McAfee Firewall 4

As an increasing number of internet users enjoy the benefits of always-on broadband connections, the need for firewall protection increases. Luckily, there is no shortage of good quality firewall software.

Luckier still, there are at least three very good firewall packages that are free for personal use, not to mention the Internet Connection Firewall that comes as standard with Windows XP.

This makes life very hard for those selling retail firewall software, which has to be both good and inexpensive. McAfee Firewall 4 succeeds on both counts.

Outwardly, version 4 closely resembles its predecessor as the user interface introduced in version 3.0 remains. And the general way it protects is much the same: it makes your PC invisible when you're online, then it prevents 'unauthorised' applications, either inbound or outbound, from accessing the internet.

This tactic stops most Trojan horses from taking control of your machine and using it for dodgy purposes. Firewalls can be notoriously complicated beasts but Firewall 4 shields the user from much (but not all) of the arcane complexities of ports and protocols.

For example, the installer makes intelligent decisions about whether to grant internet access or not to your existing apps. Firewalls often play havoc with home networks but the new network set-up wizard helps to avoid these pitfalls.

You'll have to delve into Firewall 4's innards to find the improvements and new features. Like many of its rivals, Firewall 4 can now trace hack attacks back to their source via a separate utility, Visual Trace.

It now includes an intrusion detection system that not only automatically blocks port scanners but examines every inbound and outbound data packet to see whether they match the patterns of known worms.

Pitting Firewall 4 against the security checks at the Shields Up website revealed it to be thorough. All important ports were 'stealthed' or hidden from port scanners.

System requirements: Pentium 100MHz or higher processor; Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP; Internet Explorer 4.01 (SP2); 32MB of Ram; 71MB of free hard disk space.

Price: £29.14 (£24.80 ex VAT)

Contact: McAfee Consumer Products 0800 092 7160
www.mcafee-at-home.com