Sometimes I hate writing software reviews. I like playing with new software, but I’m no writer. And when something just works well enough that I completely forget it’s there, it makes it more difficult to write about it. That’s my problem now. I’ve been using Intego’s NetBarrier X5 Firewall for a couple of months now and it does what all firewalls should do. It protects your computer from both unwanted inbound and outbound connections, is easy to configure and can log all activity. Just as importantly, it works well without getting in the way.
The installation of NetBarrier was simple and straightforward. My only small problem was that the CD has all available applications from NetBarrier suite of products. My license number allowed me to only activate the Firewall. Without realizing this, I installed all the software on the CD, thinking I was getting it all. Only after that did the software ask for my license, and tell me I couldn’t activate the other software. So off came the extra stuff. Other than that small point, the installation was uneventful.
Configuration of the firewall is easy. The firewall comes with 5 modes to run the firewall. These modes allow you to quickly configure the system based on your environment. At home, I set it to “client, local server”. This lets my computer access the network as well as the other computers on my network to access my laptop. When I take my laptop to a public network, I set it to “client only” so I can still access the Internet, but no one can access my computer. In addition to these 5 modes, you can then further tweak settings to beef-up the protection or suite your particular needs.
NetBarrier has several tools that come together to make this a robust application. In addition to the firewall, you also get tools to protect against trojans, spyware, components to protect your private data, and other useful features that all come together to protect your computer and you.
When NetBarrier detects a new program trying to access the Internet, a warning box pops up (and an awful buzz to get your attention) to ask you what you want done. You simply allow or deny that application and it remembers the choice from then on. It’s a very simple, clean implementation thatworks well.
Two cool utilities that come with NetBarrier are the Services and Traffic monitoring applets. The Services applet shows you a complete picture of all your network connections. You can see the protocol, local and remote ports, remote address and the state of the connection. This may be a bit overkill for most people, but it’s great if you are using a new application and want to see to whom it is talking on the Internet.
The traffic applet gives you different views of the amount of data passing into and out of your network. This nice feature lets you measure your total traffic as well as a breakdown of services. For example, you can see how much of your traffic is web, file transfers, email, etc.
As long as we’re talking about firewalls and keeping people out, it makes sense that I would put the firewall through its paces. I used several sites that have specific tools designed to probe your Internet connection looking for ways to get in to your computer. I am pleased to say that all sites failed to find such vulnerabilities while running NetBarrier.
So the question I had to ask myself was why, if OS X 10.4 has a built-in firewall, would I want the NetBarrier X5 Firewall? Well, the answer for me is simple. NetBarrier provides a nicer interface, easier control of the firewall and better insight into the activities of my network. The overall ease of use of the software, the general design and complete protection offered by NetBarrier makes it an easy to recommend the product.
For more information visit Intego's website.