The search ends here.

Pros: I found this product completely by chance, and it is the only freebie I've found thus far whose IPS employs the positive model. It is extremely light on resources, yet it should be able to block malicious attacks (within normal broadband download limits) years from now.

The positive security model works by admitting pre-defined, whitelisted protocols, and blocking everything else. This is currently the ultimate power in the software IPS realm, ideal for users who place Internet security at a paramount value. A more familiar name in this league would be Citrix.

Every external exploit test (I ain't talking about port scanning) I have tried on this thing has failed. I have absolute confidence in WebWall's protection against Internet attacks over a standard, broadband connection. Next item of business: leaktests (outbound protection).

Cons: Interface opens maximized when you boot into Windows. This should be minimized rather than closed, otherwise you have no protection. This could confuse a novice.

Positive security models produce more false positives than the more common, negative security models. While the average user would never know, it is possible such a firewall could restrict activities that more prolific users (i.e. corporations) need.

Posted: 03-Apr-2007 09:07:21 PM

Fame isn't everything

Pros: It's a classic

Cons: As the threat landscape continues to evolve, Lavasoft's classic anti-adware scanner does not. In 2007, they created a spiffy, new interface; the engine stayed the same.

Even now, Ad-Aware detects only adware. It doesn't detect spyware, much less anything of a truly dangerous nature. While Trojan horses were traditionally treated by the antivirus scanner, they were still classified as spyware. And besides, a bit of overlapping wouldn't hurt these days. But it appears that Lavasoft has no intention of stepping it up, and will continue to rest on their laurels.

Ad-Aware and Spybot are the two oldest anti-"grayware" scanners in existence, just like Yahoo! is one of the oldest e-mail providers. Average users, unless educated otherwise, will assume the name they're most familiar with denotes the best product. It is for this reason, and NO other, that Ad-Aware has a higher rating on CNET than Spyware Doctor and Spy Sweeper (the blind leading the blind). And this, in turn, is why botnets continue to grow...almost no one has adequate protection!!!

Posted: 14-Sep-2007 12:57:02 PM