Sygate Personal Firewall - Any Opinions?

[rpgaud]

Just got a ZDnet notice with high rating for Sygate's Personal Firewall. Was wondering if anyone had any experience with it and an opinion of it compared to ZoneAlarm.

[Storm90]

I use it. it is better in my opinion then ZoneAlarm. It lets you open up ports you need. Then goes back to blocking them when you are done.Plus I have ran a full port scan with both firewalls set on high and sysgate block all you UDP ports were zonealarm don't even set on high. When I was useing zonealarm and had it set to high It left a nasty trojan in. so I switch to sysgate. It does a much better job in my opinion. But thats my opinion. Other people may not share the same opinion. Plus it seems to use less system resources. :D

[Croc]

I used to use both ZoneAlarm and Sygate and they appeared to run in harmony with no conflicts on my system.
There is a learning curve your Sygate will have to go through to become effective however IMHO ZoneAlarm is the better product as there were a few holes in Sygate and I don't know if they have been fixed.
Think about this for a moment.... ZoneAlarm has been around for quite a while now and to my knowledge there has been one upgrade from 2.1.25 to 2.1.44 and the one scare with a patch provided by DiamondCS.
It is easily configured with an extensive FAQ at their site and at download default config runs well and protects.
My suggestion is for you to use ZoneAlarm and have it subjected to a few of the more comprehensive scans. then use Sygate and subject it to the same treatment. You will then see how each works and make a more informed decision for yourself. JMHO> :rolleyes:

[rpgaud]

Thanks for the responses guys. Question for TheCroc...What do you think about what Storm was saying regarding unblocked UDP ports? I currently use ZA, but behind a NATing router. All tests todate show no open ports for me. A few of my friends and family have only their ZA firewall for protection with similar tests results [from DSLReports].

[Croc]

If you want to configure your firewall then you can by switching to ZA Pro as far as I know. ZA has been running for a long time on my system and I have no issues with it.
I tried running both and now run ZA only.
Also remember I am on dialup so ZA is up and running before commection is up. This would make it difficult for anything to access my system without my knowledge.
It would be interesting to see what was happening at the time Storm had that problem, like site he was at, actual settings used for ZA, was an email sent to ZoneLabs describing the problem so they could help, what was downloaded at the time. There are any number of reasons for this to happen. Finding out is more difficult.
Your current protection should see you invisible to the net with the hardware anyway so the use of ZA would be control of outgoings if the configuration settings are right and you said yourself you had a clean bill of health from the scan.
Stick with it.

[rpgaud]

Thanks Croc...I agree...Just wondering if I was missing something.

[fredra]

Well stated Storm
Way to go!!!

[Storm90]

They have just updated sygate firewall . here in the last month. Has more feature. Plus blocks trojans now. Which the free version of zonealarm don't. Give it a try and see if you like if not just go back to zonealarm. ;) At the time I had zonealarm Both settings were on high. Plus my mail was block. I also had check marks under both sides check. I just happen to prefer sygate better after that. Plus noe when I run a scan not one port is open they are all steath. I use DLs reports to. Plus please I am not a he. I am a she. I have use all different kinds of firewalls. So now I settle with the one I like the best. I have work on computers now for 21 years. If you do some searching you will find sygate has a better rateing with its free firewall then zone alarm does. Plus you can mange it where zonealarms free one you can not. If you need a port open. This mainly why I prefer it or tiny.
;)

[ 04-21-2001: Message edited by: Storm90 ]

[Croc]

I don't know whether this is eating humble pie Storm90, but I downloaded Sygate Personal today removed ZoneAlarm. I have to say I like the new version and will run it for a while. For now, I am very impressed with it. A big improvement on the old one. Now the tests will come to see if it is as good as ZoneAlarm.
I know I have been pro ZoneAlarm both here and at other forums. The use of SPF will see if it is as good as it's users say it is. I hope so

[fredra]

Hey Croc
That is being honest...good for you.
I used the old version of SYgate, but did not like it (or it didn't like me...lol)...so now I use Tiny and a hardware firewall.
I would appreciate your feedback and opinion on Sygate's new version.
Good Luck :eek:

[Storm90]

Thanks Freda ! And Croc Run as many scan as you can find . You will see what I mean. Plus thanks for trying it. :)

[Juggernaut]

I have a question about Sygate...I just tried it out from using ZAPro before...seems pretty good so far. My question is, is it recommended to Register or does it really matter either way.

[Croc]

Don't see any reason why you wouldn't want to register. Doesn't hurt a bit and if you need online support that comes with the package.

Now to the scans..... ran 2.

1...Secure Design,
Results:
Port 23..... open
" 37..... open or filtered (?)
" 80..... open
" 81..... open
" 123..... open or filtered (?)
" 161..... " " " "
" 514..... open
" 520..... open or filtered (?)
" 3130..... " " " "
" 8080..... open.

GRC Shields Up and Ports Probed.
Results:
All scans show STEALTH.

Trying more. Test 1 not happy.

[Juggernaut]

I found a different problem. After I got it installed and running fine, I decided to play some UT online. After I let it have access, I connected to a server and had around my normal ping, but my FPS was total crap...about 10 FPS. I disconnected and tried locally, and it was fine...went on a different server, back down to 10.

Why would switching from ZoneAlarm Pro to Sygate Personal Firewall drop my FPS down to 10 when playing online.

[fredra]

Hey Storm :(
HELP!!!! :confused:
Pls see Croc's and Jug's findings....your input would be appreciated.

:eek:

[ 04-23-2001: Message edited by: fredra ]

[Juggernaut]

Could the firewall have screwed around with something with UT that would need a reinstall? Cuz UT is fine offline, but as soon as I go online, my FPS goes right to crap...could the firewall cause this?

[Croc]

Seeing I am in the slowwwwwwwww lane I have never bothered with gaming of any kind (except for patience. I can get a hand in while a page loads ;) ) so I can't give you an answer.
I do notice a very small delay between the click and Sygate's icon operating.

[Juggernaut]

After rebooting without loading Sygate and seeing that everything was back to normal, I uninstalled Sygate and reinstalled ZoneAlarm Pro. Everything is back to it's normal.

I would like some more input on Sygate and internet gaming, but from my own experience, at this point, Sygate does not work well at all if you plan on Gaming online.

[Juggernaut]

Anyone know how to possibly fix this...I otherwise really like Sygate Personal Firewall and would prefer to use that instead of ZAPro, but not if I can't game online.

[clevelandtexas]

I tried Sygate 4.0 for 24 hours. It appears to be a nice product and has some features other firewalls don't have. However,I went back to Tiny because there is still more flexibility in creating and managing rules. There is no way to create a rule in Sygate for a particular application from scratch like you can with Tiny. You have to be "attacked" by an application before you can create a rule, then you can modify it to your needs. If there is an option to create a new rule in Sygate before the fact please correct me if I'm wrong and let me know.

[rainallday]

Here's a basic scan done at dsl reports of my system (I got sygate a couple days ago, and love it) :)
Your IP Address
Conclusion: Healthy Setup! We could detect nothing interesting on any of the default ports on your IP address. Your computer appears to be a hard target. Well done!
ALL TCP
FILTERED No response (open or closed) to an open request was received.
ALL UDP
FILTERED No response (open or closed) to an open request was received.

[Juggernaut]

Sygate is a good firewall but it has some major problems with online gaming. I sent them an email about the problems I have with it (read above) and this is their reply:

Currently we are working on this problem and it should be fixed in the
next
build of SPF. I'm sorry for any inconvenience that we may have caused
you.

Sincerely,

Sygate Customer/Technical Support
Sygate Technologies, Inc.

[Storm90]

For games My son usally allows the port he using acess. Then it works fine for him. This is what they told him to do. When he wrote them. Plus they were working on the proublem. It does not bother me because I do not game. :)

[fangars]

I installed sygates free version a couple days ago.I had been using zone alrm and if theres anything I have to say against it that would be that it seemed to eat resources as time went by.Sygate hasnt seemed to eat resources but I have had a couple of lockups while surfing which has never happened with zonealarm.
Also I used to get alerts and several of them from za but havnt got any from sygate?
This leads me to believe that sygate is not blocking or is just not reporting.
I will give it a few mor days and a few more tests.

[Storm90]

Fangers setup the logs .It will then show you what you want to know. You have to setup all them. There is one for gameing to. It is blocking run a scan on it. Plus make sure you have it set up right for wich ports you want acess to then block after. When you acess these ports .You are still pritected. It is a little harder to setup then the old one. Plus make sure any traces of your old firewall are out of your reg and files. ;)

[Storm90]

Croc if you find anyports open. I read this is due to a web site you might have been to and has not disconnected yet. Plus 8080 is usally Proxy. The best way to scan a computer is to do a complete shutdown then .reboot and scan. You get a more accurate reading. Plus make sure you have no programs running in the back ground such as virus scans. They always have open ports. Which if you know them you will be able to filter them. This how I usally run my scans. This is what I was taught at all the classes I have kept caught up on over the years. Its my job I do that requires I keep updated, Plus I have ran scan and have not had one port open. There Is a trick you can use even if you don't network your computer add netbuie protocol and try another scan. GoodLuck!
:) :) Also 23 is telnet and 21 is Go to Microsoftupdates there are patches for all the ports you have open or filter. This should Help you out. Plus dose your provider run a proxy? Thats what 8080 is. I just did a scan on mine again and they all are blocked. GoodLuck! I hope this helps. If not tiny a good one to if you don't mind setting it up for every thing. It is the highest righted. Just a pain if you don't like meesing with them. OR buy I good one.like I buy My virus Program which Is for Busnees use not home user. But it Out rates all home user virus scan you can buy.

[ 05-06-2001: Message edited by: Storm90 ]

[ 05-06-2001: Message edited by: Storm90 ]

[mcruiser]

I tried the Sygate Firewall and got a page fault error running Serious Sam. It went away after I uninstalled the FW. Word to the wise.