Vista Compatible Firewalls? Keep Waiting

You know how I feel about Windows Vista. Now I have more ammunition for waiting to upgrade. It came by way of an e-mail I received from Deborah G., a systems application analyst in Michigan.

"Hi, Steve. In your last newsletter, you suggested checking out some third-party firewalls. Neither of the two you suggested are actually compatible with Vista yet! In fact, I've been looking every day for a Vista-compatible firewall and, unless I'm willing to use a bloated 'total security' solution, I can't find a compatible firewall. So if you know of any stand-alone, Vista-compatible firewalls, please share. . ."

I accused Deborah of being picky (you know how those systems application people are). But I looked around and she was on target.

Except for a handful of companies, there are few Vista-compatible firewalls. For a couple of amusing minutes, read though Microsoft's list of "Certified for Windows Vista" programs. Count the number of firewall products you actually recognize, such as Zone Alarm or Kerio.

Who's Who in Firewalls

I sent a note to folks I know at Check Point (Zone Alarm) and Sunbelt (Kerio), the two products I mentioned in the newsletter.

What are you guys doing, sitting around drinking Mai Tais while the world is waiting for Vista versions of your firewalls?

Alex, at Sunbelt, said, "it's true -- firewalls are not the easiest thing in Vista. But it's a very high priority and we're on it. We'll have the Vista 32-bit version first in the near future, and then the 64-bit to follow."

I'm guessing that coding a firewall for Vista is a bear, and can't help but wonder how much support these companies are getting from Microsoft. Either way, it's something I'm glad I don't have to do.

ZoneAlarm's Jordy had a different approach.

"Here's a haiku I made up while sipping Mai Tais:

ZoneAlarm goes deep
Packets, ports, and protocols
Vista coming soon

"Seriously," he said, "the complexity has been in porting over the OS firewall. But we have a technical beta available, and it's rapidly getting better and more stable."

(When I forwarded the note to Alex, he was jealous: "Geez, now I have to think up something in iambic pentameter to outdo ZA.")

Vista-Compatible Firewalls

I did some digging around and found very little on stand-alone firewalls that work with Vista, but I think I found a few. But remember, I haven't tried any of these. And if you have better info, pass it along in the Comments section below.

* Norton Internet Security 2007 is the only brand-name product I found that has a Vista-compatible firewall, and has been available since January. Unfortunately, it's not a stand-alone product; at $70, the bundle includes antivirus, anti-spyware, and other tools. (Check discounted pricing here.)

* PC Tools Firewall Plus is supposed to work with all version of Windows, including Vista. I worry, though, because this text shows up right above the download link: "We encourage you to use this forum to report on successes, problems or issues encountered with PC Tools Firewall Plus."

Firewalls in Beta

There are a slug of them. Here's a quick sampling:

* AVG Firewall will release in the second quarter.

* Zone Alarm is in beta. If you're courageous, sign up for the beta suite (antivirus, anti-spyware and firewall) here. Get notified when the compatible version is released here.

Vista's Firewall

If you're using Vista and need help with the built-in firewall, Microsoft's TechNet has a useful Vista firewall tutorial.