GlassWire wants me to buy their software.
While I like it for the easy to use firewall and network monitoring software it is, I am not willing to invest money in a “gimick”.
Features I would like to have:
- Network bandwith meter
- Data transfer meter
- active connections list
(- option to one-click block connections)
Any free/opensource alternatives?
The software to be replaced: https://www.glasswire.com
Software that may be what I am looking for:
BitMeter OS - http://codebox.org.uk/pages/bitmeterOs
Looks to be the most hassle-free option. Will give it a shot to see what it does.
Comodo Firewall - https://www.comodo.com/home/internet-security/firewall.php
Reviews seem to be okay-ish, the website tells me to leave and never come back…
edit:
Half deccent solution found. NetSpeedMonitor it is. Shame it does not allow me to block connections…
I am going to be assuming you want software on your current machine, instead of assigning a dedicated second device to act as your filter/firewall/IDS/connection-killer.
BitMeter looks nice indeed, yet the software hasn’t been updated in a few years now (last stable version is from 2014) From the looks of things, it also uses Python and SQLite - which is great of course, but it does introduce another set of software (with potential exploits, etc.) on to your computer. Inherently any piece of software will do that of course, so keep that in mind.
There also is (or at least appears to still be) ZoneAlarm (you can find the free version tucked away at https://www.zonealarm.com/software/free-firewall/) Perhaps that might be worth a look.
Outside of that, I think if you want the most complete insight as to what’s going on to-and-from your computer(s) on your network, you might want to look at using a dedicated device for that. It doesn’t have to be much - as I believe pfSense has a free version of their software (if I am not mistaken) that should run on just about anything.
PS: Just being curious - if you like product, why not buy it? Or do you find their pricing to be unreasonable, unable to pay? I understand that free is of course always better for your wallet - but spending a few coins to help support a company/developer when you really like their product can go a long way to ensuring that they keep doing what they are doing. Just my 2 cents/question.
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Dedicated hardware has the issue of additional powerdraw and another machine running. I´d prefer to not have to monitor another machine.
Thing is, for 39 bucks, I get the exact functionallity the free version gave me previously. And that obvious push to make money now is a either long term planned or bookkeeping sucks at math.
Took a look at ZoneAlarm, it is a bit too basic for my liking.
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private firewall but it is a bit labor intensive to get set up.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/privatefirewall.html
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Solved.
@moderators thread can be locked