9 Best Firewalls for Windows 10/11 [Free & Paid]
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Key notes
- A firewall is an extra layer of protection for your digital devices.
- Whether as a built-in option in antivirus programs or as a standalone product, try the tools recommended below.
- You can use reliable firewall support provided by specialized tools and guard your PC efficiently.
- There is a great number of digital threats so you should consciously protect the system against suspicious apps.
Malware and internet threats are present anywhere. By choosing a strong firewall you can prevent malicious programs to infect your computer and impact the overall system.
This security service enhances the protection of your PC by preventing unauthorized access from different programs or websites.
Finding a suitable firewall for your needs can sometimes be a burden because there are many such products available on the market.
Users often test several programs until they find a firewall that satisfies their demands.
To avoid this long and annoying process, we provide you with a list of the best firewalls you can install on your Windows 10 computer.
The list includes both paid and free tools, and the former category often comes with a free trial, so that you can test the products at ease.
What is a firewall?
A firewall is software that helps your system to monitor your online activity and prevent intrusions and attacks.
Essentially, firewall security helps you to filter network data that come and go from your PC and thus protect the system against internet threats.
The main purpose of firewall tools is to differentiate secured traffic sources from dangerous ones and detect viruses or malware before affecting the system.
The firewall security was created a long time ago in order to examine network packets transferred between different computers.
How does a Firewall work?
This vital service analyzes incoming traffic from the web and determines suspicious websites in order to prevent digital attacks.
A firewall also protects traffic at a computer’s entry point and determines what information is allowed for specific ports on your computer.
In addition, the packet sniffing firewall is the most common type and it practically analyzes packets and determines what is allowed and denied according to the configured security rules.
Thus, using firewall software you provide additional protection for your PC against malicious websites or programs installed on your system.
What to look for in a Firewall
Firstly, you should know there are different types of firewalls. You can have a software firewall or hardware one but is recommended to have both.
The software firewall is more accessible and helps you to filter the network traffic to offer enhanced protection against dangerous web sources.
There are many types of firewalls you can use to better protect your Windows 10 or 11 PC. To name a few, next-generation firewall (NGFW), proxy firewalls, or network address translation (NAT) firewalls. Each of them brings additional features to traditional firewalls.
What are the best firewall tools to use on Windows 11 and 10?
ESET HOME Security Premium – Best firewall tool overall
This comprehensive security tool has complete features to secure your PC against digital threats all around the internet.
Using this solution you can protect Wi-fi network connections and guarantee strong firewall support for your personal IP address.
ESET HOME Security Premium offers multilayered security for your PC and guards the system against spyware or malware threats present on malicious websites.
More importantly, you can scan downloaded files or programs during the process to be notified about potential viruses. This way, the scanning process decreases and you know how to filter potentially harmful software.
Regarding firewall support, you have complete support that stops dangerous malicious sources from infecting your PC. Plus, the network inspector offers support to detect vulnerabilities on your home router and better secure the connection.
At the same time, it offers a great feature of idle state scanning to run complex scans on your computer when it’s closed.
ESET HOME Security Premium
Ensure the security of your PC with machine learning support and reliable firewall shielding.Perimeter 81 – Manage traffic between multiple networks
This software is a cybersecurity platform that confirms 360-degree protection for your network and firewall as service support.
Using this solution you can ensure firewall protection for various environments, both for home usage and corporate data protection.
Perimeter 81 is the go-to security option for granular support on every traffic information that is transferred from outbound sources into your system.
More exactly, the tool delivers firewall security on the cloud designed for the organization’s network protection.
In addition, using Firewall as a service provides access only for authorized users and detects potentially harmful websites.
You can also use integrated services to manage traffic between multiple networks and thus secure many users and connections.
Hence, by choosing this multi-layered tool you scale up the security and apply network rules for the entire organization.
Perimeter 81
Provide strong network security within your organization or for personal use with this integrated software.VIPRE Antivirus Plus – Advanced security
Similar to most antivirus software, VIPRE also comes with a built-in firewall that you only need to activate.
The tool also includes advanced security and plenty of resources to help you prevent cybercrimes or personal data theft.
If you’re thinking about digital protection, this solution delivers reliable support against new emerging threats including malware, viruses, trojans, or spyware attacks.
More so, you can control the network connection with the firewall option that filters incoming and outgoing traffic data on your PC.
You should therefore secure your connection and avoid digital threats with reliable assistance offered by this defensive solution.
Downloading the tool is extremely easy if you use the button below. Setting it up is similarly intuitive and, as you’ll see, this is a very lightweight software with excellent threat detection and prevention results.
To activate the tool’s firewall, the easiest way is to:
- Right-click on the product icon in the system tray.
- Select Firewall and then Enable.
The same goes if you want to disable the option.
Vipre Antivirus
Try this simple, yet very powerful antivirus, with an efficient firewall that blocks any harmful attack on your Windows 10 PC.Bitdefender Total Security – User-friendly interface
Bitdefender Total Security is currently one of the highly praised and most complete antivirus solutions on the market.
It comes with a user-friendly interface to appeal even to non-tech users, plus an efficient autopilot mode, network threat scan, ransom protection, optimization too, plus a VPN.
Of course, it also has a firewall that is activated by default, but you can configure its setting depending on your preferences.
This is how you can manage the firewall settings in Bitdefender:
- Install the product using the button below.
- Open Bitdefender Total Security.
- Go to the Protection tab and toggle the firewall switch to ON.
- Then, click Settings and go to Application Access.
- Go through all the options in this section.
- Edit rules for a specific application by clicking on the more menu (three dots.
Bitdefender Total Security
Get a powerful layer of network protection with this firewall and safe-keep your personal information from hackers and data breaches.Norton 360 – AI technology
Norton Smart 360 resolution is the perfectly suited software for complex cybersecurity and firewall support for your PC.
Firstly, this antivirus offers complete security for any device and is powered by AI technology and machine learning support.
It confirms innovative firewall security for your PC or laptop and 100% protection against malware or viruses all over the internet.
Consequently, Norton security comes with various protection tools such as a smart firewall, password manager, reliable VPN, and so on.
Another useful technology is represented by intrusion prevention which is capable of detecting online threats and blocking malicious websites or programs before they arrive on your system.
In addition, reputation protection capability gathers data from a global network and determines which software is safe to be installed based on its attributes.
Concluding here, the security offered by Norton is of great help to secure your network connection and block suspicious programs to affect your device.
Norton Smart 360
Assure your device security and prevent malicious web sources or software from accessing your systemZoneAlarm – Easy to use
ZoneAlarm is a well-known firewall, with an easy-to-use interface. Behind the user-friendly interface, there are a plethora of features that can meet the requirements of even the most demanding users.
You can fully customize the security settings, and adapt them to your needs.
After you install ZoneAlarm, you need to check it from time to time to make sure that the applications that request internet access to run are not influenced by the firewall’s filters.
The pop-ups ZoneAlarm displays are really simple, offering you 3 options when something goes wrong: Accept, Deny or Postpone, allowing you to be reminded later about your decision.
ZoneAlarm has 3 security levels:
- Low – a level dedicated to beginners, a learning mode, without OS firewall protection and limited pop-ups.
- Medium – at this security level, the software starts asking you for permission to access various Internet segments. This level is suitable for home networks with more than one system connected.
- High – this mode is not available in the free version of the software. It supports the Smart Defense Advisor that help you to reduce pop-ups by configuring the app access based on the decisions made by other users. It is suitable for use in public Wi-Fi areas.
The Internet segments of this software are divided into two categories: the Trusted Zone, commonly used for local networks, and the Internet Zone. Of course, you can adjust the security level for each area.
You can download ZoneAlarm from Check Point.
Zone Alarm
Secure your network connection using this two-way firewall software to highly protect your PC.Emsisoft Anti-Malware – Outstanding HIPS level
This firewall has a reliable scanning system with an outstanding HIPS level.
Its main feature is called Run Safer and allows you to set different restrictions to any process, including web browsers, web readers, email, multimedia software, download managers, and many more.
The number of pop-ups can be reduced thanks to the automatic safe program list. Every time you label a program as safe, every similar program also receives the same label.
No decision will be taken without your consent. Immediately after installation, this firewall performs a scan to index all software packages installed on your computer and will establish restrictions according to its built-in software list.
These restrictions can be changed at any time, and if one of the programs you installed is not on the list, a pop-up will prompt you to label the program as safe or unsafe.
Also, every time a program tries to connect to a web address, you’ll receive a notification that lets you choose if you allow the connection or not. This firewall is completely customizable and useful for any environment, you can use it at home or at work.
Emsisoft Anti-Malware
Utilize this simplified security method to block banking attacks or any other digital threats that compromise your system.Best free firewall software for Windows 11 and 10
Comodo Free Firewall – Advanced malware detection
Using this firewall solution you have full protection for your network connection and keep suspicious online activities away.
You can safeguard your PC against advanced malware or hackers using this strong firewall option without any charge.
The solution delivers valuable features that enhance your safety online, so do not postpone when it comes to digital risks.
Regarding the features, you have resourceful capabilities such as prevention-based security, sandbox technology for unauthorized programs, or cloud-based behaviors analysis.
More exactly, with such functionalities, you’re able to guard the system without allowing malicious applications and files to hit your network and affect your PC.
Additionally, you should rely on functions like application control to encrypt your system and prevent untrusted websites or programs to get through your firewall.
This being said, benefit from high-value security using this free firewall program to completely defend your system.
TinyWall – Fast usage
TinyWall is a very simple application that works with a built-in firewall. It doesn’t have any annoying pop-ups and the installation package is very small (a little more than 1 MB).
The installation process is very simple and fast and once installed, TinyWall runs automatically in the background.
You can control this software through the tray icon, which opens a small menu with basic features, such as changing the operating mode, adding exceptions for applications, indexing the network activity, and many more.
From that menu, you can manage the General settings, including the password protection of the tool. TinyWall also offers a scanning feature that detects unknown applications and restricts them.
The Advanced settings tab allows users to configure this software according to their needs, but we recommend you keep the pre-set settings if you are a beginner.
The Maintenance tab allows users to import and export settings, check for updates manually and visit the official TinyWall website.
And with that, we conclude our list of the best firewalls for Windows 10. If you want to keep your PC safe, be sure to carefully test them and choose the one that fits you best.
For more information on protecting your online identity, you can check our Privacy section. You’ll find similarly helpful information in the Update & Security Hub.
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