Simple, configurable personal firewall

Looking for a simple, reliable and no-nonsense personal firewall? Then Norman Personal Firewall is well worth a try.

The app is designed to make your computer invisible to hackers, combining a number of powerful protection mechanisms in order to achieve this. It boasts two-way firewall filters for both incoming and outgoing data, as well as offering reliable protection against launchers, hijacking, and pharming.

Norman Personal Firewall is very simple to set up and get running thanks to a helpful, wizard-based installer. There are separate wizards for inexperienced and experienced users, giving more advanced options to those who know their way around a computer’s ports. The wizard asks which programs and browsers you use regularly, and allows you to define access permissions for them.

The user interface within Norman Personal Firewall is clear and easy to get around. From here you can configure advanced settings for internet, file sharing and internal Windows processes. The Expert Tools section provides a rule editor, real-time log utility and an advanced ports view that lets you check the current status of your ports.

It may not offer quite the same level of power as other firewalls, but Norman Personal Firewall is ideal for anyone new to firewall applications thanks to its simplicity. Expert users will also welcome the ability to customize rules within the app.