When considering protection for your computer from unwanted intrusions, you are provided with many available choices. There are many firewalls available on the market, and every single one has its very own characteristics.

In picking a firewall, your first consideration should be with how long they have been on the market. Durability is one of the keys in picking the right firewall system. You should also consider how frequent the system updates itself and how user friendly it is. You should also take note of how extensive the protection the system provides actually is. There are several firewalls that really stand out.

One of the best choices is BlackICE firewall. BlackICE is a mainstream, general purpose firewall. It features a very well-designed user interface and logging capabilities, as well as many free and frequent updates (for registered subscribers).

Another top firewall is Sygate personal firewall. It provides very good protection, and it also has mail notifications and automatic logging.

This firewall is very user friendly, and the user can easily navigate through options and easily alter even the most advanced settings.

Next in the list comes Zone Alarm. Zone Alarm is a very user-friendly firewall; the most basic version can be downloaded for free without any extensive limitations except for the lack of few advanced features.

Finally, there are many other choices like Norton Firewall, Tiny Firewall, and McAfee Personal Firewall. They are all reliable and worth the money you spend on them because they have withstood the competition.

Chances are that whatever firewall you choose, you will have sufficient protection and a large range of available features, too. Most firewalls provide trial versions or limited versions of their full suite for free. You can test any firewall, and if you like it, you can then buy it (or keep the limited version if its enough for you).