Equilibrium has been restored! To get the best firewall, you have to pay for it!
Bringing back sense to the adage that, "You get what you pay for.", Agnitum's Outpost Firewall has topped the latest leak tests from Matousec. No more free ride from COMODO firewall.
Outpost is a firewall that I've personally tried several times, being one of the first firewalls compatible with Windows XP x64. For one reason or another, though, I've always ended up uninstalling it, even though it had two things working for it:
First, it had a reasonably good anti-spyware module to help beef up the woefully inadequate anti-spyware capabilities of my BitDefender antivirus (I hate those all in one security suites). Second, like BitDefender, it has a "game mode", that makes the two of them an ideal combo for a gamer like me. Unlike BitDefender, though, Outpost detects when a full screen application is running and switches modes automatically.
I had to uninstall the 2008 version, however, when I noticed my puter significantly slowed down after a few minutes on standby, an unacceptable intrusion on my gaming experience.
Agnitum promises a firewall that takes up fewer resources with the 2009 edition, however, and yes, they did it right this time. My computer's fans no longer suddenly start spinning faster when on standby nor does the firewall take up valuable resources needed for gaming.
Looks like Outpost Firewall 2009 is a winner!