Requesting choice/s of FREE firewalls ASAP to laptop without one

[deucy14]

Because this may cause some immediate replies of what is favorite among Malwarebytes subscribers to a question that relates to Your choices of a Free Firewall or two or three, I chose to post here rather than the General Windows PC Help forum above.  The latter I may have to go in the future because my Windows 8.1 has an inoperative Windows Firewall.  (I have been to Services and found Windows Firewall with its three choices inert.) I read that Windows has a "great" built-in firewall, but searching now, I can't find it.

I forgot about a built-in Windows firewall when one day Zone Alarm got into my email Inbox and offered itself as a firewall, and it was to be free. Indeed it was, and I had it for less than a year when it started soliciting in the last many months.  Today I discovered it deserted me without a word to me.  So now I have no defensive firewall. 

I use a 5 year old Lenovo laptop.

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4510U CPU @ 2.00GHz 2.60 Ghz

64-bit Operating System, x64 based processor

Windows 8.1 (64-bit)

Qtn 1:  Is it OK that I rely on exclusively on my malwarebytes premium for days to come-- should it take me a while-- before I find a Free Firewall ?  In other words would that be risky to dangerous ?  (Is premium paid firewall that much more important ?)

Qtn 2:  Please reply with your opinion on the use of a FREE firewall rather than a paid one. Here is a list of 10 "best" free ones published a week ago:

https://www.lifewire.com/free-firewall-programs-4129270

These questions are important to me.  I thank you for your replies ! 

I am thinking of risking continued computer use now without a firewall .... using my continued malwarebytes.  I have urgent necessity for use now.

 

 

 

[exile360]

Greetings,

Malwarebytes actually offers a free firewall, Windows Firewall Control.  You can learn more and try it out for yourself here.

I hope this helps.

[Porthos]

I rely on the Windows firewall. I also recommend upgrading to Windows 10 as it also has an upgraded version of Defender than in Win 8.

[deucy14]

May 16, 2021

 

 

 

 

With a 30 day right for a refund from GlassWire, a free firewall was available, but I could not get it's Firewall to work.  One of their installation advisors assisted but could not help me either. A big asset of it is to be able to scan, alert, and allow user to block the suspicious.  But enabling its firewall feature failed for me. 

Although through my Windows 8.1 Control Panel and into Window's Firewall control panels, nothing worked on that panel/  panels with one exception.  I did find a Firewall advisory which I have here in the attachment.  If anyone knows what it means or has a maybe, constructive way to reply with a path to rehab, please point the direction.

Please see ATTACHMENT.

 

 

 

 

 

[deucy14]

Thank you Exile 360 and Porthos.  

I did check out the Firewall control and Firewall characteristics under Malwarebytes' roof.

But my problem exists in the bowels of of my computer somewhere, somehow corrupted from having any Firewall associated to my Windows 8.1.

Please see my recent post with the advisory I found.

[AdvancedSetup]

Hello @deucy14

Let's get some logs to see what's going on.

Please download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool and save it to your desktop.

Note: You need to run the version compatible with your system.
You can check here if you're not sure if your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit

• Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to disclaimer.
• Press the Scan button.
• It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please attach it to your reply.
• The first time the tool is run, it also makes another log (Addition.txt). Please attach it to your reply as well.

Thank you

 

 

[AdvancedSetup]

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