I know I'm old fashioned, but I've used ZoneAlarm as a firewall for several years. I actually like the pop-ups that say "Program XYZ is trying to connect to the Internet, allow or block". After a few weeks, the pop-ups pretty much dried-up, since most of the programs on my PC that I regularly use had been run. The bad thing is being bothered with a pop-up question. The good thing is knowing exactly which programs are allowed communication access.
I am totally baffled by the General Rules in firewall Advanced Settings (all 30 of them!) that determine how the firewall handles program connections. I haven't found anything really helpful in the NIS-2009 help file. Maybe the info is there, but I can't find it!
Is there a glossary of terms or some helpful info available about the General Rules? For example: "Default Allow Inbound Bootp". I have no clue about "Bootp". Or: "Default Allow Outbound ICMPV6"?
I'd like to have NIS-2009 ask me if a program can access the Internet or not. Can this be done using the General Rules? I don't want to have to manually add all programs and allow or block them. Looking for some sort of automation.
I've read several Internet security program reviews that essentially say computers are smarter than users, so why burden the user with deciding which programs are allowed to do what. Personally, I want to be burdened! Yes, I know I'm old-fashioned! Entered the 21st century kicking and screaming! 