stealth mode, meaning no one across the internet can get access to them
- To provide real-time security updates as soon as new threats are detected, it connects to DefenseNet
- To keep your data safe, they offer 5GB of online backup space hosted by ZoneAlarm partner IDrive.
Bitdefender
Ultimate Security by Bitdefender is a multiplatform solution. It works on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.
Performance, protection, and privacy – all three included securing your online presence. Some of the features are:
- Ransomware protection
- Web/network attack prevention
- Privacy firewall
- Anti-phishing, anti-theft
- Password manager
Bitdefender is trusted by more than 500 million users worldwide.
GlassWire
GlassWire is available for Windows and Android. Not the only firewall, but it got other features like visualizing network usage, bandwidth usage monitoring, lock-down mobile, review and approve every connection, view who is connected to your wi-fi network, profiling, and many more.
For Mobile Devices…
NoRoot Firewall
NoRoot Firewall is an extremely lightweight app with a clean interface that puts you in control of Internet access for all of your apps. It is available on Google Play Store for free.
Highlights
- As the name rightly suggests, you do not need to root your android device for the app to work
- You can set up filters globally as well as for individual apps
- You can explicitly specify if an application can access the internet only on mobile data, Wi-Fi, neither or both
- It serves as a great way to restrict background data usage
NetGuard
NetGuard is yet another fully configurable firewall that does not require you to give root access.
Highlights
- You need to connect to its built-in VPN before you access any app that has access to the Internet
- You can log internet access, manage internet access to system apps and filter IP packets
- It is free and open-source
- It lets you block specific IP addresses for specific apps
AFWall+
If you have a rooted Android device and you wish to have better control over the system and third-party apps, you can check out AFWall+ firewall. It is completely free and does not contain any apps or in-app purchases.
Highlights
- The app is very simple to use, and you get to configure a lot of things based upon your needs
- You can lock and protect AFWall+ setting and also export rules that you have defined
- You can set up multiple profiles, and you also get a widget to manage them
- It provides detailed logs and statistics of all the data that is sent or received from your mobile device
NetPatch
NetPatch Firewall, just like other apps in this list, provides all the generic features such as managing internet access to individual apps and deciding whether an app uses mobile data, Wi-Fi, both or none, to connect to the Internet.
However, unlike most of the apps, it also lets you configure whether the apps can connect to the internet when the screen is off. With this feature, you can restrict the apps on your device from accessing the Internet when your screen is off. However, as soon as you unlock the device, the apps will connect to the Internet.
Conclusion
I hope this article will help you in choosing the best firewall for your mobile and computer devices.
