Someone reviewed v on Jul 5, 2022

Pros: 555

Cons: 555

Bottom Line: 555

INXS9000RPM reviewed v4.6.1861 on Aug 8, 2009

After being a 3 year loyal User of both Kerio and Sunbelt's original CounterSpy (now called PFS and Vipre) I am pissed off with each yearly subscription renewal.

Don't get me wrong: I don't mind renewing my license each year. What I resent is being billed the same price as is being offered to a new User. After supporting the company during its early years, I expect to be offered a discounted fee when renewing my license going forward. Its not as if they incur costs in renewing my license! As a seasoned User I probably never have to use their Support services, unless they introduce unexpected glitches in software upgrades. No. My annual renewal fee is "money for jam"

Sadly, Sunbelt just doesn't get it; And I'm fed up phoning Sales for a discount and being told I'm getting "a one discount". So I'm in the marketplace for a replacement PFS product. I don't respect vendors that don't respect my loyalty.

BTW, I too have experienced Kerio PFS shutting down by itself as described by Bonnie.

Bonnie reviewed v4.6.1861 on Jun 25, 2009

Sunbelt (Kerio) Personal Firewall 4.6.1861 keeps turning itself off for no known reason and with no warning -- I just suddenly notice that its icon is no longer present in the system tray at the bottom of the screen, and can confirm that it's in fact no longer active -- doesn't intervene to ask if I want to allow a program to start a process or not. No root-kit revealers have ever shown any rootkits; spybot search & destroy and avast have never identified any serious problems they couldn't handle, but I keep discovering that Sunbelt personal firewall has been turned off for I don't know how long, and I have been surfing the internet with no firwall protection whatsoever for I don't know how long...!

affe34 reviewed v4.6.1861 on Mar 14, 2009

Warning, if you are having an nVidia card, the current version to this day (2008-12-01 - 2009-03-14), Sunbelt Personal Firewall v4.6.1861 will cause sporadic Windows XP crashes (BSOD) with potential data loss as a result.

Windows crashes in average between 1-15 minutes after the user has logged in and the windows crash dump points squarely at Sunbelt !

Eventough numerous nVidia users have reported this problem to Sunbelt (on their forums and directly via mail), the company has done squat to fix the problem.

They've had close to half a year to get their acts together, so that speaks volumes regarding their customer service and responsiveness.

If you want to trust your data and security to such a security firm with that *quality* of products, by all means use their software. Otherwise I would advice you to look elsewhere.

Banquo reviewed v4.6.1861 on Nov 30, 2008

This was a good firewall once. Not any more, every new version has been crap, especially since that scientology company got their hands on it. Which is yet another reason why I wouldn't buy it no matter how good it was, it's funding their wacko cult.

UJM reviewed v4.6.1801 Beta on Jul 3, 2008

COMODO = I got curious results using this firewall regarding a suspect file "dwmapi.dl" seems like many others did too if you google "dwmapi.dl" (notice the extension is .dl) anyway the problem disappeared as soon as I uninstalled COMODO.

Maybe I'll give this Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall a shot!

ahjefri reviewed v4.6.1801 Beta on Jun 6, 2008

Come on Guys, don't you get it,, the company wanted this product dead but in slow motion ,,

banmrk reviewed v4.5.916 on Jan 22, 2008

I do like this firewall, it was one of the best on the market at the time. It worked well with Anti-Vir and was hassle free, don't get me wrong there was times where it was a pain in the arse.

However, I am really disapointed with the company as they still have not got it ready for Vista. The facts are simple, Vista is here to stay (being on every laptop/computer in pcworld (uk) ).

They seem to be the only company that do not adjust to the new change....very strange! I am now using Anti-Vir Security Suite but if Sunbelt was to get off their backside, I would not hesitate to go back to them.

Anti-vir is very good and I mean a very good anti-virus, I've been with them for over 6 years now and would choose no other, but that's what they are good at. Firewall department...well I'm not impressed.

Thanks to everyone for the reviews on here, very interesting

h377r1d3r reviewed v4.5.916 on Jun 4, 2007

up to version 4.2.2 *****
after ***

Sunbelt didn't do anything good with it.

@minasinahanmetehe:i have just spend 3h reading about comodo, it doesn't seam to be that good if you want to define rules. It maybe good for newbie, but...

sanderg reviewed v4.5.916 on May 6, 2007

Tried SKPF again after having tried Comodo and Outpost, both have poor support for Fast User Switching and remote access using Remote Desktop/terminal services.

SKPF gave me a BSOD on fwdrv.sys within 10 minutes after the first boot. I have a HT enabled Pentium IV CPU, and was hoping the current release of SKPF would finally have solved the issue.

Combined with the nonresponsiveness of their support service, this is a thumbs down.

EMkaEL reviewed v4.5.916 on May 1, 2007

strangely the readme file didnt change from the last version!

http://www.sunbelt-softw...nal-firewall-readme.txt

anyway, im gonna take the oppurtunity to get rid of the weird comodo and go back to kerio!

/edit
if you do an internal update, you get v4.5.918.

trebor reviewed v4.3.744 on Mar 21, 2007

Whatever the opinions, it works for me with hardly a kickup. Here a changelog:

4. KNOWN BUGS, LIMITATIONS, AND WORKAROUNDS
-------------------------------------------
* When using a password to restrict access to the configuration console, you may encounter
some screen flicker if you cancel the password request dialog.

* There are known issues when using Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall and certain USB
wireless network cards that may cause General Protection Faults.

-------------
5. CHANGE LOG
-------------

* Corrected issue in which registration fails when firewall is enabled.
* Significant improvement in network performance when web filtering is enabled.
* Enhanced Process Injection prevention to prevent code inject attempts into Windows system DLLs.
* Corrected numerous application crashes in the firewall service.
* Corrected various crashes in assist.exe
* Corrected issue in which setting password and checking for update does not cancel authentication form.
* Corrected issue in which binary data appeared in logs.
* Significant improvement in product stability.

minasinahanmetehe reviewed v4.3.744 on Mar 21, 2007

I used Kerio a lot and it is still in one PC under my "umbrella". However, I have switched to Comodo http://www.comodogroup.com/
It is better and clearly free.
I am running daily with Comodo (1), Kerio (2) and corporate McAfee (3) (Ranking in parenthesis).
McAfee sucks a lot.

EMkaEL reviewed v4.3.744 on Mar 20, 2007

version 4.3.745 is available.. but at the moment only through the internal update feature.

blidstone reviewed v4.3.744 on Mar 20, 2007

It has gone downhill how? I am not criticising your review but asking for real input. This is a firewall so it should be hit hard if it has been rendered useless by a company takeover.

I decided to try other firewalls this past weekend after a full system backup. Outlook would not install because it recognised an install of Sunbelt Kerio was installed. This was after a full uninstall of the Sunbelt firewall. That alone pisses me off.

Dev3Iop3 reviewed v4.3.744 on Mar 20, 2007

Isn't Sunbelt run by some crazy scientologists? Anyway I agree this program has gone downhill since they aquired it.

Hergest reviewed v4.3.635 on Mar 1, 2007

I have been using previous versions of this firewall for a couple of years. It seemed to be one of the best around.

However, this version seems to be a step backward. Application stability is worse, in my short experience.

Another change that doesn't appear in the change log (Sunbelt support responded to my question), and is a big deal to me is that the firewall will now block *all* traffic if a popup request to allow/deny is displayed. This is apparently by design to prevent attacks if a threat is trying to make a connection.

I believe it only used to block the application that the popup request was associated with.

I have seen another problem where the connection overview list sometimes appears empty, when there are definitely applications sending/receiving traffic.

yano1798 reviewed v4.3.635 on Feb 25, 2007

Love the software. One little gripe I have is that I wish I could import lists of IP addresses from PeerGuardian2 to Kerio.

Zankur reviewed v4.3.635 on Feb 22, 2007

Ever since being acquired by sunbelt....very little has been done to bring in new features and stuff...

With every build the problems have increased and with this build my 2mb per sec runs like a dial-up connection......

I un-installed with 10mins of usage......and after removing it my internet speed is back to normal...

Good for whom it works.but definetly not on mine.

zerosine reviewed v4.3.635 on Feb 21, 2007

+++++

RedBoar reviewed v4.3.635 on Feb 21, 2007

I was satisfied with this firewall yet I wouldn't deny that it can conceivably interfere with hardware drivers especially ones with pre-SP2 and not being updated per the device manufacturer. I've been running Comodo and have no major problems with that, maybe I'll give Kerio another go if the former doesn't work for me. These two are the only major contenders in the software firewall market left IMO. RIP Sygate...

siryak reviewed v4.3.635 on Feb 21, 2007

"Killed my PC's ability to play DVD Audio discs via my Audigy 2 - BSODs every time I try to play them. Uninstalling this firewall didn't fix the problem. Will have to do a full reinstall of Windows XP to fix. Avoid."

*sigh*...A firewall did not kill your DVD player lmao...I swear some of the reviews you read on here lol. Anyway it was going to get a 3 for no Vista support yet, but it gets a 5 to offset this review. Great firewall, easy to use, etc. I would say this firewall and Comodo are the best freeware firewalls I have used. Each one has something the other doesn't.

JEdwardP reviewed v4.3.635 on Feb 21, 2007

I finally gave up on ZoneAlarm several months ago and switched to Kerio, which I've never had cause to regret. I've never seen a significant tech issue with Kerio on either of my two XP machines.

The one bug in the previous build that annoyed the heck out of me, which was not being able to override the default installation path, has been fixed in this build, just as they told me it would be when I e-mailed them to complain about it.

EMkaEL reviewed v4.3.635 on Feb 21, 2007

ok, I just did an update from v4.3.268 to v4.3.635 and everything worked fine! I coulndt find a changelog on the net.. but there is one in the readme file:

===============
CHANGE LOG:
* Corrected issue in which registration fails when firewall is enabled.
* Significant improvement in network performance when web filtering is enabled.
* Enhanced Process Injection prevention to prevent code inject attempts into Windows system DLLs.
* Corrected numerous application crashes in the firewall service.
* Corrected various crashes in assist.exe
* Corrected issue in which setting password and checking for update does not cancel authentication form.
* Corrected issue in which binary data appeared in logs.
* Significant improvement in product stability.

KNOWN BUGS, LIMITATIONS, AND WORKAROUNDS:
* When using a password to restrict access to the configuration console, you may encounter some screen flicker if you cancel the password request dialog.

* There are known issues when using Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall and certain USB wireless network cards that may cause General Protection Faults.
===============

I have been using (sunbelt) kerio PFW for years on several PCs and never had a problem!

malf-uk reviewed v4.3.268 on Feb 7, 2007

Killed my PC's ability to play DVD Audio discs via my Audigy 2 - BSODs every time I try to play them. Uninstalling this firewall didn't fix the problem. Will have to do a full reinstall of Windows XP to fix. Avoid.

Mick Leong reviewed v4.3.268 on Nov 2, 2006

I am experiencing quite a few problems with this Firewall. Firstly, it hides the most important information from you. During install it sets up a a proxy server and you must alter your firefox/IE setting to the proxy. I was able to get to that config page once only and not anymore. Once you click ok, its gone. Trouble is I forgot the port number it automatically sets to! Their web site completely ignores this show stopping item.

You cannot disable the proxy (you need this facility to test other software which suddenly does not work anymore with this firewall). I can't disable the proxy. My Emule, bittorrent does not want to work anymore. Eveny my genuine windows update fails!!! This is ridiculous.

Overall the program's configuration is very confusing and it adopts the lengthy way of doing things. being a firewall, there is no need to monitor application launches. Why? Antivirus takes care of that. The software does not know whether its a firewall or antivirus! What it should do is monitor application access to the internet rather than startup! Why do they duplicate the efforts of an antivirus program?

The config gui is very very poor. It should allow a drag & drop of appl to prevent it from accessing the net. Instead of yes/no buttons to select the type of TCp/UDp/ICMP, etc, they chose to implement a pulldown which makes selection a pain. There should be a simple button "Disable internet access for this app".

Zygi reviewed v4.3.268 on Jul 29, 2006

@hook: i had the same problem with FF and emule. I didn't know whats wrong, why they don't work as they worked before with kerio flawlessly. Then i installed Outpost for a test, but i didn't liked it, still FF and emule was working then. So i though its Kerio fault, but after installing it again i discovered what was the reason. My sis who is using FF and emule and one time after updating them, first person who have had run them was my sister, on prompt replacing dialog she permanently blocked replacing them... Open control panel, Intrusions, Application Behavior Blocking, Applications and look at the list if Modifying or anything other is blocked.

Also i repeat workaround for slow kerio panel opening with p2p programs running, its because kerio resolve dns names of all ip in Overview window, and it takes some time. Click right mouse button on empty space in Overview window and uncheck Resolve address.

I don't have any problems with Kerio right now, i tried other firewalls - Outpost, KIS, Norton and so on... I was always going back to Kerio after all.

ClayWags reviewed v4.3.268 on Jul 25, 2006

Have used ZA for several years an thought I would try Kerio, had read some good reviews. However, the first test I tried after installing was the "leak test" and it failed. As a matter of fact it never ask for permission to let the test program use the internet, it just ignored it. I had the preferences set to Always ask for permission for any program starting. Needless to say I uninstalled and went back to ZA which passes the leak test along with others tests.

hook_ reviewed v4.3.268 on Jul 22, 2006

What the hell is going on with this firewall? I mean i made one intresting discovery after installing this firewall. Two different softwares (one was Photoshop 5.5) freezed on the startup. No matter how much you killed the process and tried run it again, it still freezed. So i started to looking why this happening and only thing i installed from last 48 hours was this firewall. So uninstalled and vóila... Two those programs runs normally again. Hey programmers behind Kerio, you were suppose to block uninvited guests from the internet, not the programs i usually use.

Alnag reviewed v4.3.268 on Jul 21, 2006

Better than the last version, but still not reaching the quality and work speed of previous Kerio team. And the translation is better but not complete still!!! Because I am not fully satisfied I give 4 out of 5.

trebor reviewed v4.3.268 on Jul 20, 2006

My security sidekick for a few years both on laptop and desktop. Could do with some x-3rd party product detection as firewalls tread on antivir and antispam territory and vice versa, creating unnoticed holes in the armour due conflicts......to comment on CyberDoc999...only when you're running P2P software!!!!!

mansa reviewed v4.3.268 on Jul 20, 2006

solved many bugs like the translation one.
Still till now the best free firewall ever
but I think that it is not as simple as that to handle with it

Peuj reviewed v4.3.268 on Jul 20, 2006

For information:

Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall version 4.3.268

* Fixes vulnerability (advisory 2006-07-15.01) as described by matousec.com.
* Updates to resolve General Protection Faults.
* Corrections to the foreign translations.
* Enhanced the update check capabilities to update language files and IDS rules.
* Digitally signed the drivers, program files, and installer.

Dwarden reviewed v4.3.268 on Jul 20, 2006

Maybe it takes 30s to come up as first main screen which usually opens is Connection window and if You have DNS name resolving enabled and thousands active connections ... it may slow down UI ... for me it takes less than two seconds ...

eyv reviewed v4.3.268 on Jul 20, 2006

Tenoq, what full functionality is that? dhry is totally right - the thing is a CPU hog! It takes about 30 seconds for the UI to come up, and I do NOT have an underpowered machine. However, I give it a 5 because it's free and does everything I want.

Tenoq reviewed v4.3.268 on Jul 19, 2006

dhry - please give me some of what you're smoking - Kerio has to be one of the lightest firewalls around that maintains full functionality.

I too have been using the free version for many a year, and although I resisted the change from 2.15 for a while, 4.x is now a very stable program. I'm thoroughly pleased! Might be time to buy it... even though I don't need the extra features, it's worth supporting.

siryak reviewed v4.3.268 on Jul 19, 2006

Great Firewall been using it for a while now on all my computers and all my familys computers without a hitch.

xitag reviewed v4.3.268 on Jul 19, 2006

From Readme.txt

-------------------------------------------
4. KNOWN BUGS, LIMITATIONS, AND WORKAROUNDS
-------------------------------------------
* When using a password to restrict access to the configuration console, you may encounter
some screen flicker if you cancel the password request dialog.

* There are known issues when using Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall and certain USB
wireless network cards that may cause General Protection Faults.

* When web filtering is enabled, the network performance may be decreased.

-------------
5. CHANGE LOG
-------------

* Fixes vulnerability (advisory 2006-07-15.01) as described by matousec.com
* Updates to resolve General Protection Faults
* Corrections to the translations
* Enhanced the update check capabilities to update language files and IDS rules
* Digitally signed the drivers, program files, and installer

Banquo reviewed v4.3.268 on Jul 19, 2006

Bloated resource hog? What are you using, a 386? Also Outpost is not free, this is. It says shareware up there but that's wrong; you can buy it to get some extra features like ad filtering but the firewall itself is free. I use AdBlock and Firefox to block ads anyway. Back to the review Kerio has always worked perfectly fine for me. Very light on resources, no problems at all.

dhry reviewed v4.3.246 on Jul 12, 2006

Can't say I like this. It's a bloated resource hog. Try Outpost Firewall - it's ten times better.

mansa reviewed v4.3.246 on May 24, 2006

thank you zigi and qwerty11 :the problem is resolved.
This new release seems to work correctly but :
- the tray icon notifies me sometimes that popup blocker is disabled while it's enabled
- try to change the language in something else that english : terrible, many features are still in english.
Till this moment I didn't notice other strange things, and I think that users will be satisfied with this version.
For those who use kerio 2.15, be careful you should update your personal firewall as soon as possible as version 2.15 does not stealth all ports and it does not recognise new netwok attacks.

qwerty11 reviewed v4.3.246 on May 24, 2006

I've been using Kerio Personal Firewall for 2 years. It's very stable, quite efficient and easy to use. It doesn't waste too much resources, so it works great on low-end computers too.

mansa!

I've experienced that proble too, while downloading opensource programs with bittorrent or emule. P2P programs uses lots of different connections, and Kerio tries to resolve the all of their address.
In OVERVIEW/CONNECTIONS panel right-click on the program you are downloading with, and uncheck RESOLVE ADDRESS. After that I've never experienced that problem again.

lordgibbness reviewed v4.3.246 on May 24, 2006

Five stars for v2.1.5 - no other firewall comes close in my opinion.

stopbuggingme reviewed v4.3.246 on May 23, 2006

2.1.5 is still my favorite. unfortunately, it prevents my win xp computers from going into power-saving modes (standby, hibernate)... 4.x is a monster compared to 2.x, but works.

matt2971 reviewed v4.3.246 on May 23, 2006

Yep, still using the last freeware unbloated version at 2.1.5 :)LOL

Zygi reviewed v4.2.3.912 on May 7, 2006

I like it very much, but it have some problems with netbios, even if i setup to allow it on trusted network.

To mansa: click right mouse button on information window and uncheck resolve ip. Thats because when you're connected to many ip's (using p2p) kerio is doing reverse dns and end up using 100%. Turn this off and you're ok :P

mansa reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Apr 5, 2006

a good firewall for both beginners and advanced users.
It's quiet stable compared to older versions but it's the same version as kerio 4.2.2.
A good change from kerio to sunbelt.
The only firewall (with ms sp2) that protects computer during the time boot of your os but this one is better.
The bad thing is that with my AMD 2500+ and MSI kt4v, the firewall uses all my cpu ressources when I open its administrative console while I'm downloading something ( when the majority of my internet bandwith is used).

QBgreen reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Feb 22, 2006

This is a re-branded KPF 4.22. It's the most stable version of the 4.xx series yet. If Sunbelt can add/maintain *useful* features without turning it into a "security suite", it will be serious competiton. As of now, a "4" for stability. Beats ZA Free hands down, and for the price, a no brainer.

popdog reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Feb 21, 2006

Best firewall I've come across. Its free for what most people want, the "trial" runs out after 30 days and disables features I'd disabled before anyway (pop-up blocking, ad blocking etc).

No nagging popups like ZoneAlarm and seems pretty solid. 5/5

Zankur reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Feb 8, 2006

I think after having used outpost-3,zole-alarm,i went for kerio.
Mainly due to the problems i had with outpost...but i today don't regret doing so..
Very good,no freaking pop-ups,unless you do training mode on..i would not say its the best,but definetly good try!

mtrager reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Jan 31, 2006

Used Tiny many moons ago, great firewall. Gave it up for Sygate (don't remember why) but recently had a minor problem with Sygate (can't seem to enable wget) and decided to try the new Kerio. Nothing but problems! Could not get access to the net using numerous applications, including Firefox. Gave Firefox full permissions to no avail. Avast (AV) wouldn't update even though I told Kerio to enable the able. Kerio wouldn't even give ITSELF access to check for updates! I'm NOT a newbie at this stuff but I had nothing but problems.

Did some poking around on the net and this does seem to be a hit-or-miss piece of software. For me it's a major miss and I would have given it a rating of zero if that were an option...

Eldar reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Jan 19, 2006

Strange that it isn't working on your computer, but we don't use the same hardware.
I"m really very glad to have bought this firewall.
Easy to use and it comes with predefined rules too. :-)
Liked OutPost a lot, but Sunbelt has done a good job by acquiring this firewall.
Of course who could resist to their promotion to buy this for only $14.95. LOL
Look forward to new updates, so keep up the good work.

esh3 reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Jan 1, 2006

Please ladies let's not bring religious wars into Betanews. This is computer software we're checking out here. I have used Kerio firewall on several occasions and it has always hosed my system. I loved it when it was woking but it always stopped working. Once Sunbelt actually starts working on the code (not just renaming it) I will try it once again. I'm a big fan of Sunbelt products and their dedication to superior software. I wouldn't run a computer without Sunbelt Counterspy. Let me know when Sunbelt actually starts reworking the code then I'll give it a spin once again.

sjoerd13 reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Dec 31, 2005

As a minority owner (25%) of Sunbelt, I'd like to correct an assumption some people seem to make about any religious affiliation Sunbelt has. The majority shareholders of Sunbelt are two Jewish gentlemen from France that own our holding company. Personally I am proud to be a Scientologist, however that does not mean that Sunbelt is a "Scientology company", a misnomer in itself. Think it through for a moment, the fact that Michael Dell is Jewish does not make
Dell a "Jewish Company" either.

I think it is a much wiser approach to honor the United States Constitution and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights which both clearly grant freedom from any form of religious discrimination.

Sunbelt has started reviewing the Kerio code we acquired and will come out with new versions which will have existing bugs fixed, and new features added. We are excited to add this excellent product to our line-up and will continue to improve it.

Warm regards,
Stu Sjouwerman
COO Sunbelt Software

tremens reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Dec 26, 2005

Once they start soliciting recruits through the firewall, I'll stop using it. Who cares if they're Hubbard fans?

This is one of the best firewalls in my opinion

Skyfrog reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Dec 25, 2005

Best free firewall available. Yes tinkerdill it's free, the shareware version is INCLUDED in the free version. After 30 days the extra features (if you can call them that) are turned off and you have the free version to use forever. The extra stuff has nothing to do with the firewall anyway. Also the paid version is $14.95, not $49.95 as it says up there. Betanews is really slow at updating stuff like that.

zaga reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Dec 25, 2005

Kerio 2.1.5. was and ist good.
But after the Scientology Company Sunbelt bought Kerio, this software is out of question. Sorry. I don't support oder use software from radical fanatics.
Specialy from totalitatian organizations like Scientology.

sQin reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Dec 25, 2005

kerio v 2.1.5 is free. But its very old and cant handle big number of connections properly (emule, bittorrent..)

Dwarden reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Dec 25, 2005

read please http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Kerio.cfm

You can clearly see Sunbelt KPF contains 2 version FREE or PAID (in FREE version after 30 days of trial HIPS and ADS features are disabled). Simple as that ... plus price is 20 USD with discount 15 USD ...

uber reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Dec 25, 2005

I hear people talking about the free version. But where is it?

Kramy reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Dec 24, 2005

Definition of Shareware: The program works for a given time(30 days) and then certain elements stop functioning(or the entire program stops functioning) until you pay. In this case, it's the web filtering, ActiveX protection, possibly cookie filtering, and a couple other things like buffer overflow prevention and remote code execution prevention in known programs. If you have an extension loaded Firefox, you probably won't need most of that.

matt2971: This has application control! You can block what exe's can start - tell it to prompt you every time an app launches a new exe, replaces one, etc. I tried 2.1.5 for a while and it doesn't catch exe changes the same way Kerio 4 does, which imho is enough to tollerate the extra 4 seconds to boot and +10mb memory used.

And yes, it's just a rebranding. We'll see what happens for feature upgrades in the new year.

Edit: Update the price to $14.95

controler reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Dec 24, 2005

Why is this version better then 2.15 again?

I guess I missed the reason why?

I use version 2.15 the last free version.

Thank You

Banquo reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Dec 24, 2005

Very nice, the description needs updating though. It's only $14.95 for the next few months and $19.95 after that so it's quite affordable now. Of course the free version is really all anyone needs; the full version just adds web filtering and a few administrator type features. NOTE: In answer to a previous poster's question there are no changes in this version other than branding. If you already have the previous version you don't need this.

Zoroaster reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Dec 24, 2005

I am a happy user of KPF 4.2.2
I'd just like to take the opportunity to ask my fellow Betanewsers if they happen to know if this is an upgrade to KPF 4.2.2 or is it only the title of Sunbelt Kerio PF's first new release (indexed on 4.2.2). Also, is anyone informed of this release - considering it is an upgrade - being free or not for registered KPF users. Thanks.

tom_gole reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Dec 24, 2005

Using KPF 4.2.2 and I am very happy with it, no problems and very stable.

matt2971 reviewed v4.2.3.912 on Dec 24, 2005

UPDATE: For those asking for 2.1.5 try here:

http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page7.html

As for the features mentioned, I have other apps that do this, for example, Firefox as mentioned, and my AV software.

The problem these days is that in order to sell their products, companies like to pack a new feature in with every new version - but there are only so many features to go around - so we end up with bloated AV, firewalls, browsers, and everything else under the sun all replicating the same work and wasting resources.

Net result? My five year old PC runs quicker than any brand new PC full of bloated software I've ever seen.... but of course, the sellers love that because it means people always want to upgrade the hardware too... so the software gets more bloated to slow things down, and the cycle of buying continues. Wastage.

-------

SuzzyWoozy, let me ask u the question in reverse:

When KPF 2.15 (which I use) does everything a firewall should do - i.e. block or allow certain ports to and from certain executables - and is freeware.... why should anyone want to use a shareware application that consumes a lot more resources?

Give me the exact features of this software - OR zonealarm, or norton, or McAfee, or any other firewall that is more bloated - that should give ME the reason to use and pay for it?

And this is not rhetorical - give me a valid reason and I'll consider :-)

tremens reviewed v4.2.2.911 on Dec 24, 2005

disabling resolution of host names helps performance a bit.

GUI doesn't handle viewing of high quantities of active connections well at all, but I don't use it to anyway.

SuzzyWoozy reviewed v4.2.2.911 on Oct 24, 2005

I'm surprised: I'm using KPF since 2001 and I was allways pleased about the quality of this software, and, why denying it, by the interface as well.

Tell me some good reasons why version 2 is (way) better that version 4 (clear arguments) and I will switch right away back to stone age.

The only thing I'm not happy about is that I cannot break a running connection.
Pitty that will be discontinued...

coolticker reviewed v4.2.2.911 on Oct 19, 2005

in fact otero1, last "good" version was 2.15, but it have a very bad bug, it produced BSOD when you reach 65535 a global count of socket connections since last reboot. So you cannot use it on a 24/24 machine that do/receive lot of connections because you will reach this number in a few hours/days.

Version 4.x are too heavy too much useless GUI features, too much resources.

otero1 reviewed v4.2.2.911 on Oct 18, 2005

2.14 is still the best version.

iknowyouknow reviewed v4.2.2.911 on Oct 18, 2005

Another semi-good firewall hits s***ty-row

christoofar reviewed v4.2.2.911 on Oct 18, 2005

ah well..there is always Sygate or hunt down the old school Kerio free version on the web.
Too bad they couldn't see fit to create a final free version to bow out the product line on an upbeat note with.

Metshrine reviewed v4.2.1.896 on Oct 15, 2005

"CUSTOMER ALERT
Kerio Personal Firewall is being discontinued on December 31, 2005. While Kerio will continue to support this product for all customers through 2006, we will not be actively developing any new features or functionality going forward.

We strongly encourage those customers interested in purchasing Kerio Personal Firewall to download the product and evaluate it free of charge for 30 days before purchasing as our strict no refund policy will continue to apply for the three remaining months the product will be available. We thank you for your understanding."

From kerio.com

Espique reviewed v4.2.1.896 on Sep 30, 2005

Absolutely unfortunately Kerio PF will come to an end this year. Kerio officially announced that development will stop and there will be no new versions after 12/31/2005.

Too bad. Any good alternatives?

horsecharles reviewed v4.2.1.896 on Sep 30, 2005

Ditto word for word what niteprizm said.

niteprizm reviewed v4.2.0.785 on Sep 19, 2005

Old school version is definetly the best (i have 2.14), i tried using of the newer ones and didn't like it all. The older versions have pretty much most of the features you could need, with a very direct interface (no stupid, try to make things simpler but actually make them harder, wizard) . I would assume it works faily well from a protection standpoint, as i've been using it for prolly close to two years now without having any problems with my computer, and while downloading a significant number of files. Of course you need to do a little bit of tweaking when you start using a new program, but that is to be expected if you dont have a made-for-yuppies interface.

Second Shadow reviewed v4.2.0.785 on Sep 15, 2005

KPF will be officially discontinued on December 31st, 2005 :
http://forums.kerio.com/...amp;th=7040&start=0

Looks like it's time to move on ....

kmleow reviewed v4.2.0.785 on Sep 3, 2005

Betanews should reset the ratings if any software product changes from Freeware to Shareware and vice versa.

BogdanSHA reviewed v4.2.0.785 on Jul 30, 2005

With this version it became shareware...

yokozuna reviewed v4.2.0.785 on Jul 23, 2005

lordgibbness, are you my twin brother? ;-) I run almost the same config (Kerio PF 2.15 + F-Prot 3.16c) :-D

Something is definitely wrong with Kerio. The firewall is getting worse and worse, it is less and less user friendly and less and less responsive. The author should add some useful features to KPF 2.1.5 like EASY blocking the IP address of user's choice, or making the computer invisible for the intruder (like Agnitum Outpost Firewall). Instead of these it was added so called system protection, something which is pain in everybody's a** and switched off by all my friends using KPF 4.xx. The interface is not responsive. My hardware config is Athlon 64 3500 and 2gb ram and when I switch any Bittorrent client on Kerio refreshes its interface in a minute or so, what takes its older brother (2.15) 1 or 2 seconds.

So I prefer to stick with Kerio PF 2.15 as long as it will protect my computer well.

Mountain_Man reviewed v4.2.0 RC3 on Jul 10, 2005

@bugmenot:
---quote---
@bluefiberoptics:
rightclick the connection overview window and disable "resolve Address" and ur fine again ;)
---end quote---

For me it didn't work. Kerio worked all right. Untill I installed 4.2.0 RC3. Now when the firewall is on, i can not use the internet (firefox, thunderbird and IE do not work at all, other programs work sometimes)...

lordgibbness reviewed v4.2.0 RC3 on Jul 1, 2005

Use Kerio 2.1.5 from the archive section if you are a more advanced user. It is everything a firewall should be. Not all this bloated interface. I want very low cpu and memory usage from my security apps, which is why I use Kerio 2.1.5 with F-Prot 3.16b.

Kramy reviewed v4.2.0 RC3 on Jun 30, 2005

One of the best personal firewalls out there! I installed it on all my friend's PC's, rather than have them paying $50/yr for Norton.

>> It's a good firewall but.. when a lot of connections are made (like Morpheus when he has like 100+) the firewall freezes or runs very very slowly.

You mean the view screen for connections and stuff? When the firewall is REALLY busy, you're not supposed to interrupt its thinking. :P

>> htclick the connection overview window and disable "resolve Address" and ur fine again ;)

Cool, didn't know that, thx.

Keep up the great work Keiro! If I start a business(haha) or join one, I'll recommend you!

bugmenot reviewed v4.2.0 RC3 on Jun 29, 2005

KPF is the best Personal Firewall available its geek and mom compatible ;o)

@bluefiberoptics:
rightclick the connection overview window and disable "resolve Address" and ur fine again ;)

bluefiberoptics reviewed v4.2.0 RC3 on Jun 29, 2005

I used to love Kerio, until I started running into problems when Bit Torrent was on. Anytime there is heavy traffic, try opening Kerio and it will freeze. Also, I am unable to get certain programs online even AFTER I give it every permission known to man. The only solution was to disable Kerio most of the time. I tried Sygate and I switched. Sygate is lighter on memory and is just as easy as Kerio. I recommend switching!

darthvazor reviewed v4.2.0 RC3 on Jun 29, 2005

I love Kerio Firewall. I have been use it for more than two years now. Still the best firewall out there.

cip2kro reviewed v4.2.0 Build 697 RC2 on Jun 23, 2005

It's a good firewall but.. when a lot of connections are made (like Morpheus when he has like 100+) the firewall freezes or runs very very slowly. The configuration window will not even apear. I think it's a bug in the interface but in his connection scaning too.. I dunno. I will try another one.. Sygate seems the best available so far.

UKB reviewed v4.2.0 Build 697 RC2 on Jun 9, 2005

TO CyberDoc999: Can you be more specific when you said Kerio is slow? I certainly do not feel Kerio slow down my PC at all (and it's only an old AMD 1800+...). It's very much a light-weight soft firewall as it takes hardly any resource at all...

I, like many others, have been using Kerio Personal Firewall (or "Tiny Personal Firewall" as it used to be called) since 2.1.

I've, again like many others, tried and tested many software firewalls and Kerio Personal Firewall, IMHO, offer the best in terms of a set of powerful features and yet its simplicity GUI make setting rules quick and easy.

I've been using it for nearly 3 years now and have no had any problem with it.

Best of all, a free edition of KPF is available for home users. The difference between the "limited free edition" and a "full edition" is the lack of the content filitering features. But if you like me using Firefox then the ADBlock extension takes care of filtering those internet content or irritating pop-ups anyway so it make no difference whatsoever...!!!

Try it and you will definitely like it. 5 out of 5 again for the free software... :)

CyberDoc999 reviewed v4.2.0 Build 697 RC2 on May 25, 2005

I tried it and it is SLOW!
the free version of Outpost
is much better.

chimera77 reviewed v4.2.0 Build 670 RC1 on Apr 29, 2005

I've been using Kerio for years now. Excellent product!

wincement reviewed v4.2.0 Build 670 RC1 on Apr 28, 2005

ibod:
That's because it is a trojan. The test file sends a harmless message with the date and time to the web-server through IE, which in turn tests the firewall.

It is not dangerous to computer security unless exploited thusly, which the test file does not do. It merely tests to see if your installed firewall can catch this possible security risk. Your A/V apparently caught the risk before you could test your firewall.

All of this is explained in detail on that website.

ibod reviewed v4.2.0 Build 670 RC1 on Apr 28, 2005

WARNING

Please note the link to keir website below produced a trojan alert from nod32 anti-virus.
I suggest the mods remove the post.

wincement reviewed v4.2.0 Build 664 Beta 6 on Apr 27, 2005

Outstanding firewall. The beta has all features available for free. Fast, light, stable, and secure. It has the most advanced program control out of any firewall out there (with the exception of Tiny Firewall, but it isn't free).

It has passed every firewall test I've put it through, but the coolest part is, it passes the Firehole test:
http://keir.net/firehole.html

Zone Alarm doesn't - neither does Sygate or Jetico.

Zankur reviewed v4.2.0 Build 664 Beta 6 on Apr 21, 2005

Although one has to admit kerio is a good firewall,but 2mth beta program and still no final release,shows the prob goin on with kerio.
And why download 6mb firewall,when u get whole security suite of ZA at 15.5mb.I am not wasting my time on stand-alones any more!

terminalx reviewed v4.2.0 Beta 5 on Apr 7, 2005

I downloaded the new beta today and I am not going to give it a bad review b/c it is a beta...I really liked kerio and it was great... since the new beta was installed it literally lagged my pc to nothing so I'll wait until the final version comes out... as of now it is a huge resource hog IMO and on my pc it may differ with other people results may vary

deadmonkey reviewed v4.2.0 Beta 2 on Feb 11, 2005

ailef: You install beta software, it has a bug which causes BSOD so you give it a low rating? I suggest that, in the future, you leave pre-release software alone. I just hope you were not stupid enough to install beta software on your primary system.

So anyway. I like Kerio. It is a good all round firewall with nice features such as application replacement notification (of any application on the system, not just ones that connect to the internet). I like the advanced packet filtering options it offers as well.

I have not used the web filtering stuff much so can't really comment on it.

Some of the options in Kerio might be a bit too much for some "home users" in which case Norton or ZoneAlarm might be a better option.

An excellent program which is free if you just want the firewall options so you can't argue with that :)

ailef reviewed v4.20 Beta 1 on Jan 28, 2005

bsod cchckdd.sys
xp pro sp2

Zankur reviewed v4.20 Beta 1 on Jan 26, 2005

I m one who's obssessed with my computer's safety.
After,having tried outpost,Zonealarm,i say go for Kerio a total hassel-free protection.
I usually dont like reviewing,but i do on cases where product is irresistable!

GeneralLeoFF reviewed v4.20 Beta 1 on Jan 25, 2005

Problems with slowdown in games, emulators, and media players is now fixed and the new GUI changes are very nice and everythings well layed out. As I said if they fixed it I would give it 5 stars again so I am.

As for the dude below. I have no idea whats bloatware about this firewall myself but as for your speed problems with the GUI when the firewall is under load this is easy to fix but to do so you lose some information about your connections. I dont see much value in the extra information myself though.

To fix it just go to the conections overview screen and right click and disable "resolve Port", "Resolve Address", and "Resolve Protocall". Thats what causes the slow down. Especily if you have a P2P application running such as eMule and thus the firewall is handling 2000+ conections :)

bugmenot reviewed v4.1.2 on Jan 3, 2005

This firewall seems to do it's job OK, but I have some objections:
1.Bloatware
2.UI seems to load forever on Win2k Prof. when FW is really buisy.
3.Crashes Win98SE with BSOD's & lockups.
If you make a product which is not suitable for an OS, just say so.
I had to start Win98SE in safe mode in order to uninstall it...

Stil, this product does the job better than Tiny 2.1.4 (BSOD's and driver crashes on Win2k), though that footprint was the smallest I've ever seen...
:^P

I would like a product that does only application based filtering and has a tiny ;^) footprint.
For NAT and PAT based firewalling, you better use a gateway based on FreeBSD or Secure(!) linux.

GeneralLeoFF reviewed v4.1.2 on Nov 23, 2004

This version has some major problems for me and many other people in crashing and/or laging UT2004 among other games as well as console emulators like ZSNES and SNES9X and media players like WMP, MPC, and Zoom Player.

Still a great firewall but i have been having to resort to depending on the XP SP2 firewall for the past couple weeks due to the above problems.

Kerio can have it's 5 stars when they finaly fix this.

Patrick74 reviewed v4.1.2 on Nov 5, 2004

I tried the leak test at grc.com mentioned below and Kerio passed with flying colors. I am guessing that poster has the simple (noob) interface turned on, which means it will not block outbound connection attempts. You should be running in Advanced mode (learning mode). Along with the leak test, Kerio passed all of the other tests at grc, has a very professional looking interface and has been 100% stable for me. It definately gets my vote as the best free firewall there is.

jonspencerbx reviewed v4.1.2 on Nov 5, 2004

very good!

buckshee reviewed v4.1.2 on Nov 5, 2004

This seemed okay at first but when it failed the leak test from grc.com and I contacted them and they offer no support I trashed the evaluation

barbapapa reviewed v4.1.2 on Nov 5, 2004

Did not try this one yet, still using 2.1.5 and have only one complain: I wish I was able to terminate an active connection will right clicking on it in the "openned connection" panel, but this feature is currently missing.

Does anyone can tell me whether this is possible in 4.1.x or not ?

Would be nice... thanks in advance :)

bunghole reviewed v4.1.2 on Nov 5, 2004

Garbage. Don't waste your time. Use version 2.1.5 and learn how to set it up instead.

Dwarden reviewed v4.1.2 on Nov 4, 2004

Good release, stable, fast, everything seems be ok ...

LeXTeRiTY_X reviewed v4.1.2 on Nov 4, 2004

I've used Tiny/Kerio Personal Firewall v2.1.x ever since their first release (and preferred none of their 3.x+ releases, stick with the 2.1.x releases). If only the Tiny/Kerio 2.1.x firewall engine had a way to prevent "application hijacking" (e.g. Using IE/NN/Opera/etc. browsers to send information, a way to bypass MD5 checking by getting another app to do the dirty work) they would of been great.

All firewalls I've struck are able to defeat flaws like Loopback and other cr*p, if you're willing to tweak with the settings. However, none of them are simple enough for the average computer user--except for BlackIce defender, but that's more of an intrusion detection system.

Caleb reviewed v4.1.2 on Nov 4, 2004

There's nothing more hilarious than a dumba** talking!
alexrhcosta, I have to be honest with you, if they were giving the nobel prize for stupidity, it would have your name on it.

Sygate is a HORRIBLE firewall riddled with bugs and no loopback filtering.
If you knew anything about security you'd be using Tiny firewall right now.

Kerio isn't bad either though, but it's really noobish :)

Banquo reviewed v4.1.2 on Nov 4, 2004

Best firewall available!

p0rt1s reviewed v4.1.2 on Nov 4, 2004

alexrhcosta,

You obviously work for sygate. So take that trash you call a comment and sell it to some old maids. We know our security and Kerio is doing an amazing job as a firewall.

alexrhcosta reviewed v4.1.2 on Nov 4, 2004

Stick with Sygate and you will never have problems...
Kerio, Outpost, Tiny, ZoneAlarm etc... are nothing but trouble. Crappy software! You jerks know nothing about security!

bleedingpegasus reviewed v4.1.1 on Sep 30, 2004

one of the best. v. sturdy, lot of features (packet filter is simply the best among firewalls), yet v. far from bloated, just like zone-alarm (which is looks like AOL's toys).
Web-filtering is enormously usefull to block javascript and activex, and yes, you can disable it (still installed tho').
Highly recommend this to my peers.

Drevor reviewed v4.1.1 on Sep 30, 2004

Webfiltering will be disabled anyways once you hit the trial expiration date ;)

Kerio PF is definitely the PF of my choice. Unfortunately it still seem to block _ALL_ network activity while prompting the user whether a programm is allowed to start another program. And im still missing the "allow/deny for this session only".

Trgiaol reviewed v4.1.1 on Sep 30, 2004

Kerio is great, it does its job, and it doesnt use too many resources (dont get me wrong, it does use them, just not as much as ZA, or Norton, etc...)

Web filtering can be turned off... all of the modules can, so don't let that deter you from using it.

ailef reviewed v4.1.1 on Sep 29, 2004

they resolved the bug with firewire.
i had blue screen when trying to disable connexion 1394.
i thought it was a problem with audigy drivers.

good firewall. but what is the web filtering doing in a firewall?
that would be nice if u could choose what modules u want at install.

robmanic44 reviewed v4.1.0 on Sep 22, 2004

Been using Kerio since version 2.15. See no reason to switch from Kerio. They are the ease of setup and use champions. Quite simply the best.

Saad_alshawwa reviewed v4.1.0 on Sep 18, 2004

there is nothing to say , one of the best firewalls available.

fightback reviewed v4.1.0 on Sep 16, 2004

Pevious versions of this program were great. Would rate it a 5, except this version caused my laptop to give a BSOD when it went into hibernate mode. So they need to fix that...

wat0114 reviewed v4.1.0 on Sep 15, 2004

Oh my goodness! I never thought this would happen, but I'm actually going to say that Kerio is better than my beloved Sygate. Yes, indeed, it is true, Kerio PFW is a near masterpiece, especially for a free program. The Advanced rules can be set on the fly after you get a pop-up warning, you can even save your configuration settings, a feature Sygate, regretably, lacks, there are more features than Sygate, and the interface is very well laid out. Bravo Kerio! a job well done.

Blaster99 reviewed v4.1.0 on Sep 15, 2004

Kerio gets better and better!
It runs smooth and stable, and the best: it's for free :)

@Blackcherry
Kerio is for free. If you don't need the webfilter functions, you don't need to pay for kerio.
Beeing too expensive for you is not a reason to give only 1 Point ! The program doesn't get worse when is costs money.

blackcherry reviewed v4.1.0 on Sep 14, 2004

a choice program, but the price?!?!? you gotta be kidding!!!!

QBgreen reviewed v4.1.0 on Sep 14, 2004

Have been running it since early this morning on my XP Pro SP 2 machine with good results. This one looks like they've finally done it right. Nice.

deadmonkey reviewed v4.1.0 on Sep 14, 2004

I am using the free version of Kerio (so no web privacy features) but the firewall itself is great. I am very happy and would be happy to pay for it if I had to. Simple yet powerful design.

zort2001 reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 6 on Aug 28, 2004

Caleb,

Kerio Personal Firewall used to run on Server Product! Kerio made a marketing decision to prevent it from running on Server product. Nothing in the code explicitly prevents it from running as a firewall product.

I like the product! I always would demo and discuss the product in my classroom. You should note that I purchased a copy.

I am not sure why it took you over a month just to get angry over my review. As far as my knowledge base, The term personal does not imply "workstation". The term "personal" was applied to product that would run and was allowed to run on Server Product (until version 4.x). The term personal was used to imply 'not for commerical interests'. The new license agreement now explictly prohibits Server product. However, That was not the EULA that I bought with the 4.x product.

I think this product is excellent for home use on workstations (professional and home editions of windows). I would give it a 5 rating if they allowed it to run on Server Product as they did before marketing got control.

I hope you enjoy the product. Let's just not try and make this a "personal" issue! I hope you can understand the reference.

Arutha reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 6 on Aug 28, 2004

I loved Kerio's Personal Firewall v2.1.5 but version 4.0 was of low quality and had many bugs which weren't fixed for a long time. But now with the new Beta versions of 4.1 they have improved their firewall a lot with lots of bug fixes, improved stability and some new, good working features. I think the final version of 4.1 will be what 4.0 should have become ...

InSuboRdiNaTioN reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 6 on Aug 27, 2004

I've tried all the popular firewalls, and Kerio has become my favorite. I have been using it for well over a year now, and am extremely satisfied!

Caleb reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 6 on Aug 27, 2004

zort2001, for a teacher you don't seem to be too bright.

Try re-reading the title : "Kerio _PERSONAL_ Firewall".

If you want a server product then get their WinRoute firewall which is meant for workstations..

deadmonkey reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 6 on Aug 27, 2004

I have been very happy with Kerio Personal Firewall for the past year or so. I recently tried all of the major software firewalls (ZoneAlarm Pro, OutPost, Norton, McAfee, etc.) and I found Kerio to be the best all round program. Outpost is also an excellent firewall. However Kerio is free if you want just the firewall, you only have to pay if you want the privacy/ad protection stuff.

Zankur reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 5 on Aug 8, 2004

seriously better than popular zonealarm

zort2001 reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 5 on Jul 29, 2004

I like Kerio. I even bought a copy of 4.x. When it ran with Server product. They took away the ability to run on server product. I have to run server product in order to teach my classes and use the dhcp server. It is very nice firewall and the gui makes it easy to understand. They just eliminated an entire market segement when they took away server product. I had to get sygate (free edition) and then bought that product.
I would give 5+ rating if it ran on server os.

deadmonkey reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 5 on Jul 28, 2004

My trial of Kerio finished the other day so I am down to just the freeware functions which is everything except the web filtering. One thing I would like to point out (and praise) is that the web filtering is for the whole system not just Internet Explorer like a lot of other web filtering software. I has happy to see it also blocked Opera and Firefox referrers, etc. I personally do not want these web filtering options at the moment so I will not be paying to get the full version any time soon however the product is very good. I have had no issues with it, it just runs in the system try doing its thing :)

I am very happy with it. Small system foot print, lots of options, powerful and stable. All I want in a firewall. I also really like the UI. It is clean and functional but it looks really nice as well. If you are looking for a decent firewall for free try this out.

I use AVG7 Pro as my antivirus software and I had no issues with it at all. Apparently Kerio and Grisoft (who make AVG) are doing a deal to buy both Kerio and AVG in a bundle. I don't know how good a deal it is though price wise.

InSuboRdiNaTioN reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 5 on Jul 28, 2004

Excellent Firewall. I have been using it for well over a year and have been extremely satisfied. Perhaps they could trim a little fat off of it's resource use, but that aspect is simply on par with most other full-featured firewalls.
I've tried ZoneAlarm, Black ICE, and Sygate... I've always gone back to Kerio.

kebabi reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 5 on Jul 28, 2004

monter, look at Beta 5's changelist and you know why Beta 4 crashed on your Win98

monter reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 4 on Jul 27, 2004

Kerio PF 4.1.0 beta 5 on my Win98 fails. Kpf4ss.exe crashes immediately in KWSAPI.DLL at 0177:03b51bbc.
Registers:
EAX=7c0830b5 CS=0177 EIP=03b51bbc EFLGS=00010206
EBX=005e66b4 SS=017f ESP=01a7ed38 EBP=01d78fa0
ECX=0f0920b9 DS=017f ESI=01d78fa0 FS=5b3f
EDX=01a7ed64 ES=017f EDI=65369010 GS=0000
bytes in CS:EIP:
ff 51 18 53 8b f0 ff 15 94 30 b5 03 85 f6 7d 19
Stack:
7c0830b5 005e66b4 00000000 00000000 01a7ed64 00000000 81d94334 01d78fa0 00000000 01a7f860 01a7f194 00000000 000000ff 01a7ed94 00575780 000000ff

kronix2 reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 4 on Jul 3, 2004

Far superior to Norton Personal Firewall,ZoneAlarm, Trend, Panda etc.

Illissius reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 2 on May 25, 2004

Been using this for a while now on 3 seperate systems, no issues at all. Works just as well as Norton PF with a lot less bloat.

XF reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 2 on May 25, 2004

It mad some kind of hard conflict (It almost stuck WinXP... never seen with many other progs... and I'm a beta tester...) with Norton 2003, which were resolved after uninstalling Kerio, disbling norton, reinstalling kerio and re-enabling norton. Now seems to run stable and fine... With Mozilla Firefox I don't need popup & script blocking, so the free version is fine for me. Just need some more testing.

MrPuddles reviewed v4.1.0 Beta 2 on May 25, 2004

Unlike previous versions, this beta actually works almost as good as 2.1.5. Please note that it is a full version for 30 days - after that the web filtering module is disabled. However, the firewall will still function. Read about it on their site if you want more info.

-Lord- reviewed v4.0.16 on Apr 16, 2004

The interface on this one is the only one that comes even close to Conseal PC Firewall of a few years ago. That one rocked until Network Associates bought it up and ruined it. This application troubles me though... isn't everyone running either Windows XP and/or a hardware firewall/router... or BOTH? The problem with a software firewall is simple.. in order for the program to be effective, the malicious code and packets actually have to make it to the PC in order for the program to work. With a real hardware router/firewall, it's stopped before it ever gets to your machine. Invest a small amount in one of those, for a large amount of peace of mind.

Serge reviewed v4.0.16 on Apr 16, 2004

Not for 2000/2003 Server. Why? Max for w2000Professional

Nicholas440 reviewed v4.0.16 on Apr 15, 2004

Kerio's Firewall is a GREAT application for anyone who wishes to protect their computer from unauthorized activity. This new version has the Gateway feature which someone had requested, and I also use it. Kerio's interface is neat looking, easy to use, and it does what it says it will do. You have control over what applications you allow to start up, and even those which can modify or launch other applications, which is very important. Remember, a Trojan, or a Virus file has the ability to launch other files on your pc, and with Kerio, you decide which one can launch another file. Now thats control. Take a little time to learn what services need to access the internet and which ones dont, and your pc will be safe and secure. I give it a full 5 star rating, its one of the best ones out there today.

hedgehawk reviewed v4.0.15 on Apr 15, 2004

4.0.16 sorry

Perezoso reviewed v4.0.15 on Apr 15, 2004

Give us v2 updates, not this bug-ridden, bloated ZoneAlarm wannabe.

Agon reviewed v4.0.15 on Apr 15, 2004

DO NOT install this upgrade, it has a bad bug.
From the Kerio Forums:
Peter Baloun:
Hi,
KPF 4.0.15 uses corrupted installer, which sets wrong registry (this is why the webfilter doesn't work). KPF 4.0.15 was removed from updatechecker and Kerio website. For those, who allready upgraded to KPF 4.0.15, we provide patch, which corrects what the installer messed up. The patch is a .reg file, which sets correct values in the registry.
You can download it at:
Windows NT, 2000, XP:
http://download.kerio.co.../kpf/kpf4.0.15fixNT.reg
Windows 98, ME:
http://download.kerio.co.../kpf/kpf4.0.15fix9x.reg
We apologize for the inconvenience. Next KPF version (4.0.16) will be released soon.

GeneralLeoFF reviewed v4.0.15 on Apr 15, 2004

been reliable for many years now.

robmanic44 reviewed v4.0.13 on Feb 27, 2004

I have been using Kerio for some time and I've found it superior to many of the bloatware PFs out there. I highly recommend it to anyone wishing to run a PF on their desktop.However, I really question the need of firewalls on most PCs.

binkyvamp reviewed v4.0.13 on Feb 26, 2004

This firewall is incredible. Not only is most of it free, but it has more features, is easier to use, and looks nicer than any other firewall out there. I've tried just about all of them, McAfee (destroys connectivity for any apps that use a lot of connections), Norton (bloaty and crashes), Sygate (too simple), ZoneAlarm (too simple), Tiny (brilliant, but hangs the computer with a usb hdd i have). Finally, Kerio is a firewall with almost all the features you'd ever need - filtering by application; easy to use and powerful dialogs for connections that don't have rules; filtering by a fully customisable ordered list; intrusion detection; a nice looking, sleek, and fast interface; and free!

kandjar reviewed v4.0.12 on Feb 26, 2004

2.1.5 rox !

perica reviewed v4.0.12 on Feb 25, 2004

I hear you people, version 2.1.15 is whats firewall about, unnoticable and doing its job, wanna 2.x.x update!!, why freeware programs becomes trash when it becomes shareware?

tanranlan reviewed v4.0.12 on Feb 25, 2004

I have to agree.
Recently ive been testing out the various personal firewalls and they are all bloated and more hide details unlike the old 2.x version (originaly Tiny but moved to Kerio when that happened). Id love 2.x to get some assorted updates but that seems unlikely. Is it still possible to purchase the old 2.x version anymore ?

Recently ive tested recent versions Outpost/Kerio/Tiny/Zone Alarm and am so underwhelmed.

mh508 reviewed v4.0.12 on Feb 25, 2004

gimme the Internet Gateway option back! Without that, it has no use for me at all...

daxno reviewed v4.0.11 on Feb 19, 2004

version 4 is a nice firewall but I like v.2.1.5 more. It's so simple and so effective. Most firewalls these days are just unnecessary difficult (Tiny, Sygate) and don't do the job better.

Muskie reviewed v4.0.11 on Feb 5, 2004

Yup go back to 2.15 it was good. Now its become a system hog. To bad it was good. Muskie

dillweed reviewed v4.0.11 on Feb 5, 2004

Way too bloated :(

2.15 4 life!!

kandjar reviewed v4.0.10 on Jan 20, 2004

Very nice firewall, I use Kerio since the version 2.1.4, I realy like it ! I tried this new version starting with 4.0.4, it was getting better and better, but unfortunately, I decided to go back to the 2.1.5 after using the 4.0.10 for a while, because I used to have a lot of troubles with my internet applications, and with my PC's performance. The result: all the problems are fixed since I came back to use the version 2.1.5... I hope those problems will be fixed in the future. Kerio Rulez !!!

samsonleung reviewed v4.0.10 on Dec 26, 2003

Nice free firewall. The best firewall I have tried before. However, one thing makes me disappointed is when the Internet uses very high speed such as more than 1MB/s. Kerio will use more than 98 percent of my CPU. Sometime even uses 100% when I am visiting some webpage contains JAVA Applet. Wish to improve.

sld reviewed v4.0.10 on Dec 21, 2003

Excellent firewall for those who just want protection for their computers without having to configure messy and specific rules.

TomRC reviewed v4.0.10 on Dec 14, 2003

Why they rewrote it make it bloat ware and unstable.
The Tiny / Kerio Core Code is the best.
I stay with Version 2.15 never got any problems with it.
It would be great if Kerio would make the 2.15 Code
opensource so this source diamant wont get dusty in the depth of the kerio dungeons.

dr_goodbytes reviewed v4.0.8 on Nov 27, 2003

unfortunatly i couldn't get this to work for me. it crashed on startup. then when it did run, nothing could connect to the internet, and no amount of fiddling could fix it, i wound up uninstalling it. it does show a lot of promise & good ideas, but i won't be using...at least until it's more stable.

mrk2u reviewed v4.0.8 on Nov 26, 2003

I downloaded version 4.08 and found it to be a very good firewall. It passed all the tests at BLACKICE.The help feature is really nice, But it is still a work in progress.I like much better then zone alarm.

kandjar reviewed v4.0.7 on Nov 22, 2003

Yeah, the version 4.0.8 is available now ! Downloadable with the link above ! :)

KaptK reviewed v4.0.7 on Nov 14, 2003

The old setting are back now in Network Security -> Packet Filter :) Seems to run fine though more stuff in memory though.

A lot better than the previous versions I've tried of this and that was 8 months ago or so.

matt2971 reviewed v4.0.6 Beta on Oct 28, 2003

"it passed the GRC tests". Go read about REAL security. The GRC tests mean nothing (well, not nothing - but they proove nothing on how good your firewall is) - it's just hype.

http://www.grcsucks.com/

Kerio 2.15 is great - adopted after Tiny started making bloatware packed with stuff nobody with half a brain needs. Now Kerio are going the bloatware route too - hopefully someone else will buy v2.15 and continue to patch it.

IT DOES THE JOB!

woodengod reviewed v4.0.6 Beta on Oct 27, 2003

Pretty good I would say (wasn't in the beginning). Stopped the program tooleaky for example. Even with the web filtering expired the rest of the features is worth.

kandjar reviewed v4.0.4 on Oct 21, 2003

I'm using kerio since a while now. I have tried this version, it works fine ! Except the web stuff which one I can't log myself on this web site. Anyway, it's a feature for the professional version. The rest of this tools work fine ! I love it.

betasun reviewed v4.0.4 on Sep 28, 2003

It passed all the related tests in Gibsons .i disabled
web filtering as it doesnot work good .also its a redundant feature both in kerio and ZA .it creates rules and you permit or deny .the user can not create his own rules.
after installation it said you have only 2 days in your TRIAL ...OK ...and i clicked ...ok !

huh reviewed v4.0.2 on Sep 4, 2003

h'mm seems this version works properly.
Wonder why my license sais expire Never...!

huh

MyMaster reviewed v4.0.2 on Sep 4, 2003

hmmm... KPF not only copied ZA's interface (which imho sucks), now it has become some sort of trialware/crippledware "freeware" program... bahhh 2.15 is still good enough

Dwarden reviewed v4.0.2 on Sep 1, 2003

Eh what u mean TERRIBLE?, it's in Czech language! and what problem u got? IT's STILL FREE for home use with more features than 2.x and 3.x variant? Or You need that stupid web module for cookies, scripts and websites blocking ? Any advanced browser can do that alone :) ... not to mention good antivirus.

woodengod reviewed v4.0.2 on Sep 1, 2003

Looks like a quite something. Packed of features and still easy to use. One annoyance though: the list of the network rules is sorted only by the priority, making an individual application very difficult to retrieve. How about the idea of putting an additional collumn in the view with an unique number, indicating the priority of the rule, and enabling sorting for all the columns of the table?

Budgie reviewed v4.0.2 on Aug 31, 2003

Satisfying, easy-to-use firewall which seems to work nicely while being easy on the resources. Thumbs up!

_jaz_ reviewed v4.0.2 on Aug 31, 2003

Used Zonealarm long time ago, and kerio since the 3.0 beta days. I am quite satisfied of it. The functionality, as some suggest, is similar between these two programs, but kerio is more configurable (at least compared to that other version). They have removed the "full version free for home users", but instead, after the trial period, some things (web filtering, internet gateway,...) become disabled. In the end, if you don't need these, it is still quite a strong firewall.

phoenixx_ reviewed v4.0.2 on Aug 31, 2003

I thought that this personal firewall would still be free. I guess not. For a professional user KPF 2.15 does well.
I would have given it a 3 at least if it would still have been freeware and if the GUI would have had a "professional mode" and a "dummy mode". I mean, a firewall and IDS should at least display more details in the log besides the fact that it "might be" some kind of attack. (I mean, I would also want to know what ports have been blocked, what connection tries have been on what ports)... such logs were available on kpf 2.15 at least.
Why do developers nowaday increase the bloat along with the version number?
Oh well, yet another good software turned bad :(
I'll stick to 2.15 until some more profound changes have been made (like developers actually listening to their users)

DavidGreen reviewed v4.0.2 on Aug 31, 2003

OMG! the link you gave (www.tinysoftware.cz) is just terrible! not to mention it's not free anymore but still listed as freeware (I have no problem with making money, but be honest)

finalcut reviewed v4.0.2 on Aug 30, 2003

hey bootblock
just to let you know that kerio is formed by the good programmers that quit tiny software
kerio came with 2.1.* and then tiny copied them...

dkg_ctc reviewed v4.0.2 on Aug 30, 2003

I'm torn...on the one hand, I actually like this version better than 2.1.x. On the other hand, though, after thirty days you will no longer be able to run KPF on an ICS gateway for free. I guess I'll be doind some shopping around for a new firewall....

FailedCRC reviewed v4.0.0 RC3 on Aug 29, 2003

absolute rubbish, this has turned into some sort of zonealarm-like clone with it's interface. 2.1.5 is excellent however

Jeffsoft reviewed v4.0.0 RC3 on Aug 11, 2003

humm... i go with Sygate v5.5

geminiz reviewed v4.0.0 RC3 on Aug 11, 2003

ok this release warns me that I have a conflicting software installed, but wouldn't it be better if they just tell me which one is conflicting or at least which file is causing such conflict????

Nothingface5384 reviewed v4.0.0 RC1 on Aug 8, 2003

i have the same problem. about having to boot up in safe mode..i thought it was conflicting with my verizon software...i had sygate pro..but thats flakey...after w hile default mode....week or month or w/e..sygate blocks everything../me is on a look for a nother firewall

geminiz reviewed v4.0.0 RC1 on Aug 8, 2003

I have serious problem with this program (Windows XP SP1)
ever since the 4.0 beta 2 release.
can't boot properly after the installation...

anyway, for simple and effective, Sygate is pretty much unbeatable.

Attyk reviewed v4.0.0 RC1 on Aug 8, 2003

I agree with the bloating. 2.1.4 was nearly perfect. All it needed was some GUI changes and updating. With this new version, all the simple functionality is removed. You have rules here and rules there. Everything seems burried and hard to access. There is to much program protection, the web protection needs ALOT of fixing. While its nice to be able to turn these off, there is still limited rule creation protection. Certain features are missing (Systray animation is always on) and there are really no settings as the ability to start the firewall manually.

Why do companies feel the need to pack 20 MB of features into everything they make. It seems the only constant here and with most programs is speed, stability and a streamline program. When will a company hear our cries and make something that is slim and sexy...without the Symantec Bloat to it...

BootBlock reviewed v4.0.0 RC1 on Aug 8, 2003

I have to agree 100% with Ozieo. KPF v2.1.5 is definately the best firewall ever, but KPF 3/4/5 are just.. eugh. Horribly bloated, somewhat slow, and seems to almost constantly fall over its own big slobbery tongue of lard. Infact, I think Kerio don't know what they're doing, and the only reason KPF 2.1.5 is any good is because it - you guessed it - was done by Tiny Software. I'd love it if KPF 2.1.5 was given to another developer so that it could be expanded, especially by a dev that actually knows what he's doing..

kandjar reviewed v4.0 Beta 6 on Jul 31, 2003

I really like Kerio. Better than ZoneAlarm for me. But with this beta, I have got one major problem : I have to close the program if I want to log myself on a website (like fileforum, and some webmails).

finalcut reviewed v4.0 Beta 6 on Jul 29, 2003

you're saying it keeps blocking kazaa?
I would be happy if I were you, kazaa is full of spywares and backdoors
PERIOD

softssa reviewed v4.0 Beta 6 on Jul 29, 2003

ZoneAlarm (even FE) has been passing the GRC tests for years
now. The question is how can they be so superior at Zonelabs. The FE of ZoneAlarm knocks the hell out of the expensive Norton Firewall, which is slow, annoying and allaround horribly piece of wannabe user-friendly software.
Let's hope Kerio gets better, hey it's freeware after all.

egg83 reviewed v4.0 Beta 5 on Jul 24, 2003

Interface is ok, but security leaves much to be desired. Went to GRC to have a scan done, and found several ports left open. Guess that is why this is a beta, needs to block unused ports better. :/

glemb reviewed v4.0 Beta 5 on Jul 22, 2003

Its stability is horrible - keeps crashing windows, kazaa and even some games! Don't install it until a rc or a final version is released.

Flemens reviewed v4.0 Beta 5 on Jul 20, 2003

Is it me who just don´t get it or is there some serious problems with this product. When I click on a link I have to confirm every port. It is very annoying to have to confirm a page, that is loading, 10-20 times, then same thing happens when you click on the next link. What´s that all about?

finalcut reviewed v4.0 Beta 5 on Jul 19, 2003

can u guys specify a specific rule like for exemple:
internet explorer
allow port 80 on ip * TCP out???
or its full of automatic rules that suck and leave opened ports?
if not, ill keep version 2.1.5 then, its the best

betasun reviewed v4.0 Beta 5 on Jul 19, 2003

Very nice ,better than ZA and sygate ,more friendly and
more simple than TPF5 .ofcourse this beta needs debuging .
communication filter log caused kerio to crash .in an innovative manner it shows a small window in the right corner of your screen showing active application ,the local port it uses and for a very short time -blinking- destination port and IP .this caused kerio to crash .kerio
could have a real time monitoring window -ports to application mapping -instead of web filtering ,to deal with cookies and ads !
but when debugging im sure its the best .it has a comprehensive security system both for system and internet that goes beyond trditional firewalls like ZA and Sygate .

gjtoth reviewed v4.0 Beta 5 on Jul 18, 2003

Up and running. I had to uninstall Outpost 2.0 as it kept shutting down my email server ports! The OLD version of KPF never did that. Let's see how this beta fares.

Installed without a hitch, rules are a snap to set up, the admin interface is REALLY nice!

Mark Gillespie reviewed v4.0 Beta 4 on Jun 18, 2003

Could not even install the product. Installshield kept dying. Once they ditch the problematic Installshield 8 setup, it may be a decent product, who knows...

mentadont reviewed v4.0 Beta 3 on Jun 8, 2003

"An installation support file could not be installed. Catastrophic failure" This msg comes out when I try to uninstall.

Scorched Earth reviewed v4.0 Beta 3 on Jun 8, 2003

I figure I owe this program a second glance. The bugs that irritated me before don't seem to come up anymore and it now had options (such as turning off the horrible sound effects). My favorite aspect is the virus, trojan, and malware detection provided by GAV. Also, the updates are as frequent if not more frequent than pay AV programs. GAV makes for a great on-demand scanner. I honestly wouldn't use it as an on-access scanner if I had the free option to do so because of how much ram it uses just for the interface alone.

LouCypher reviewed v4.0 Beta 3 on Jun 3, 2003

Rule creation bug from beta 2 seems to be fixed (for me), BUT I get unexplained STOP errors in FWDRV.SYS causing BSOD and system crash, requiring reboot. Happened 2-3 times a day so I've gone back to 3.0 beta 6 for now until next beta.

Bu15 reviewed v4.0 Beta 3 on Jun 1, 2003

is the bug in rule creation fixed in beta 3?
...i use v3.0 beta6 instead till it's fixed

betasun reviewed v4.0 Beta 3 on Jun 1, 2003

I give five stars only for future kerio versions ,i know that they will improve beta difficulties . for now the user interface is not good ,also functionality is poor ,but features is not bad .i use kerio version 2...

sirhardi reviewed v4.0 Beta 3 on May 31, 2003

What was fixed?
How can you release a beta without revision notice? since were ion #3 ?

GimieGimieGimie reviewed v4.0 Beta 2 on May 29, 2003

Like the previous 2 member comments, i also experienced a massive problem with rule creation. I do not recommend this beta (v4.0 beta 2) for this reason alone, as the firewall is basically useless until this bug is fixed. Funny enough, the bug was not present in any of the v3.0 beta's, and they state it's been fixed already in the "what's new" list. I'm sure this major flaw will be fixed in the next upcoming beta 3, so i recommend that people stick with v2.5 or v3.0 of kerio personal firewall for the time being!

DJ^TuRKiYe reviewed v4.0 Beta 2 on May 28, 2003

Firewall works great but like LouCypher, It keeps asking to make connections even after create a rule + advanced rule and click permit.

LouCypher reviewed v4.0 Beta 2 on May 25, 2003

I use BitTorrent and it won't stop asking me to create rule whenever it tries to connect even after checking the box for it to create the rule and stop asking me. VERY frustrating for a program such as BTDownloadGUI which makes SEVERAL connections at a time. Never had that problem with 3.x betas. :(

cr00kedview reviewed v4.0 Beta 2 on May 24, 2003

rating in the middle.. because until i can import my current ruleset from 2.x this program wont be gracing my hadd again.

xRMB reviewed v4.0 Beta 2 on May 22, 2003

at least for me the hibernating isnt working after installing (and deinstalling)... had to delete the firewall-driver manually from the system32/drivers dir...

ckjnigel reviewed v4.0 Beta 2 on May 22, 2003

It DOES NOT work in Win 98 & Me, contrary to what this page says. So I cannot use it, ***sigh*** but they say Beta 3 will cover 98, Me, on up. Check their forums in dslreports.com and Yahoo...

Dwarden reviewed v4.0 Beta 2 on May 21, 2003

I like new GUI so much, and it's really getting stable :)

PD_Webmaster reviewed v4.0 Beta 2 on May 21, 2003

I think this is great.... Much better than Zone Alarm, better than Norton and a bit easier than black Ice. Good job

finalcut reviewed v4.0 Beta 2 on May 21, 2003

hey guys, is this version like 2.1.5? I mean can you set a specific .exe with specific ip and ports??
2.1.5 is the best firewall ever made since you cant be more specific with you allow in/out with ip/port routing..

thanks

MrPuddles reviewed v4.0.0 Beta 1 on May 21, 2003

4.0 beta is a definite upgrade from the 3.0 series. The GUI is clean and easier to use. However, the program is far from its 2.x roots. Hopefully, they will sort things out and catch back up. It's still one of the best firewalls available. Agnitum Outpost Beta 2.0 (Soon to be available to public) is the only firewall that is better than this one. Nortons firewall sucks.

Scot T reviewed v4.0.0 Beta 1 on May 21, 2003

Curious? How much better is this Firewall compared to Norton's Personal Firewall ... which i've been using for some time now? Thanx

weez reviewed v4.0.0 Beta 1 on May 21, 2003

I gave this a try on Windows Server 2003, as KPF 3.0 and 2.0 rendered my system unbootable (disable it with recovery console if you have issues). KPF 4.0 beta seems to run alright so far. I haven't encountered any blue screens or other crashes, so there's nothing else I can say.

The UI is kind of ugly, IMHO... I wish these personal firewall producers would just keep it simple. I would rate it a 5 if it wasn't for the UI. It's free, pretty simple to use, and does the trick. Good deal.

icingdragon reviewed v4.0.0 Beta 1 on May 20, 2003

my goodness, where is this going to? I really miss v.2 of KPF, the reason i dump ZoneAlarm is its bloated functions and fancy-useless-childish GUI, and this KPF is heading that way.... :(((

Scorched Earth reviewed v4.0.0 Beta 1 on May 20, 2003

Ack, looks as though I'll be sticking with 2.1.5 for quite sometime. I wish there were more companies who would make simple, rule-based, bare-bones firewalls.

phoenixx_ reviewed v4.0.0 Beta 1 on May 20, 2003

Yearrgh! What have they done with the GUI?!
Where are the advanced config's?
They should have an option to use the 2.14 GUI as well, for the more advanced users I mean.
I have followed the firewall since the 2.x series and I must say that this "simplification" of the GUI perhaps is more suited for the avarage user than for the advanced :/
I hope they fix it in a later beta (and that the IDS actually logs) :/

ook reviewed v4.0.0 Beta 1 on May 20, 2003

Beta 4 is about as buggy as it gets. They scrapped beta 3 because they just couldn't get it right. I hope they have better luck with beta 4, but this release is unusable.

sirhardi reviewed v4.0.0 Beta 1 on May 20, 2003

I love the new GUI !!

MAJOR flaw in this vwersion is :
Going to websites, the permit or deny rule for individual pop up alerts "adservers" for example, enables or duisables the WHOLE Internet communication in IE.

This needs to be fixed, that if i click DENY for a specific server connection, it still allows the rest to come in.

betasun reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 6 on Mar 11, 2003

Kerio and Tiny added to the traditional concept of firewall a new Internal system security which as far as i know is a new concept that works with firewalls and keep yr system secure . also try Kasperski anti hacker which is a intelligent Defense Wall .

henrygeorge reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 6 on Mar 4, 2003

On the plus side, it uses about 30% less memory than Zone Alarm and it gives me total control of any hidden programs running on my computer.

On the minus side, http://www.evidence-eliminator.com called me by my first and last name (and I never gave it to them).

Dizneyland.com reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 6 on Feb 28, 2003

Good usefull software!
But still i prefer BlackIce!

KaptK reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 6 on Feb 28, 2003

Really hate the "tick/cross" method used in many firewalls including now Kerio 3. Preferred the method of v2.

Still it's a really nice firewall so I reckon you should give it a try.

kandjar reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 6 on Feb 28, 2003

simply the best.

rsnidjik reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 6 on Feb 28, 2003

I believe Kerio 3 beta 6 simply extends the expiration date of Kerio 3 beta 5. I don't think there are any substantive changes. Kerio 3.5 beta is supposed to be released in the near future(as of Feb 2003).

BTW, Kerio 2.14, the last official release, is a fabulous firewall and is free for personal use. I've tried many firewalls and I like it best.

Hadamona reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 6 on Feb 28, 2003

I love the user interface of this program, but imo nothing can rival the performance of BlackICE.

betasun reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 5 on Jan 1, 2003

One of the best on winxp .

egg83 reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 5 on Dec 11, 2002

This program needs a bit of work in the stability area. Am currently using WinXP home, and program crashes on me while using Mozilla 1.2. However, once the bugs are squashed, expect this firewall to rival and perhaps surpass Zone Alarm. Is a bit faster in loading than Zone Alarm.

toune reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 5 on Nov 27, 2002

I'm sad.

This program messes up my Desktop after about 10 minutes of activity. I had to stop it to write this review.

Program seem to be powerful, but where can I get help ? online help is not included...

Another big problem : I have always and each second this message in Logs->ids : [] "engine" Intrusion: id=501, name="Intrusion Too Frequent", severity=LOW, protocol=None

Deactivating it in Configuration->Intrusion detection has no effect.

I love Status->Connection and Status->Charts !

freedomfighter reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 5 on Nov 27, 2002

After much playing with this product and problems noticed I have to downgrade my marks to 2. Whilst trying to play on gamespy, this program locked out visible servers, despite my attempts to make it talk with Gamespy, it was fruitless, so back to Zonealarm for now

zes reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 5 on Nov 27, 2002

What is new in this release? Kerio site doesn't seem to give me more info either.
This firewall rocks btw :)

corpse reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 4 on Nov 20, 2002

Installed fine in with win 98, seems stable, looks like tiny, no problems to report

ice_box reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 4 on Nov 20, 2002

Kerio Personal Firewall 3.0.0 Beta 4 those not work under Windows .NET 2003 build 3714 :(

Bryanm reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 4 on Nov 20, 2002

Installed fine on WinXP. Its nice and simple to operate. Has some nice graphs. So far I would have to rate it better than ZoneAlarm or Nortons firewall.

RedBadger reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 3 on Oct 7, 2002

This program is really beginning to look nice. I used to use the older version of Kerio, but this beta version has a much nicer user interface. I like it.

MrPuddles reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 3 on Oct 2, 2002

Much more stable than previous releases. I think it's nearing the final version. Definately faster than ZoneAlarm with a small footprint.

xippon reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 3 on Oct 2, 2002

Very fast and powerfull firewall, but crashes while using RealOnePlayer or other apps. Besides don't work turning off application monitor, so it asking about all apps to start..

hedskes reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 3 on Oct 2, 2002

Very nice firewall. Beta 3 is quite stable.
http://download.kerio.co...-pf-3.0.0-en-b3-win.exe
http://download.kerio.cz...-pf-3.0.0-en-b3-win.exe

Dapumkins reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 2 on Sep 21, 2002

Didn't work.It was running in backround, but I saw no way to open any options for it. Disabled internet. The only way I could get my internet was to uninstall in safe mode. It woudln't even uninstall regularly. It also won't reinstall now. ;p I'll stick w/ Zone Alarm until they fix this.

ditoa reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 2 on Sep 15, 2002

This is a review of 2.1.4: I have nothing but good to say about this, it is very easy to use, uses less resources than ZA. However it does causes my system to reboot if i have NetBIOS enabled (which i don't so it isn't a problem). I am using Windows 2000 SP3 with IE6 SP1. Very good firewall, grc.com shows my system as stealth so i am happy :)

Mr_Puddles reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 2 on Aug 29, 2002

Works a lot better than beta 1. It's now secure and allows you to customize the port settings when a program requests internet access. Kerio 3 can be used by regular people, but its real power comes from more advanced computer users. The intrusion detection is amazing.... good program.

bluelabel reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 2 on Aug 29, 2002

alot of improvement in this version and more easier than older version, it works great with my XP home.

Arnvid reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 1 on Aug 2, 2002

What happened? Well when I got v3b down it was only two comments to this version - and I downloaded it with hope that I could come back and say, "worked on my system". Well it did not, lots of blocking on software that was "accepted" and a general buggy internet connection. Use Win98se, PIII, 256MB, and 56k modem connection. All what worked well on Kerio 2+, not with v3b. Tried to go back to ZA, which I started with when it came in its first version, that solved some problems and added other. Total result not better - so guys, I join the choir saying, "stick with 2.1.4", at lest until the beta is better. Or if Kerio turns out to be a general v3 flop - then lets wait for the one that will pop up and give us a clean and working firewall alternative. I give it "two" - one for trying and one for not still adding "bake cookies, wash the floor, drive your car" features (-:

zes reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 1 on Aug 2, 2002

i don't know what some ppl are having trouble with, but kerio works as a charm here. excellent firewall.

ditoa reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 1 on Aug 2, 2002

what is it about version 3 and software firewalls? first ZA went crap in version 3 and no Kerio has? Anyone other software going to be added to the list?

sulk reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 1 on Aug 1, 2002

kerio = tiny and tiny over 3.0 version been a total flop.
ive never liked this version and kerio is doing the same thing.
and oh btw, DO NOT add s*** like cookie handler, trojan scaner and lame stuff like that.
We want a firewall and thats it!
there are plenty other app we can install to handle cookies and trojan...

ill stick with 2.1.4 for sure

xippon reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 1 on Aug 1, 2002

Plus for freeware, but it could be better if had "alert log" in handy menu, not in the file.log, Program work faster than ZoneAlarm 3, but if Kerio Personal Firewall had the same functions like ZoneAlarm then (add blocking etc ) then it would be the bes firewall app ever !

sphiggo reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 1 on Aug 1, 2002

Leaves a lot to be desired. Stick with KPF 2.1.4 till at least beta 2... IMHO

cosmotic reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 1 on Aug 1, 2002

themexp allows you to use NON MICROSOFT themes. the built-in dll only works with MS themes, but themexp can use your own custom themes.

themexp is complicated and has a poor ui.

wb is also complicated and has a poor ui. but at least its semi-standard, unlike our friend (or not) stylexp.

I havnt used the latest version of wb, but i doubt its slow and buggy since its at version 3.4, which ms's is version one!

as for stardock's subscription based software, please... you pay 50 bucks for like 10 or so apps and get free updates for a year (and if they make a new app in the year, you get that too). If you dont want to pay any more, you still get to use the software you got when you did pay (and through the year after that)

stevvie reviewed v3.0.0 Beta 1 on Aug 1, 2002

Was previously usin 2.1.4 with NO problems. But tried this new version3 and whenever Yahoo is started it just locks up kerio3 and yahoo. Most other programs seem to pass through OK.

Aleksandar reviewed v2.1.4 on Jun 12, 2002

I downloaded this software after I saw that Kerio is ex Tiny personall firewall...And after installing Kerio personal firewall v. 2.1.4. at first I was pleased..but then PC started to freeze when I was on the net..and that was not one time only but the rule..I'm on the net...kerio is on...It will FREEZE my PC...
Cos it happened me earlier with some other firewalls..I know that isnt some other app. but Kerio
BTW I'm using WIN98 with 64mb Ram...and as I see its better to install Tiny again then to keep using Kerio..

voidx reviewed v2.1.3 on Apr 3, 2002

kerio personal firewall and kerio winroute - cool stable and tiny work ! Im using both for 1 year and Im not looking for better solution because better solution doesn't probabbly exist ;)

vilez reviewed v2.1.3 on Mar 29, 2002

Kerio Personal Firewal version 2.1.3 MAR 29, 2002.
Had been using 2.1.2 and all well. New 2.1.3 is broken on my Win2K Pro, SP2 system. Not Usable. Repeated and continuous errors in fwdrv.sys (NT Event ID 4000). Tried multiple installs to "clean" system. No Dice. Reverted to 2.1.2.

scottg reviewed v2.1.2 on Mar 20, 2002

Works great but takes some time to setup. More options than other firewalls.

Dwarden reviewed v2.1 on Mar 10, 2002

Works much better now as beta5.
After some days of using i not received BSOD with fwdrv.sys
- that make me Happy :)
But problem with MD5 check over network drives is still unfixed - that drive me crazy :(
Well it's minimally stable now, now i need to hope for more fixes ...

P.S. Gimie, you can enable IP resolving in KPF and more ..

stevvie reviewed v2.1 on Mar 9, 2002

I installed this and for the life of me couldn't get my network to pass through it. InternetConnectionSharing went straight through but my internal network noway. all the client pc's couldn't read/write/print to my main pc.

GimieGimieGimie reviewed v2.1 on Mar 9, 2002

Not bad, not bad at all. Didn't once crash on my XP professional system, and does exactly what it says on the tin, a great firewall. However, i have 2 problems with it, 1 - The blinking green arrow in the corner, this is too annoying, however small this is. 2 - Lack of description from communications. Since i'm a long time user of Nortons Internet Security, i have got use to knowing everything about a single communication between my pc and another location. The address, the IP, everyone. This firewall only provides the Ip, making it extreamly difficult to know if the communication should be allowed or not.

sirhardi reviewed v2.1 on Mar 9, 2002

I likes KErio also very much.it was also the only firewall that loaded before i got to log on to Win2k.

I did have complications with chat client with the last beta, and as long as there is no change information listed, I won't install anymore.

Tiny was atrue nightmare on win2k but from what i gather it is fixed now.

sulk reviewed v2.1 on Mar 9, 2002

Correct me if I'm wrong but Kerio firewall seems to be the same as tiny firewall. Is it the same company or maybe a fusion or something??

Mikewl812 reviewed v2.1 on Mar 9, 2002

Uhhhmmmm, well Win2k is not XP Aeon, they're similar but different OS's.

aeon reviewed v2.1 on Mar 9, 2002

Great firewall, I've used Tiny for as long as I can remember and Kerio seems of the same quality. I don't understand people complaining about BSOD's and crashes and the likes. I've used beta 3 and beta 5 and had no problems whatsoever on my win2k machine. The final version is even better.

the_dude reviewed v2.1 Beta 5 on Mar 2, 2002

Tiny Personal Firewall is my favourite personal firewall, and at first I thought that Kerio continued the legacy, but I was wrong. This program crashes WinXP and Win2k when I try to install various applications (like AV software and device drivers), and it gives me buffer underruns when I'm burning CDs. This is a huge leap in the wrong direction, Kerio. Get your act together, damnit, and don't give this firewall a bad name!

d|st reviewed v2.1 Beta 5 on Feb 24, 2002

BSOD all the time ... fwdrv.sys ... im running winxp, too bad, i loved this firewall till it kept crashing my system =/

RAT reviewed v2.1 Beta 5 on Feb 24, 2002

I tested nearly every freeware movieplayer out there, and i always came back to RadLight. A sympathic team of young developers made this great, comfortable, fast, subtitle-capable, skinnable und stunning small mediaplayer. Great Work, guys! I appreciate it!

DigitalSin reviewed v2.1 Beta 5 on Feb 20, 2002

Just an update on my former post - the toshiba is running WinXP Professional. Odd eh?

phoenixx_ reviewed v2.1 Beta 5 on Feb 19, 2002

This is the greatest firewall...which improves each time and still stays small.... and for those of you who downrate it 'cause it doesn't block ads....Hey,you don't know what a firewall is, a firewall isn't meant to stop ads, just to control the traffic

SaintHan reviewed v2.1 Beta 5 on Feb 19, 2002

Very small but smart program.
Someone said green arrow on systry annoying him, but you can remove that "animation traffic" by unchecking "Animate Traffic on Engine Systray Icon" in "Miscellaneous" menu.

Dwarden reviewed v2.1 Beta 5 on Feb 18, 2002

KPF is one of best personal free firewalls on market and with each new version move higher - giving 5 stars.

To prevent trojans using IE or OE as trusted apz you can easily move them to untrusted (HAHAHA) and voila trojan have problem, his process failed to connect...

It's your problem you use IE as trusted aplication and open yourself to possible problems ... you can easily run that Trojan test (hidden IE window) by e.g. Mozilla and you will pass test (trojan will fail) ...

You need know what You run, what is used to comunicate over TCP/UDP and what no. That mean use trusted download sites, authors sites, original copies (yayaya this is big problem for warez right :-). I also use Microsoft file library to check size and date or any MS program using network ...this and some other steps with KPF bring you more security (btw good antivirus and trojan watcher are required too)....

FYI Kerio Technologies is company started by some of Tiny Software people and they moved most of Tiny software products under Kerio header (this is for that guy which asked about)

dave2019 reviewed v2.1 Beta 2 on Feb 11, 2002

I give it 3

I use Outpost Firewall it Blocks ads and other stuff.
I did tests on the Outpost Firewall and it's the best I have used.

ShafuyZ reviewed v2.1 Beta 2 on Feb 7, 2002

PARENTAL - you are mistaken. Sygate DOES protect againt abuse of TRUSTED APPS, so does ZAP3beta to a LESSER EXTENT. Tiny/Kerio alone will protect you against the "old-style" hack-attempts, but will happily some widely publicized NEW hacks to take place on your machine. Sygate, I believe, (cannot know for sure since LeakTest2 by GRC isn't out yet) will protect you against ALL CURRENTLY KNOWN vulnerabilities/methods, EVEN FROM an unknown trojan (that uses known methods, that is - trusted apps). .... if all your software+EXE's are LEGAL+from trusted source (ie zero chance of trojans in them) and you run the latest patches from all your software vendors, then yeah, Kerio, ZAP, Sygate and few others will fully protect you. If you DO realize that you run EXE's that MAY contain trojans (90% of Internet users are at risk), then this firewall alone is NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

ck42 reviewed v2.1 Beta 2 on Feb 7, 2002

the_dude and others:
My theory on the annoying blinking green arrow WAS that it blinks whenever a rule for a *stopped* packet was encountered.
You'd think that if this occured that the arrow would be red, but I've yet to see a red one and I have a TON of rulesets created, many of which are *stop* rules. I tested this and when an app hit a STOP rule, no arrow...nothing.

I'll say it again, KPF/TPF kicks arse. I only use it on my main box and have a more serious/professional type firewall running on my dedicated gateway box. But, this gateway firewall can't detect when I have a particular app running across the LAN...so that's where KPF comes in...awesome combo!!
For users not able or willing to learn how to create rulesets...just go get ZAP or something....KPF takes more understanding of things to be able to create effective rulesets...but the results of which are excellent when done properly; and can't be beat by the likes of ZA.
Another 5 stars to offset any stoopid reviews not actually rating KPF.

the_dude reviewed v2.1 Beta 2 on Feb 7, 2002

Tiny/Kerio Personal Firewall is great, but why this INCREDIBLY annoying green arrow, that blinks everytime the computer is receiving/sending a packet? It's hurting my eyes.

pqee reviewed v2.1 Beta 2 on Feb 7, 2002

You're giving it a 3 because you've paid for Zonealarm and don't want to unisntall it? Thats kinda sad. Keep your Zonealarm out of it and rate this program based on its own credentials, not because you paid for another program or because another program looks good. Go rate that program.

ditoa reviewed v2.1 Beta 2 on Feb 7, 2002

it only gets a 3 because zone alarm pro 3 beta is out and looks amazing!!! Also i have paid for ZAP for a year and i dont want to uninstall it to use this program. I tried installating it along side zone alarm pro but i just got an error message saying i cant use it with ZAP installed. well sorry Kerio but i have paid and i dont want to waste my money, i wouldnt mind as much if i only had a month to go but i have another 8 months left in my license with ZAP, maybe i will check Kerio out then, but the way things are looking for ZAP3 i doubt i will! Personally i would say try them all and see which suits you best, ZAP is best for me as i am so used to it. Sygate looks good also i have never used it though.

PARENTAL CONSENT reviewed v2.1 Beta 2 on Feb 7, 2002

dude, all personal firewalls suffer from this. once a trojan or some other malicous software starts using IE or another common app that is allowed to send through the firewall you personal firewall wont help you much.

KPF is still a great piece of software. if you use TPF already dont wait to upgrade. KPF will take the settings from TPF and uninstall TPF for you. a matter of 10 secs!

KennyC reviewed v2.1 Beta 2 on Feb 6, 2002

I also found the blinking arrows annonying...

Nice thing is that if you are already using
Tiny Personal Firewall, Kerio installer will
grab your firewall settings (persfw.conf) and
move it to the new location. So all the
settings can be preserved easily.

Kaprolactam reviewed v2.1 Beta 2 on Feb 6, 2002

Only minor changes, but still the best free Firewall available. The only thing I don't like with the new version is the hectically blinking icon in the tray.

roi_shlomi reviewed v2.1 Beta 2 on Feb 6, 2002

But I see that Tiny are still offering their firewall in their site. Anyone care to explain ?