Switching to a new firewall

[oteensdad]

Hello again,

I have been running McAfee (antivirus + firewall) for a year. The update subscription is going to expire tonight. I am not renewing it, as I am choosing a free alternative this time.

I have installed AVG Free Edition for the antivirus part. (Is it a good choice?)

For the firewall part, I have downloaded ZoneAlarm Free, but have not installed it yet. (Is it a good choice?)

My question(s): Would my current McAfee firewall continue to work well without future updates? I guess the virus definition updates are only relevant for the antivirus part. Or - do I need to uninstall McAfee and install ZoneAlarm Free or some other firewall instead? I understand my wireless ADSL router has a hardware firewall built into it.

Should I switch?

Thanks in advance for your advice - I have learnt it is in my best interest to follow it!

 

[howard_hopkinso]

I suggest you get rid of McAfee altogether and install one of the free AV and Firewall programmes below.

Personally, I use AVG and Zonlealarm, but others would say use Avast and Comodo.

AVG free or Avast antivirus programmes.

Zonealarm Kerio or Comodo free firewall programmes.

Follow these instructions for uninstalling McAfee.

Regards Howard

 

[oteensdad]

AVG + ZA: "Good enough for Howard - good enough for me". Thanks!

 

[Bobbye]

And FYI: Firewalls protect ports. They do not need updates to do this. However, the manufacturer may update to enhance the configuration of the firewall or add to it's basic overall performance.

In the case of the MsAfree suite with AV and Firewall, I would thing McAfree would render bot h"inactive" when your subscription expires. I would also go with the AVG-ZoneAlarm combo. Both can be gotten free and I have read that some of the features in ZA are actually better in the free version than in the paid one!