Labs

This firewall is incredibly simple to use and great for those who want to install something and forget about it. Its installation wizard won't bamboozle you with technical terms and it can replace the Windows XP Service Pack 2 security centre to avoid sending you duplicate messages. By default it won't bug you with alarming alert messages, either.

The software detected our port scans, including the stealthy ones. We had no problems keeping the FTP or SMTP ports closed, and setting it up to allow web access could not have been easier. We did this by viewing

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the website from another computer - this fails, but viewing the Inbound Events in the Personal Firewall's interface showed an entry that read, "World Wide Web Session". Click on it once and further details appear below. Click on System Services, and tick the Web Server (HTTP) Port 80 option and the website is made accessible. You can add custom rules for arbitrary ports, too.

When we came to attack the web server things were less encouraging. The firewall was not discriminating and allowed entry to any traffic destined for the web server, regardless of its nature. If we'd sent a web server worm through it would not have noticed. Previous versions of McAfee's Personal Firewall have exhibited similar indifference to traffic that matches open ports.

It's a shame that this firewall, which makes controlling access to server software very simple, goes only halfway to providing protection. Its reasonable price and decent performance as a regular desktop firewall means it's suitable only for those who will never run a server or play a game that requires open ports. However, we'd recommend ZoneAlarm to those people, and that program is free.