Kerio Personal Firewall: Premium Security That Delivers Strength and Simplicity The Panic Button Joseph Moran
The Panic Button
One of the options offered by the KPF4 tray icon's context menu is 'STOP ALL TRAFFIC,' and, as its name suggests, it immediately puts the brakes on all network traffic to and from the PC. This can be a very useful feature in the event you inadvertently allow an application network access and then immediately think better of it, or if you ever discover anything potentially untoward taking place that you want to quickly nip in the bud. Halting traffic in this way is certainly a lot easier and less strenuous than frantically grabbing for the network cable.
Overall
A fully functional version of Kerio Personal Firewall 4 can be downloaded on a 30-day trial basis. After the trial period the software will continue to operate, but certain features like content filtering and remote logging will be disabled. The registration fee of $45 is competitive with its more established competitors and includes a year of free updates and upgrades. Subsequent yearly subscriptions cost $22. Volume licensing for both the initial cost and ongoing subscriptions is also available.
The biggest drawback to KPF4 in our opinion is that Kerio doesn't make its own anti-virus or anti-malware utilities, and thus you don't get the interface integration you would with a Symantec (Norton Internet Security) or McAfee product. The company does, however, provide a bundle with an anti-virus utility from AVG.
Suffice it to say that if you are considering one of the "big three" software firewalls, or your subscription to one of them is coming due, you'll likely want to give Kerio Personal Firewall 4 a serious look.
Pros: Provides protection against modification of applications; intuitive and easy to use, with clear and helpful alert information; simple and advanced modes of operation
Cons: Lacks Norton and McAfee's integrated anti-virus/anti-spyware software components, cost vs. ZoneAlarm Free
