Privatefirewall

CNET Editors' review

Windows ships with an effective suite of security tools, including a firewall, but third-party firewalls are popular with many users. Many are free, and the most popular ones do a good job keeping millions of users safe from cyber attacks, hackers, and other intrusive threats. Privacyware's Privatefirewall has all the features and most of the extras that most personal firewall and host intrusion prevention freeware (HIPS) offer, like its Process Monitor and Port Tracking tools. Its chief advantages are its intelligent tracking feature and its extensive explanations. Privatefirewall monitors your online activity privately to learn your usage patterns. It detects and blocks anomalous usage patterns that could signal an intrusive attack on your system. As with other firewalls, you can easily allow any activity. But Privatefirewall's system is designed to make allowing regular programs less frequent (and annoying) while still protecting you from threats.

Privatefirewall's user interface is easy to understand, and so are its various features and settings, thanks to a right-hand panel that displayed a detailed explanation of everything we selected. The Main Menu opens with two main functions, Internet Security and Network Security. Sliders let us choose High, Low, or Custom security levels much like in Windows. We could add trusted and blocked sites, too. Privatefirewall enables separate Profiles for Home, Office, and Remote connections, a handy option for laptops. We could import and export the program's settings, including Process, Email, and System Anomaly Detection settings. This interesting tool displays Training Statistics that show which programs it analyzed and when; we could set its Sensitivity level and also limit the training period. The program's Help file offers more detail than the user interface in explaining the anomaly detection feature as well as the Port Tracking tool and other features.

The true test of a firewall is in how well it protects your system. We tried a variety of probes and simulated attacks, and Privatefirewall kept them at bay. Since the firewall that fails exits the marketplace quickly, we expected nothing less from Privatefirewall. Its intelligent monitoring and its detailed documentation set it apart from the other free firewalls, though.

Publisher's Description

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All User Reviews
  • All versions:

    4.0 stars

    out of 115 votes

    • 5 star: 73
    • 4 star: 14
    • 3 star: 3
    • 2 star: 8
    • 1 star: 17
  • Current version:

    4.6 stars

    out of 18 votes

    • 5 star: 16
    • 4 star: 0
    • 3 star: 0
    • 2 star: 0
    • 1 star: 2
  • My rating:

    0 stars

    Write review

Results 1-10 of 18

  • 5.0 stars

    "A recommended fast, light, free firewall!"

    May 14, 2013  |   By Batchoy2

    Version: Privatefirewall 7.0.29.1

    Pros

    Loaded security features and it works quietly in the background. No issues working with MSE and on a Vista OS.

    Cons

    None as of the moment.

    Summary

    My other computer is installed with Comodo Free Firewall. I like Comodo very much.

    This Privatefirewall is my second favorite.

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  • 5.0 stars

    "the best of the best"

    April 30, 2013  |   By FrHyp

    Version: Privatefirewall 7.0.29.1

    Pros

    It's the best FW on the internet. Easy to use, light on system resources, effective and give a strong protection. The HIPS works perfectly and monitors all the activity on pc.

    Cons

    maybe the look of the UI. But it's not definitively a problem

    Summary

    I've used Comodo Fw for a year but with the latest update, this FW became unstable and makes my pc lag or freeze! PF does his job perfectly and don't slow down my pc

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  • 5.0 stars

    "terrific utility"

    March 30, 2013  |   By promytius

    Version: Privatefirewall 7.0.29.1

    Pros

    Power Firewall for Dummies; very clear, very intuitive, lots of control, good job of alerting (very little delay), great layout, versatile and well done.

    Cons

    Some other firewalls track and report data in other ways than this program does.

    Summary

    I needed a firewall with more control than W7 provides, and I tried a half-dozen; I kept this one. I use this one. I count on it. You may too.

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  • 5.0 stars

    "very good firewall"

    March 30, 2013  |   By Rolandkeys

    Version: Privatefirewall 7.0.29.1

    Pros

    For free great

    Cons

    none for free

    Summary

    works and does the job

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  • 5.0 stars

    "Will get your job done"

    March 20, 2013  |   By Tinkumon

    Version: Privatefirewall 7.0.29.1

    Pros

    I love this program. Just what you want from a firewall program. Monitor your in and out programs. Simple. Also it has a strong HIPS component which can detect any malicious activity due to malwares. I recommend this product to people who are not novice because of the interface. It took me some time to figure out the way it works. But once you get it its very easy and customizable. There is absolutely no system lag by using this program. I have a regular Dell Inspiron i3 processor laptop and I dont see any system slow down. I use this along with Avira free antivirus and my system boots in less than 30 seconds. Put it in training mode for a day and I am pretty sure it will never nag you. For people who need extra protection like sandbox, virtual kiosk etc then go for comodo. I am an educated internet user and I know what I am doing. So I dont prefer bloated softwares like comodo firewall, yet its a good alternative for amateur users.

    Cons

    I gave 4.5 stars because of a small glitch in the program. Sometimes I just reset the settings to default and click on file -> settings then the program hangs for 2 minutes, but it does not hang forever. Hope they fix this soon.

    Summary

    Very satisfied with this program. Absolute freedom and peace of mind while surfing the internet knowing that I have the best free antivirus(Avira) and best firewall

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  • 1.0 stars

    "Piece of crap, little customization"

    March 19, 2013  |   By dragonspitt

    Version: Privatefirewall 7.0.29.1

    Pros

    free, looks like a strong firewall

    Cons

    Little to no customization
    No way to allow certain programs
    No way to easily make rules

    Summary

    Uninstalled after less then 2 hours.

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  • 1.0 stars

    "Complete and total grabage"

    March 10, 2013  |   By MechaDurka

    Version: Privatefirewall 7.0.29.1

    Pros

    Its free so it has that going for it

    Cons

    The program does not completely uninstall when using either the built in uninstaller or another program like Revo. After installation I was able to boot to the desktop but my system slowed to a crawl at that moment with the only visible screen being the privatefirewall startup screen, so I booted to safe mode to uninstall this piece of crap, ran the built in uninstaller and Revo because Revo apparently thought it was still installed, restarted and got to the desktop where the same exact thing happened again. I was unable to use my computer after installing this so I had to wipe both hard drives and restore from a backup,waiting 6 hours for a restore to complete is unacceptable

    Summary

    Stay away from this flawed piece of crap, IF and When they fix this issue I MAY try it again but for now it belongs in the trash can

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  • 5.0 stars

    "Being using it for over a year now. GREAT software"

    March 6, 2013  |   By bondbase

    Version: Privatefirewall 7.0.29.1

    Pros

    Free and gets the job done

    Cons

    having to uninstall the older version in order to install the new. Installed the last version 7.0.29.1 without uninstalling the previous and couldn't connect to any wireless connection unless disabled from startup.

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  • 5.0 stars

    "This is the one that all freeware fans should check out"

    March 5, 2013  |   By WaveRobr

    Version: Privatefirewall 7.0.29.1

    Pros

    All good!! I have tried and compared all top rated free firewalls out there. This firewall does everything I love for a firewall. It Works with no glitches,and does a superb Job. This comes from a very big comodo fan. I personally like a good hips program in a firewall. Once you program this one, it just does a great job! Sweeeeet work, thanks!

    Cons

    Really,, Hmmm, Can't seem to think of one. That really pisses me off, nothing to BLAME!!!

    Summary

    You've got nothing to lose,,only unwanted crap from the internet. This one is definitely worth checking out. Till next time,, Peace!!

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  • 5.0 stars

    "Simply awesome!"

    March 3, 2013  |   By c30433

    Version: Privatefirewall 7.0.29.1

    Pros

    Lightweight and powerful software with great support. When I needed help bacause of conflict with other software they responded immediately.

    Cons

    some people may not like the look

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Results 1-10 of 18

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