Sunbelt Software released a new version of their Sunbelt Personal Firewall, which is my choice for my compute and my family’s computers, on July 7th. The new version supports Windows Vista, which Sunbelt has been promising.

Why do I use the Sunbelt Personal Firewall and not just the Windows XP firewall? The Windows XP Firewall would only stops attempts by other computers to access my computer. The Sunbelt Personal Firewall is a two-way firewall to control inbound and outbound communications. That way, I can control programs that want to "call home" or otherwise access other computers.

Why would I use the Sunbelt Personal Firewall and not the Windows Vista firewall? Microsoft finally woke up and made the Windows Vista firewall a two-wa firewall. However, I expect that it, like the firewalls from some of SPF’s competitors, allows Microsoft’s products to freely communicate with the Internet. I like the Advanced installation setting of SPF because it does not pre-authorize any programs.

For those who want free software, Sunbelt Personal Firewall has a free license for home non-business computers. Of course, like many of its competitors, the paid version has more features than the free version. Either way, the program you download is the same — it’s a fully-functional trial for 30-days.

After 30 days, you can purchase a license for the paid version. If you don’t purchase a license, or after your license expires if you don’t renew it, if you qualify, you can use the free license for the reduced-function free version. The web site clearly shows which functions are included with the paid license that are not available with the free version.

I have the "paid version" on my Windows computers and my family’s computers.

The 1-year license pricing options are: $19.95 for one license, $24.96 for two computers, $29.94 for 3 computers, or $39.95 for the 1-year Unlimited Home Site License (which lets you put it on all your home non-business computers. They have similar discounts for 2- and 3-year options, too.

Download the full-function 30-day trial of Sunbelt Personal Firewall

Or, read my review of Sunbelt Personal Firewall

Plus, now you can try a 15-day fully-functional free trial of Sunbelt’s new VIPRE Antivirus+Antispyware