Open source firewall для windows

Here is a list of best free open source Firewall software for Windows. These open source firewall software are completely free and you can also download and modify their source codes.

These software allow you to control incoming and outgoing network traffic to ensure security. Through some software, you can easily provide system-wide firewall protection. The advantage of system-wide protection is its ability to control the network access of every process and application of a system. Plus, these software let you manually enable or disable the network access of applications and processes. In some, you can also create whitelists and blacklists of applications that can and cannot access the network. Some of the firewall software are browser (Chrome and Firefox) extensions that only restricts network access within a browser. Through browser-based firewall extensions, you can easily restrict access to websites, webpages, and associated elements like images, videos, CSS elements, java scripts, etc.

In few software, you can also view the real-time data of all processes and applications which are using the network with their status. Other important features like Rules (to specify custom firewall rules for applications) and Network Protocol (to toggle between network protocols) are also present in some software. In general, all of these are very capable software and tools that you can use to add firewall protection to your system and browsers. Go through the list to know more about these software.

My Favorite Open Source Firewall Software For Windows:

Simplewall is my favorite software because it offers system-wide firewall protection. Plus, it shows the names of various applications and processes which use the network in real-time. It also lets you manually specify which programs and processes can access the network.

You can also check out lists of best free Firewall, Open Source Bandwidth Monitor, and Open Source Data Recovery software for Windows.

Simplewall

Simplewall is a free open source firewall software for Windows. It is a lightweight firewall software through which you can control and monitor network activity on your computer. To configure various network activities, it offers multiple sections like Blocklist, System Rules, User Rules, Packages, Services, and more. Now, let’s check out the main features of this firewall software.

Main Features:

  • Blocklist: In this section, you can view all the blocked apps and services which are identified as unsafe by this software. You can manually select and enable any blocked app that you want.
  • System Rules: It shows all the enabled and disabled network rules of a system like IGMP, SSDP, LLMNR, UPnP, etc.
  • Settings: From settings, you can enable or disable Microsoft servers services (Microsoft spying and telemetry servers, Microsoft update servers, and Microsoft application servers). In addition to that, you can enable or disable various Network, Security, and Advanced rules.
  • Apps: It shows all the apps which use the network. You can allow or disallow any app from accessing the network.
  • Services: It shows a list of services that use the network. Just like apps, you can allow certain services to use the network and disallow others.
  • Add Rules: It is an advanced feature that lets you create your own rules that you can apply to some or all system apps.

Additional Feature:

  • Network: In this section, you can view various services, programs, and apps that are using the network in real-time along with their port number, destination address, protocol, and connection status.

Final Thoughts:

It is a feature-rich open source firewall software through which you can easily control apps and services which can access the network.

ProgCop

ProgCop is another free open source firewall software for Windows. Using this software, you can easily control the programs and services of your system accessing the network. Plus, it shows a real-time view of processes and applications which are having internet access.

Main Features:

  • Process Viewer: In it, you can view all the process which use internet connection along with their connection status (established, listening, or close wait), local port number, local address, remote address, and PID.
  • Rules: Using it, you can manually add multiple applications in the rules section and either block or unblock them from accessing the network.
  • Settings: It allows you to change the current network protocol of your system to IPv6.

Final Thoughts:

It is one of the simplest open source Firewall software through which you can track the connection status of processes, and also manually enable or disable processes connected with the network.

Cloud Firewall

Cloud Firewall is a free open source firewall extension for Chrome and Firefox web browsers. Through this firewall extension, you can block connections to sites, pages, and web resources (images, videos, etc.) hosted in major cloud services like Amazon, Google, Cloudflare, etc.

Main Features:

  • Popup Menu: In this menu, you can view a list of cloud services that you can block or unblock in one click namely Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and Cloudflare. By blocking a specific cloud service, you can block all the sites, pages, etc., hosted to that cloud service.
  • Allow All/ Block All: In the popup menu, you also get ‘allow all’ and ‘block all’ buttons to allow or block connections from all the mentioned cloud services.

Limitation:

Apart from the six mentioned cloud services, you cannot block any other website or webpage through this firewall extension.

Final Thoughts:

It is a simple and easy to use open source firewall extension through which you can easily block some specified cloud services in just one click.

uMatrix

uMatrix is another free open source firewall browser extension for Chrome and Firefox. Through this extension, you cannot only block websites but also block various elements that a browser requests at the time of loading a website such as scripts, iframes, ads, etc. Plus, it also shows websites and all elements on its popup window.

Main Features:

  • Popup Window: From the popup window of this software, you can easily block the current website and its elements like CCS elements, images, etc., in one click.
  • Real-Time Elements: In its popup window, you can also view the number of all elements associated with a website like the number of cookies, CSS elements, images, media, scripts, frames, etc.
  • Forbid Web Workers: Using it, you can enable or disable all the web workers or Javascripts that run independently.
  • Forbid Mixed Content: It not only lets you block all the websites over the insecure HTTP connection but also block secure HTTP websites with resources that come from an insecure HTTP connection.

Limitation:

  • In this extension, you can only block a website and other elements after loading them once in your browser.

Final Thoughts:

It is another easy to use open source firewall extension for Chrome and Firefox through which you can block websites and their elements.

Firewall Builder

Firewall Builder is the next free open source firewall software for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Using this software, you can apply firewall packages over devices and routers of different platforms such as Linux iPtables, OpenBSD, ASA/PIX HA Cluster, Router ACL, etc. Plus, you can manage the firewall on all devices of the network from this software. Unlike other similar software, it does not offer Firewall protection for the device on which it is installed.

Main Features:

  • Objects: Using it, you can specify the address of devices on which you want to apply the firewall and also manage them through this software. Apart from the address range, you can also specify DNS names, groups, hosts, networks, addresses, etc., from this Object section.
  • New Object: It is a menu through which you can create new clusters, hosts, networks, new address range, IP serves, ICMP services, etc.
  • Create New Firewall: Using it, you can create new firewalls after selecting devices and routers on which you want to apply the firewall.
  • Rules: Using it, you can create custom firewall rules for each device on which you want to apply the firewall.

Additional Feature:

  • Import Existing Configuration: If you already have a firewall configuration file, then you can import it using this feature and quickly apply it over router and devices.

Limitation:

  • This software does not provide firewall protection in the base device in which it gets installed.

Final Thoughts:

It is a really good open source firewall software through which you can apply the firewall on multiple networking devices.

PERFECT wall

Version Française -> README_FR.md


The first 100% open-source Firewall for Windows 8/10/11 based on domain names !

Motto : « Let’s free the bandwidth ! »

I need help to move forward faster : This project is open to all goodwill.

You can reach me by email or through the module Discussions of GitHub

🔥 FEATURES

Version 0.5 (Still working on it)

✔️ Multilingual — French & English, for now
(You will be able to add languages very easily thanks to simple INI files encoded in UTF-8.)

✔️ Shows DNS queries before they are sent
(For now, this is a simple list (log type))

✔️ Indicates in real-time network connections on the taskbar icon
.

🚀 INSTALLATION

Follow the guide in the WIKI

🧒 BIOGRAPHY

Programmer since the age of 12 (1981).
Before, I developed in ASM, C, C++, Basic, Visual Basic.
Since the year 2000, I have been coding in PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, jQuery, HTML, CSS.
And today in C# for this project.

✨ HISTORY

In Windows 98 and XP, I used « Kerio Firewall » and in Windows 7, « PC Tools Firewall ».
Those two worked out well for me, as they displayed the URL requested by each software.

But since Windows 10, it’s a disaster !

All current firewalls running under Windows 10 are IP oriented (Comodo, ZoneAlarm, Outpost, and the one integrated into Windows and those who use it : WFC from Binisoft, TinyWall, WFN from WoKhan, …)

Other than « Free Firewall » (from Evorim), but that doesn’t work well, only checks outgoing connections, and isn’t open-source.

And aside from « PortMaster », which I just discovered recently and which fits my idea, but is written in GO and downloads 300MB of dependencies !
Some will be fully satisfied with this solution, that you can see here : github.com/safing/portmaster

But this is very far from the idea that I have of a Firewall that is light, fast and takes up little space in memory !!

💡 REPORT

  1. From the very first Windows I used (version 3.1) until today, I have never known a 100% Open-Source Firewall based on domain names !
  2. I think it’s nonsense to block IPs, because one server can host multiple websites under the same IP !
  3. In addition, how do you know if you want to authorize a firewall rule without knowing what the displayed IP corresponds to (without bothering to do a web search) ?

Solution : Block domain names instead, or groups of server IPs belonging to companies.

💤 AN OLD DREAM

Since 2014, I’ve been dreaming of an ideal firewall and I’ve collected a whole lot of information and source codes, but I haven’t found anything convincing.
Recently, I’ve been browsing the archives of my captured files and it made me want to see what’s new on the web…
During hazardous researchs, I came across a driver that may correspond to my filtering criteria and from there, here I am again on this crazy project !

💗 THE IDEAL FIREWALL ?

I dream of a Firewall that advises me intelligently on what I should decide and that does not harass me too much, while ensuring my peace of mind…

It would be an application firewall (different rules per application, which is already the case for most) but with filtering by domain names, or by IP groups, or by IP if necessary.

Individual rules :

  • Allow « Windows Update » to connect to Microsoft-owned IPs ONLY.
  • Deny « Firefox » connection to Mozilla ping service.
  • Deny « Windows » connection to Microsoft « Account » service. ( → login.live.com)

Simple group rules, by e.g :

  • Globally allow/deny services needed for « Windows Update » (BITS, WuauServ, Orchestrator, etc.)
    No more hacks in the registry to prevent untimely updates !
    Thus, my Windows would update ONLY when I decided !

and of course :

  • Completely deny a program to connect to the internet !
    (no DNS queries either : time saving, less waiting threads, battery saving on laptops, more network bandwidth available, less electrical pollution, etc.)

Believe me, if you knew the number of useless connections per minute, per hour, per day that leave your PC, you would be amazed !
Moreover, thanks to PERFECT wall, you will realize it.

Multiply that by billions of PCs…
To reduce global warming, let’s start by reducing the access of our PCs !!

🍔 SOLUTIONS

PERFECT wall
© Captain FLAM — 2022
Coded in C# with WFP/XAML for rapid prototyping, but the driver (WinDivert) is coded in C.
Subsequently, some parts can be recoded in C or C++ to be more efficient.

I chose to use .NET version 4.5 at minimum so that people don’t need to install any dependencies other than Visual C++ (14MB minimum, even not at all if there is already a higher version installed).

WinDivert — (coded in C)
© Basil00
This driver is awesome !
I just modified the DLL to make the driver installation permanent in «C:\Windows\System32».
I also created an install process (install.cmd & setup.exe) to make things easier.

WinDivert is a user-mode packet interception library for Windows 7 / 8 / 10, that can :

  • capture network packets
  • filter/drop network packets
  • sniff network packets
  • (re)inject network packets
  • modify network packets

WinDivertSharp — (coded in C#)
© Jesse Nicholson « TechnikEmpire » — (Ontario, Canada)
This interface was created for version 1.4 of Windivert and I deeply took over all the code to make it working with version 2.2 of WinDivert, and morevover I simplified it.

Hardcodet NotifyIcon for WPF — (coded in C# / WPF / XAML)
© Philipp Sumi — (Switzerland)
I had to adapt the code of the last version (1.1.0) so that it works with the .NET Framework 4.5.

This is an implementation of a NotifyIcon (aka system tray icon or taskbar icon) for the WPF platform.
It does not just rely on the Windows Forms NotifyIcon component, but is a purely independent control
which leverages several features of the WPF framework in order to display rich tooltips, popups,
context menus, and balloon messages.

INI File Parser — (coded in C#)
© Ricardo Amores Hernández — (Barcelona)
This library does not rely on Win32 APIs, and therefore supports UTF-8.
I added the backup function which was missing on the last version.

And a special thanks to :

© Jerome Saliba (Khan)
for his project which inspired me and from which I stole bits of code :
Windows Firewall Notifier
https://github.com/wokhansoft/WFN
(you will be able to see its copyleft in the source code of the Process.cs file, for example)
.
I included just the necessary in this project, but if you want to see the rest (examples, tests and others) :
github.com/basil00/Divert
github.com/TechnikEmpire/WinDivertSharp
github.com/hardcodet/wpf-notifyicon
github.com/rickyah/ini-parser

🦄 IN THE NEAR FUTURE

  • Block domain names per application.
  • To verify or not to verify domain names by application.
    (e.g : Do not check for BitTorrent.exe, because connections are made by IP)
  • Allow/Block requests by business groups (avoid telemetry, DNS poisoning, etc.)
  • Simply allow/deny necessary services by groups, day by day.
    (e.g : Local Area Network (LAN), Windows Update, Visual Studio, etc.)
  • Intelligently advise on actions to take for obscure Windows services with a comprehensive information panel.
    (e.g : (HomeGroup) p2psvc → « Are you using a local network? » YES/NO : Disallow all local network services at once)
  • And in the future and for the most paranoid of you who don’t trust Microsoft’s WFP, I would like to be able to develop an NDIS 6.0 driver in the same spirit as « WinpkFilter » (which is not open-source)

Bonus : I like to see my network activity at a glance and apart from Comodo none have a visual indicator, except of course PERFECT wall !

🏗️ COMPILATION

Follow the guide in the WIKI

➕ P.S.

Before someone asks me : I know that some firewalls offer additional features (digital signature verification, anti-intrusion, etc.) but it is not planned for the moment in this project.

© Captain FLAM — 2022 — MIT license


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Parameters by OpenIcons

9 Best Open Source Firewalls For Windows and Linux in 2023 (Free Firewall Software List)

Firewalls are made to protect the network from any threat by filtering both the in and outbound traffic and ensuring network security as well. The first thing when we talk about the 9 best open-source firewalls for Windows and Linux is that they are free, well let us explain such a term for software that is distributed under a license. These are compatible with various Linux distributions along with Windows 10/11.

With the help of this license, users can analyze and modify software with full independence. It is also used to promote collaboration between the users which means quick and varied development of different tools.

As it belongs to the community therefore both its development and updates are its responsibility. This is used to increase program continuity. If your talking about firewalls then keep in mind that this by far is the most important part of a network security system.

As it acts as a wall there between the internal and external networks. To put the long story short this means activating any app or system which is designed primarily to block or allow access to information that is coming from one system to ours and vice versa.

About Open Source Firewalls – What are they?

Microsoft Windows offers users, a basic yet simple firewall after the arrival of Windows XP Service Pack 3. With this we can have control over the use of internet connection tools and applications, moreover, it is also used to provide protection from all the PC attacks which might make their way via the network.

As the new Microsoft version 11 Creators Update and the great operation of Windows Defender as its Firewall, it has become an integral part of the user’s needs. The only drawback is that the system is not able to offer users the complete thing along with features that are required to secure the infrastructure.

Open-source software offers users quite an easy-on-the-pocket and adjustable option to deploy basic networking for both home and infrastructure. Along with this they also provide users with simple routing and networking functions such as DNS and DCHP. The best thing is that they are packed full of security tools and features such as anti-spam, web filtering, and content filtering.

We can download these products and deploy them on any hardware on the virtual program or in the clouds too. Today, many users also sell them along with pre-configured appliances, only if you have a like for either their support or functions, and you do not want to get in the hassle of building your very own machine.

We have mentioned to you by far the best open-source firewalls for both home, small businesses and enterprise infrastructure so what is the wait?

Let’s begin…

PfSense Community Edition – Everything you will ever need

PfSense Firewall

This one comes with a lot of similarities with Untangle but lacks in many features such as web-filtering and anti-virus. The best part is that it carries more than 3 dozen external add-ons for easy installation via the package manager.

It is based on FreeBSD with a custom Kernel which can be installed on the hardware or virtual machines with CD image (.iso), USB, and Embedded image (.img) of these. We also have the option to buy pre-loaded PfSense on the hardware too.

It offers users a membership that costs $99 per year. For support and services, we get resources such as a library of videos there from developers which are of extreme importance, its digital book as well as an automatic backup too.

Perimeter 81 – A cloud-based solution

FWaaS which is Perimeter 81’s Firewall as a Service is much easy to configure and also enables users to secure remote access to cloud-based resources which are way out of the corporate office. If you are an admin then it allows you to segment access to particular network resources based on the user or group identities. To put the story short, it means that administrators can have control that who in the organization can have access to which resource easily.

The best thing about this one is that we can deploy it in the cloud. The granular permission-based policies along with user segmentation included are quite effective in terms of securing both remoted workers and company resources. It has compatibility with Windows, iOS, Android, Mac and Linux servers.

RECOMMENDED: Orbot VPN Client For Windows 10 & 11 (Free).

OPNsense – A fully-fledged secure platform

OPNsense Firewall for Linux

This is open-source; FreeBSD-based firewall that is able to overpower software that is deployed by Deciso. A company based in the Netherlands issued to make different hardware and sell support packages for this.

This is a branch of PfSense that got turned into forked from the mOnOwall, which those who do not know created FreeBSD. It started back in 2015, when mOnOwall got shattered in 2015, the inventor Manuel Kasper, assigned its developer community to it which for now has web-based UI and is being on i386 and x86-64 platforms.

Untangle Firewall – NGFW

This is yet another option that has a lot of similarities with ClearOS and is based on Debian 8.4. It carries basic network functionalities with come with both free and paid apps to add in additional functions which are managed via web-based UI.

To put it in technical terms it is named NG Firewall and can be installed easily on any hardware or virtual machine or we can also purchase a device with NGFW pre-installed just like in the case of PfSense explained above.

IPFire – Massive support community

IPFire Hardened Firewall

This one is developed on top of Netfilter and it seemed to be one of the best open-source firewalls. By keeping in mind modularity and flexibility it has been designed and can be used as a proxy server, or even VPN gateway easily. You can then use an open-source VPN client on Windows to connect to it over the public internet.

It is being handled by an online community that has many developers. The best thing is that it would not be too heavy on the system and is quite powerful as well. It uses IDS which stands for Intrusion Detection System with the purpose to analyze traffic and also find potential exploits. To put it short, this is used to detect any attack and directly block the attacker.

Iptables – The real deal

This one is quite a popular utility present on the list and it seemed to be one of the best open-source Firewalls for Linux operating systems out there which are used to provide system administrators both the control and option to configure and analyze network stats. It has been developed with Linux Kernel plus comes with its own strings and stores too.

Recently, different Kernal modules and apps are being used for various protocols. This term also refers to Kernel-level elements. x_tables is the name that the Kernel module carries and shares it code portion which is being used by all four modules which implement API used for various extensions.

SmoothWall – Law Enforcement Grade Protection

SmoothWall

It is used to provide support to LAN, DMZ, Internal or external networks, web proxy for acceleration, traffic statistics and much more.

With only a web interface, this can be shut down or rebooted.

Endian Community Edition – A secure BYOD network

EFW which is the Endian Firewall Community provides Linux-based security solutions for all its users out there. The best thing about this one is that it comes both free and developers don’t require any support or offer. It provides users with many options which are used to add extra protection.

Use this to set up basic web and email security according to need. Moreover, it has many more features for Windows. When a user uses EFW then he gets powerful open-source anti-virus protection along with VPN support for Windows 11.

It carries some different downloads as well such as standalone distributions which are installed on individual servers or routers. Make sure it meets all your needs and then make a decision to install it.

ClearOS – A secure foundation for an OS

This is the last option on the list which is not only a router protector but is a unified threat management (UTM) solution that offers users more than 120 functions through add-ons which are called applications. Now, through its web-based interface, all of these are configurable.

Moreover, there is also a ClearVM which is a management solution that is used to deploy different ClearOS virtual machines, other Linux distributions, as well as the Windows Operating system on the physical server.

Linux distro comparisons for your next server:

  • Is CentOS 7 faster then CentOS 8 on VPS servers.
  • Is Manjaro more stable then Gentoo.

Conclusion: Best Open Source Firewall

The benefits of having open-source security measures outweigh the drawbacks. There are more professionals analyzing and upgrading the codebase and fixing bugs and critical vulnerabilities. Our list of 9 open-source Firewalls that are free for personal, educational and testing uses. Many are also modified and used at an enterprise level by businesses as they are so good.

Version: 3.7.2

Author:

First release:

Last updated:

Language: C

Platform architecture: 32-bit/64-bit/arm64

Supported OS: Windows 8.1, 10, 11


Donation

Development is powered by your donations!


screenshot

Description

Simple tool to configure Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) which can configure network activity on your computer.

The lightweight application is less than a megabyte, and it is compatible with Windows 7 SP1 and higher operating systems.

Nota bene

Keep in mind, simplewall is not a control UI over Windows Firewall, and does not interact in any level with Windows Firewall. It works over Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) which is a set of API and system services that provide a platform for creating network filtering applications. Windows Filtering Platform is a development technology and not a firewall itself, but simplewall is the tool that uses this technology.

Features

  • Simple interface without annoying pop ups
  • Rules editor (create your own rules)
  • Internal blocklist (block Windows spy / telemetry)
  • Dropped packets information with notification and logging to a file feature (win7+)
  • Allowed packets information with logging to a file feature (win8+)
  • Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) support
  • Windows Store support
  • Windows services support
  • Free and open source
  • Localization support
  • IPv6 support

You can download either the installer or portable version. For correct working, need administrator rights.

Installation

When install rules, you can choose two modes:

  • Permanent rules. Rules are working until you disable it manually.
  • Temporary rules. Rules are reset after the next reboot.

Uninstall

When you uninstall simplewall, all previously configured filters stay alive in system. To remove all filters created by simplewall, start simplewall and press «Disable filters» button.

Command line

List of arguments for simplewall.exe:

-install - enable filtering.
-install -temp - enable filtering until reboot.
-install -silent - enable filtering without prompt.
-uninstall - remove all installed filters.

FAQ

Q: Are internet connections blocked when simplewall is not running?

A: Yes. Installed filters are working even if simplewall is terminated.

Q: What apps are blocked in default configuration?

A: By default, simplewall blocks all applications, you do not need to create custom rules to block specific application.

Q: Is it safe to use simplewall with Windows Firewall?

A: Yes. You do not need to disable Windows Firewall. This two firewall works independently.

Q: How can i disable blocklist entirely?

A: Open Settings -> Blocklist and then click radio buttons labeled Disable.

Q: Where is blacklist mode?

A: Blacklist was removed many days ago for uselessness. But if you need it, you can still configure it.

Solution: Configure blacklist mode in simplewall:


  1. Open Settings -> Rules
  2. Uncheck Block outbound for all and Block inbound for all options.
  3. Create user rule (green cross on toolbar) with block action, any direction, Block connection name and empty remote and local rule.
  4. You can assign this rule for apps whatever you want to block network access.

Q: Why does my network icon have an exclamation mark?

A: When you are connected to a network, Windows checks for internet connectivity using Active Probing. This feature is named as NCSI (Network Connectivity Status Indicator). You can resolve this by one of this ways:

Solution 1: Enable NCSI through internal system rule:


  1. Open System rules tab.
  2. Allow NCSI rule (enabled by default).

Solution 2: Disable NCSI through system registry:


Create Disable NCSI.reg and import it into registry.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetworkConnectivityStatusIndicator]
"NoActiveProbe"=dword:00000001
"DisablePassivePolling"=dword:00000001

Solution 3: Disable NCSI through group policy:


  1. Launch the group policy editor (gpedit.msc ).
  2. Go to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Internet Communication Management -> Internet Communication Settings.
  3. Double-click Turn off Windows Network Connectivity Status Indicator active tests and then select Enabled. Click Ok.
  4. Open the Command Prompt (Admin) and enter gpupdate /force to enforce the changes made to the Group Policies.

Q: How can I disable Windows Firewall?

Start the command line as an administrator, and enter the commands below.

Disable Windows Firewall profiles:


netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off


Enable Windows Firewall profiles:


netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state on


Q: How to fix Windows Update internet access?

Windows 10 and above:


Open main window menu Settings -> Rules -> Allow Windows Update.
This is working by method described here.


Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1:


Open main window, Navigate into System rules tab and then enable Windows Update service rule.


Portable mode

To activate portable mode, create simplewall.ini in application folder, or move it from %APPDATA%\Henry++\simplewall.

Download

  • simplewall-3.7.2-bin.zip
  • simplewall-3.7.2-setup.exe
  • simplewall-3.7.2-setup.exe.sig
  • simplewall-3.7.2.sha256

Latest stable release is always here

GPG Signature

Binaries have GPG signature simplewall.exe.sig in application folder.

  • Public key: pubkey.asc (pgpkeys.eu)
  • Key ID: 0x5635B5FD
  • Fingerprint: D985 2361 1524 AB29 BE73 30AC 2881 20A7 5635 B5FD

Languages

Put simplewall.lng file into application directory and restart the program.

  • Download language
  • Read instruction to create your own localization

Links

  • GitHub
  • Changelog
  • License agreement

Support

  • Report issue
  • Pull requests

Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows. Firewalls help protect your computer and network systems from unwanted or malicious traffic. They block sensitive ports and verify that incoming and outgoing traffic is safe to prevent malicious connections. Therefore, they help stop unsafe data exchange between your system and the external environment.

Knowing the best firewall solutions available help you to secure your network security. This article explores the best open source firewall solutions for your Linux or Windows systems. 

Let’s continue reading Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows.

Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows

1. OPNsense

Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows OPNsense Firewall

OPNsense is a free, open source solution that blends the efforts of pfSense and Monowall. This firewall is powered by HardenedBSD, a security oriented fork of FreeBSD. Its distro serves as a firewall and routing platform and filters traffic. Use it to display a captive portal, detect and prevent intrusions, set up a VPN, and direct traffic.

The functionality of this firewall is based on an Inline Intrusion Prevention System (IPS). It emulates a deep packet inspection that blocks IP addresses or ports and inspects individual data packets or connections. It stops them before they reach you if necessary.

Pros of OPNsense

  • Offers weekly security updates to respond to threats in a timely fashion. 
  • Fully integrated web proxy with access control and support for external blacklists.
  • Pluggable support for OSPF and BGP based on the Free Rage Router. 
  • Two factor authentication enabled for more security.

Cons of OPNsense

  • Would be better with web based configuration instead of command line.
  • IPS lacks some features that could make it more reliable.

2. pfSense

pfSense Firewall

pfSense is next on the list of Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows. With custom kernel based FreeBSD OS, it makes it one of the leading network firewalls with enterprise grade features. Available as a hardware device, downloadable binary, or virtual appliance. The solution conceptualizes Stateful Packet filtering and delivers advanced network security and intrusion detection.

Highly configurable and flexible in its application. Greatly accessible web control center to easily manage firewall system. Provides a complete overview of the security stature of the network perimeter, making it a suitable choice for new users.

Pros of pfSense

  • Extend your applications and connectivity to authorized users through Microsoft Azure or Amazon AWS.
  • Configuration allows you to use it as a VPN endpoint and a wireless access point. 
  • Upgrade its web based interface or configure it for more flexibility. 
  • Comprehensive network solution for enterprises, SOHO, and large businesses.
  • Load balancing feature.
  • High degree of customization.

Cons of pfSense

  • The firmware is difficult to upgrade. 
  • Documentation is limited.
  • Complex to configure.

3. IPFire

IPFire Firewall

IPFire is a free, secure, and open source firewall distribution solution. Comes not as a software package but as an entire operating system. It’s a standalone operating system based on Linux From Scratch (LFS).

The firewall has an intuitive color coded user interface and provides a minimal approach that is easy to navigate for a beginner. Easy configuration. Additional IPFire’s capabilities are detecting and mitigating intrusion while functioning as a VPN.

Pros of IPFire

  • Functions as a VPN gateway, firewall, or proxy server.
  • Qualifies as a Stateful Packet Installation (SPI) firewall .
  • Content filtering capabilities. 
  • Provides a virtualization environment through its Xen, KVM, and VMWare hypervisions.

Cons of IPFire

  • It could be better with additional features 
  • The Linux-based configuration may make the firewall complicated for some uses

4. VyOS

Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows VyOS Firewall

VyOS boasts high flexibility and reliability, supporting many technologies that make network maintenance easier. Its load balancing options offer the ability to utilize multiple internet connections simultaneously efficiently. If you have a large business, using the Broader Gateway Protocol (BGP) features of the firewall opens up a possibility for better traffic control of your autonomous systems.

Deploy VyOS on the most commonly available servers and computers or within virtual environments. That makes deployments more effortless and cheaper. Also configure the firewall as an enterprise border router with the BGP to serve as an external and internal BGP peer. The stability and availability it provides for your network are unmatched.

Pros of VyOS

  • VPN and tunneling protocols for rapid and reliable connectivity between resources. 
  • Reliable traffic flow control through specific edge devices. 
  • A combined solution featuring an edge router and edge firewall for enterprise network security.
  • Merges single purpose devices into one, including switching, IP routing, VPN gateways, firewall, and MPLS.

Cons of VyOS

  • Not a mature distro and so hasn’t been ported for as many architectures. 
  • Inability to integrate with third party plugins and modules. 

5. DynFi

DynFi

Following solution on our pick list of Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows is DynFi. Basically, an ideal perimeter firewall for Linux and Windows. Deploys on a virtualized platform like KVM, Proxmox, VMWare, and Hyper-V. Integrates many VPN systems, and you use it as the primary tool for managing your virtual private networks.

It’s the first French open source firewall that integrates many filtering features, allowing you to manage many appliances. Two images with Serial return or VGA, which are compatible with most devices. DynFi has a set of tools for high network filtering.

Pros of DynFi

  • An open source firewall that includes a centralized management mechanism .
  • Next generation open source with pre integrated filtering systems. 
  • Allows for centralized management of Aliases at Manager’s level. 
  • Intelligent multisite synchronization and automatic connection of the firewall. 
  • Backup of the virtual environment.

Cons of DynFi

  • Lacks dynamic analysis of critical firewall data. 
  • Could do better with dynamic deployment configurations.

6. Shorewall

Shorewall

Shorewall is a firewall or gateway configuration tool for Linux, not a daemon. Features a Netfiller system for tracking and monitoring potential threats. Use the solution for network partitioning and role based access management. Outstanding advantage of the tool is the extensive support for multiple systems and many network interfaces. Fully customize or modify the firewall according to your network’s requirements. Shorewall also provides blocklisting for IPs. Access features for mapping and traffic accounting. Tools for ease of virtualization are also built in.

Pros of Shorewall

  • Support multiple firewall applications, routers, and gateway applications. 
  • Manages Stateful Packet filtering through Connection Tracking Facilities through Netfiller.
  • Centralized firewall admin. 
  • Supports masquerading, port forwarding, and multiple ISP.

Cons of Shorewall

  • The configuration is complicated for new users. 
  • Lacks up to date documentation of the logs.

7. Endian

Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows Endian.

Endian is a turn key Linux security distribution that transforms any bare metal appliance into a solution with full featured Unified Threat Management. One of the most straightforward security products to install, configure, and use. Ideal for home and small networks, comprising a VPN, antivirus, firewall, and content filter in a single box.

As a stateful firewall tool, it protects your network from numerous attacks and threats. Offers a well protected VPN to secure the environment, especially for users who work remotely. Its live network monitoring and reporting capabilities allow you to visualize and monitor traffic in real time. Leverage the Endian UTM professional advantage based on intuitive visual graphs and charts that provide increased real time and historical reporting across the entire stack.

Pros of Endian

  • Provides introductory email and web security services powered by leading open source Advanced Content Security (ACS). applications 
  • Increased scalability and Active Directory or LDAP authentication.
  • Two factor authentication features for added security. 
  • Email notifications for primary predefined system events in Endian’s community version. 
  • A VPN tunnel that provides remote access to employees while connecting multiple offices.

Cons of Endian

  • Lacks a centralized management system.

8. iptables

iptables firewall

Iptables is a highly flexible Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows utility, ideal for novices and system administrators. Well, the command line firewall utility uses policy chains to allow or block traffic. When a connection attempts to establish itself on the system, iptables matches it to a rule on its lists or resorts to the default action, if no action is a match.

The solution almost always comes pre installed on any Linux distribution, and updating it is as easy as retrieving the iptables package. iptables uses three types of chains, namely input, forward, and output. Input is the chain that controls the behavior of incoming connections. The forward function controls the incoming connections not being delivered locally, while output controls the outgoing links.

Pros of iptables

  • Allows or blocks specific connections, ranges, addresses, and ports. 
  • Decide the policy chain default behaviour you want the firewall to adopt. 
  • Add rules to what you want the software to do when it encounters a connection. 
  • Extensive list of commands for customized security control of your system.

Cons of iptables

  • Doesn’t save the changes you make unless you execute a command to save them. 
  • Installing the solution is lengthy and complex for starters.

9. Firewalld

Firewalld Firewall

Firewalld is an open source firewall solution compatible with multiple solutions such as RHEL 7 and newer, OpenSUSE 15, SUSE 15, Fedora 18, and CentOS 7 and all their recent versions. Provides a dynamically managed firewall with support for firewall zones. The trust levels of network connections or interfaces are well defined.

The firewall supports IPv4 IPv6 firewall settings, IP sets, and ethernet bridges. You will notice the separation of runtime and permanent configuration options and an interface for services to run firewall rules directly. One of the most significant benefits of using Firewalld is that you make real time changes in the runtime environment without having to restart the service or use a daemon.

Pros of Firewalld

  • IPv4, IPv6, ipset support, and bridge.
  • Simple service definition with ports, source ports, protocols, modules, and destination address handling. 
  • Simple log of denied packets. 
  • Graphical configuration tool based on gtk3.
  • Modify the firewall by whitelisting the applications.

Cons of Firewalld

  • Lacks advanced security features compared to other Linux based firewall solutions.
  • Uses nftables as the default backend, which is inconveniencing for incompatible systems.

10. Safing Portmaster

Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows Safing Postmaster Firewall

Safing Postmaster is a free and open source application firewall for Windows and Linux systems. Extensive features enable you to discover everything happening in your network by exposing all the connections, including the evil ones. The excellent defaults dramatically improve your privacy and security without any effort.

If you want to configure and control everything on your systems down allows that to every detail. It intercepts suspicious queries and reroutes them to itself for seamless integration. Safing Portmaster protects your entire computer as its functionality isn’t limited to just the browser. Easily add your rules to block individual domains.

Pros of Safing Portmaster

  • Create privacy and security rules based on the global and per-app settings.
  • Integrates into the network stack using nfqueue on Linux and a kernel driver on Windows. 
  • The privacy network aims at user cases between VPN and Tor. 
  • The Portmaster Core Service runs as a system service, with the User Interface elements running in the user context.

Cons of Safing Portmaster

  • The default settings offered by the firewall solution may not be the desired package for all users. 
  • The functionality to create own rules can develop loopholes for security attacks.

11. OpenSnitch

OpenSnitch Linux Firewall

OpenSnitch is a GNU/ Linux port of the Little snitch application firewall. Apply firewall rules systems wide and block hosts or individual applications. In addition to blocking specific URLs, hosts, and applications, use the software to monitor and set rules for system services, open ports, running processes, and IP addresses. Have the option to apply rules for specific circumstances only.

Blocks activities related to web apps, browser extensions, bug and crash reports, and analytics sent by apps. It virtually stops anything that connects to a different host from your Linux system. Once you launch the software, you sort and filter entries for better management, primarily since it features hundreds of entries.

Pros of OpenSnitch

  • Automatically identifies hosts and processes running on your system and prepares appropriate firewall rules.
  • Interactive outbound connections filtering. 
  • Easily configure the system firewall from the GUI nftables. 
  • Allows you to manage multiple nodes from a centralized GUI. 
  • Blocks ads, trackers, and malware domains across the entire system. 

Cons of OpenSnitch

  • GitHub releases are not available yet. 
  • The software requires several dependencies to work effectively.

12. ClearOS Firewall

ClearOS Firewall

ClearOS firewall is a Linux based solution that allows administrators to open ports or port ranges for services running locally on the server. If a service requires a connection from outside your network, the software only adds a corresponding port or port range after verifying it.

Available in the 64 bit version with a functional and clean web GUI. It also comes with multiple features and plugins to enhance its functionality. Enjoy better network security using the free version or automatic updates. Several other options in the commercial edition avail. With the standard functionality, you easily add custom firewall rules to increase protection.

Pros of ClearOS Firewall

  • Features that enable it to function more than just a firewall to enhance network security. 
  • Create advanced firewall rules to meet the security needs of your network. 
  • A widely used application whose documentation is readily available. 
  • Easily administer your ClearOS firewall from a web-based management interface.

Cons of ClearOS Firewall

  • You may need to add a custom firewall to accomplish your firewall needs in some scenarios 
  • The Community Edition is limited, not tested or professionally supported, so not good enough for production environments

13. IPCop

IPCop Firewall

IPCop is an open source Linux firewall distribution made for home and SOHO users. Features a Web GUI, built in traffic shaping, and IPsec VPN that support up to four network interfaces.

The minimum requirements for the firewall are a motherboard with a 386 processor, a 300MB hard drive, and 32MB RAM. Very modern hardware may not be compatible because IPCop’s support for the PCI architecture is still in the early stages.

Pros of IPCop

  • Includes traffic shaping and IPsec VPN. 
  • Features up to four network interfaces. 
  • Installation is more seamless and faster from a CD or DVD drive attached directly to the designated router. 
  • Distinguishes between several interfaces and types of configuration. 
  • Granular control of features ideal for multifaceted web traffic installation.

Cons of IPCop

  • Documentation on more advanced features is limited. 
  • Lacks driver support for more modern hardware types.

14. Vuurmuur

Vuurmuur Firewall

Vuurmuur is another open source firewall for Linux. Uses inbuilt firewalling components of the Linux kernel like Netfiller and Iptables to manage the network perimeter. The intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) layout helps configure the firewall in the best way for the network.

The solution lies in the gray area between being feature rich and minimal. The GUI provides accessibility to casual users because of its simple and easy to learn configurations.  Implementing the automation scripts for the highest security level is easy because the firewall is entirely scriptable. The powerful monitoring features allow you to view the logs, bandwidth, and connections through the console or SSH.

Pros of Vuurmuur

  • Converts humanly readable rules, groups, hosts, zones, and networks. 
  • You don’t need to know about iptables to use the firewall. 
  • Easily manage it through the console or SSG. 
  • Second element that converts the Netfiller logs to easily readable logs. 
  • Uses a ncurses based user interface to manage the firewall.

Cons of Vuurmuur

  • It may take a while to navigate the various elements and how the solution works. 
  • Interface isn’t user friendly.

15. OpenWrt

Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows OpenWrt Firewall

Last but not least Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows is Openwrt. Basically, it is explicitly deployed for use in routers and networks. That means ordinary home users can’t use it as their regular firewall compared to power users, networking enthusiasts, and wireless device developers. 

Compared to other firewall developments for distros that have fallen by the wayside, OpenWrt has withstood the test of time. It also has a decent GUI and provides optional packages in its repository. That allows you to configure the solution to meet your security needs in several ways.

Pros of OpenWrt

  • The configuration is relatively straightforward and provides an automatic base rule set for the router. 
  • Undergoes regular updates and has a reliable support system. 
  • The GUI is decent and provides several optional packages. 
  • Configure it in various ways to meet diverse security needs.

Cons of OpenWrt

  • Not ideal for use by home users looking for a firewall solution for their computers. 
  • Not your usual firewall solution.

Thank you for reading Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows. We shall conclude this article now. 

Top 15 Best Open Source Firewalls for Linux / Windows Conclusion

Open source firewalls are a great way for Linux/Windows users to protect their network. They provide online security and best of all they are free and customizable. With the number of open source firewalls available on the market, it is hard to choose which one is right for you. The list above has some of the best open source firewalls so you start protecting your network today! From OPNsense and pfSense to iptables and Endian Firewall, you are sure of the ultimate protection.

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