Computer, Gadgets and All Things Digital

Judging from its price this telephoto  zoom lens is obviously not for hobbyists, average professional photographers or much less amateur photographers like me unless otherwise you own a large photography company.  The legendary and famous Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 –APO EX DG Super telephoto lens for Canon costs you around 26,000 bucks yet the hefty price tag merits its breath taking super high quality pictures this giant telephoto zoom lens can produce.

I got a hold of this beast couple days ago and bring with me during a trip to a picturesque north Tibetan remote areas along with Canon Rebel XSi , please note the sentence “get hold”, if I have to be specific, implies I actually do not own this as I borrowed it from a close friend of mine . I am pretty  sure you will not be able to borrow this super telephoto zoom from  “ordinary friends”. I don’t have disposable budget to  dish out 26000 dollars to buy  this sigma 200-500mm APO EX DG super telephoto zoom lens

Sigma APO EX DG is bulky and heavy (it weighs about 100 lbs) so you need to bring with you a tripod unless you are strong enough to dealt with it. Correction, I must say you won’t be able to take quality pictures without a tripod so you need to bring a heavy-duty tripod. Another thing you need to keep mind is to get the most of it you need to let the lens come to ambient temperature before you use it.

After having been trying to convince my friend for almost two months  that my journey to Tiber will not harm her lens and I will take good care of her pricey lens finally I managed to bring this beast with me.  I wanted this lens for wildlife photography . This lens is simply  marvelous for taking scenery, animal world or sport pictures. As a reviewer from Amazon relates ,  I could take a photograph of tiny birds from very long  distances to some point  that I could notice a very small  dust on their feathers. In addition at a just  f/2.8 or so, you can take pictures without having to worry about dim light conditions. Please note though, it is  not a considerably long focal range lens yet  when used with a tele-convo you will be able to take pictures at focal lengths close to 1000mm.

If you are searching for the best telephoto lens for Canon that portrays a great focal range, great quality and you make a living as a  professional photographer or own a photo company , this lens is for you. If I I had some extra cash, I  would decide to buy this lens also.

Bellow are some of the technical details of Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 APO EX DG Ultra-Telephoto Zoom Lens

1. Ultra telephoto zoom lens; fast aperture of F2.8 at the 500mm and F5.6 at the 1000mm focal length
2. Dedicated “Attachment” ensures autofocusing at the 1000mm focal length
3. SLD and three ELD glass elements provide high image quality from the maximum large aperture
4. Supplied with 72mm filter holder at the rear
5. For Canon digital SLRs

This brief posting will assist you to address the question why is my internet so slow?

Why is My Internet So Slow? Know  Your Internet Connection

Are connecting to the internet using a dial-up connection, DSL, wireless connection or DSL?  Internet connection using DSL is used to be the fastest way to connect to the internet since it is more stable and faster  comparing to other types  of connections. If you live in South Korea (one of the most wired countries in the World), the US and other developed countries, your choice may fall on a wireless connection since their wireless internet connections have comparable speeds even much  faster than DSL connections.

If you are using a dial up connection using a telephone line , make sure  that your telephone cable and wiring is in good shape. You may want to make sure the cables  are not damaged, frayed, or twisted around power or other telephone cables.

Make Sure Your Computer is free from Virus, Spyware or Trojan

Spyware on your computer can cause your internet connection run slow because they interfere with your browser by monitoring your activities online and sending the information over the internet to those controlling it. You need to scan and clean out your computer on a regular basis to get rid of spyware.

Virus can also affect you internet performance by infecting your computer, installing codes and propagating itself by sending unsolicited emails from your computer without your knowledge.

Use Browser Addons Wisely

Many find themself confusing and ask themselves why is my internet connection slow after installing browser addons. Browser addons such as search bar, multimedia download helper (addon to download streaming media) may make your surfing experience much enjoyable but if you install to many of them, they can reduce your browser responsiveness and slow your internet connection.

Free up your computer memory, fix registry errors  and get rid of temporary files.

If you are using old computer to surf the web you need to make sure you do not run other applications that eat into your computer resources. Close unnecessary applications to free up memory. You need  to get rid of junk files such as temporarily internet files, cookies and browser cache. This step can also make your computer run faster.  Learn to make  how to that see why is my computer slow.  For those using Mac OS see Why is my Mac is so slow

You may also want to fix registry errors to speed up your computer performance which in turn restore your  computing power to when it was.  I personally use 1clickfix to clean my computer registry. It’s one of the most powerful yet affordable  registry cleaners on the market (only 27 bucks with a voucher bonus worth 25 bucks to use to dine in  thousands of  restaurants)

On top of the above-mentioned factor they are also external factors beyond your control that make you ask yourself the above question why is my internet so slow? Such as a virus outbreak, the website you’re trying to visit is overwhelmed by other visitors.

Do you lose  your password and try to reset Linksys WRT120N to restore it to default factory settings and try to start it over again but you fail to perform the standard  linksys router reset while you have follow the all the necessary steps?

No worries, because you are not alone. Some  Linskys WRT120N users have difficulty resetting it even though they  have followed the standard instruction on how to hard reset the router by holding the reset button for around 30 up to 60 second ands unplug the power for 30 seconds. This problem seems to affect mostly those using old firmware, therefore before you decide to reset your Linksys  WRT120N, it is recommended to first upgrade your firmware to the latest update you may download from Cisco homepage.

Here is the step-by-step instruction  to reset Linksys WRT120N Router

• First af all you have to make sure the power is “On” . Power the router up while pressing  the reset button located at the back of the router using pencil or paperclip
• After around  30 seconds you will be prompted with  the boot loader. Connect the boot loader using the standard IP address if you have not changed it (http://192.168.1.1)
• Upgrade the firmware to the latest one from Cisco site
• Power cycle the router and allow it  to come up.
• When it is fully up, press and hold the reset button for 5 secondsThe LED light will blink indicating that you’re done holding the reset bottom.  If the Power LED won’t blink try to press and hold the Reset Button for I minute  and then power cycle the router for another 1 minute.
• Power cycle the device and now you have reset your linksys WRT120N router See the following link if you forgot to setup linksys router

See Also : Remote Reset Linksys WRT54G

If you do nothing to maintain your Mac computer  performance and as time passes by you will notice a marked decrease  in your Mac computer responsiveness  and start to ask yourself the classic question : why is my computer is so slow? or why is my Mac is so slow?

Bellow are tips and tricks to make your Mac computer run faster and restore its performance.

Access Activity Monitor On a Regular basis
Activity Monitor is a useful small application , because we can see and find out what applications are  running in the Mac  OS. Through  this application you will see several processes such as: Usage, System Memory, Disk Activity and  Network Performance. All information there shows what is happening on your Mac Hardware. This application you can use as a reference  if anything goes wrong your Mac computer.

Stop Unnecessary Applications
Many beginner Mac users are not aware that  closing an application by pressing the cross on the top left corner of the application will actually  not dismiss it. If you want to close an application and want it to  not run anymore, you can do so by selecting the application name in menu bar and then click “Quit”, this will close / dismiss the  applications. If you use a mouse, you can right-click the icon in the Dock and click “Quit” in the pop-up menu..

Flip Logoff Users

Close applications running on other accounts and do the logoff for accounts that are not used. When you do log off and switch to another account, you will see your Mac screen rotates when changing accounts.

Turn off the widget
Close some unnecessary widgets because they eat into your Mac  by pressing  Option on the widget and then click the cross on the Widget.

Update Your Mac OS Regularly
Update your Mac to get the latest patches or security updates

Use Permission
A handy little can fix  errors on your Mac. Perform regular basis if at any time you find an error on the Mac. You can do it by pressing the Scan button and then click Repair Permissions.

Clear Cache
Perform  the cleaning of the garbage files regularly. Temporary Files such as: User and Font Caches, Temporary Files from each application are getting piled up on your Mac computer. You can use several cleaner applications to remove unused files  such CleanMyMac

Clean Safari Browser Cache
As with Font Cache, Safari also accumulate various browsing information, you can clean up these files by pressing Option + Command + E on Safari. For better results again you may restart Safari after deleting Cache.

Disable Unnecessary Login Items
You will not find a list of application that is loaded on startup by default . You can turn this feature  in the Preferences – Accounts – Login Items. Disable all unnecessary start up applications.

Moved Unused  Files From Your Hard Drive Notice
Move unused files to other file storages such as CD / DVD  or  external hard drive so y
Peripheral Release of Not Used you can free up some spaces.

Get rid of removable media
External storage media such as USB Disk or removable hard drive can interfere with your Mac performance  Remove them if they are  not used any longer

Defrag Your Hard Drive
Defragging your Mac hard drive helps to cure clustered fragments

Deactivate Unused Languages

OS X is built with 15 Languages ??in, you may be able to Non Active right languages ??that are not used, because they just pile up the files on the hard disk and you will not use.

Reinstall the OS
This is only the last resort only if you have taken the above procedures

RAM Upgrade
Try to  upgrade on RAM if you have budget

see also : Why is my computer slow vista Tagged with : Why is my Mac so Slow

We’re connected to the internet in  a corporate network via a linksys WRT54G  router and for an unknown reason I had a connection problem  and I wanted to have access to the router  to perform linksys router reset . For  security reasons the router was kept in a locked room housing servers and routers and on that faithful day  I forgot where I kept the key !! It was very frustrating because we needed to restore  the internet connection as soon as possible. After a few minutes reading the Linksys WRT54G  manual then I came across an instruction on how to remote reset linksys router.

This was something I was not aware of before. It turned out Linksys WRT54G can be customized and configured allowing users connected to the router to reset Linksys WRT54G remotely from any computer on the network.

To cut the story short this what I did to soft reset  Linksys WRT54G remotely using a hidden reboot page

1. Open your browser and login into the web admin page of your router from any computer previously given access to your linksys router . The default IP address of the router or  gateway is http://192.168.1.1.
2. Go to the following page http://192.168.1.1/Reset.htm
3. That’s all, you have remote reset your linksys WRT54G remotely

Note:  these steps apply to Linksys WRT54G running on firmware v1.00 , for other types of router or routers running old firmware  you may have to consult your linksys support.

See the following page if you need to set it up the router again  : linksys router setup . For those having Netgear router see the following page : Netgear router reset

This is something that many Netgear router find annoying. They  have changed the default password but  forgot the password, then you might be required to reset  Netgear  router to its factory default settings.

When you do the netgear router reset  you will restore its settings to the state when it was new – all information  and settings entered will be gone forever  and can not be retrieved again.  They include important  data you need to go  online and surf the web, like  ISP username,  password, IP addresses, wireless security keys, and ports and services that were opened. After you perform the Netgear router reset you need to configure them again.

Accordingly  before you reset your Netgear router, it is important to write down all the above information, you also need to make sure you do not miss out on all the required information such as IP addresses, security keys, opened ports and services and so on.

You may also want to take a note that the default username is admin and the password is either password or 1234.

Bellow is a detailed instruction on how to reset netgear router

1. Press the reset button located on the back of your router. You have to wait until the test light blinks. This step will take about 10 seconds. You need to use a pen or any blunt  yet pointed things such as paper clip to reach the button reset.
2. Release the button.
3. Wait for the router to restart.
4. Log in with the default password. Your default username is admin and default password is either “password” or 1234

If the router configuration and settings is not restored it its default setting. Follow the bellow additional instruction  after the Netgear router finish restarting

1. Unplug the router’s power.
2. Press and hold the reset button for a while. While pressing down the router you need to reconnect router to  power supply
3. Continue pressing down  the reset button for around  twenty  20 seconds after reconnecting your router to the power.
4. Wait for the router to reboot.
5. Now try logging in with  the default username and password.

Note :

Several Netgear router brands require slightly different procedure before you proceed with netgear router reset.
For example  Netgear DGN2000 / DG834Gv5 routers you will need to  press both the wireless button and WPS  button located on the side of the router for 5 seconds.
For FR314, FR318, and FV318 routers require reloading the driver  in order to retrieve  fa lost password. You need to download the latest  firmware from Netgear web site before proceeding.

Hope you will find the above guide useful , for those using Linksys Router see linksys router reset and linksys router setup

This Linksys  router connection problem happened quite a while ago while I tried to connect my Dell computer located in my room and Linksys -installed PC server located in the master room. I subscribed to a broadband internet ISP and shared them with other two computers and a laptop belonging to my wife and son using Linksys  WRTG54 wireless router .  It worked just fine when all of a sudden the  wireless network stop working, All computer clients could not receive signal from server couldn’t surf the internet. This was the message got “cannot associate with access point”

After successfully setting up Linksys  router and configuring  everything such as configuring security settings three months earlier suddenly I have the connection problem with the Linksys  router. I have uninstalled and then installed the driver,  and restarted  the router but to no avail. I have also tried to reconfigure the security setting as described in the Linksys  router security setup page in this blog. I finally gave up trying to sort  the problem out  myself and turn to the internet to find out solution to this connection problem but alas, I found no solution. After three days finally I came up with a solution to this annoying Linksys  router connection problem.

So to make the story short this is what exactly did to fix my Linksys  router connection problem, please note though,  that this quick fix may or may not apply to yours. This includes hardware-related problems.

1. Uninstall driver from computer gateway (access point) , restart it and put your driver in a folder. Do not install it yet. You may get the latest driver from official Linksys  driver download page or just copy from the CD that comes with the router when you buy your Linksys  router.
2. Make sure have connect your router with the computer server. Restart again.
3. When prompted by the computer server to install the router driver, select  install manually or Have disk, then navigate to the driver in your server computer  hard drive you have earlier copied.  Now it’s time  to perform Linksys router setup and configure the required setting for your router to send signal.
4. Assuming that you have already installed wireless card on the computer clients (computers that connect to the router for internet connection) now follow exactly the above step.

As stated above what I did above may or may not apply to your Linksys  router connection problem, the best bet would be to give it a try.

Why is my computer so slow Vista, this is one of the search terms many Windows Vista users  type on the search engine box after learning their Vista machine runs awfully slow. This post seeks to address above question, explaining steps and tweaks on how to make Windows Vista computer run faster.

Windows Vista, contrary to its gorgeous name,  is notoriously resources-hungry and there are many circumstances where many Vista users complain  about   slower  computer performance  after  upgrading from Windows XP and in many cases they often roll back and use Windows XP again. Vista requires much more memory resources than its predecessor, that’s why it is not as popular as Windows XP, no wonder many ask themselves the question “why is my vista computer so slow” after upgrading from Windows XP.   However , there are several means to speed up Windows Vista  performance , one of the most popular ways is by tweaking the Computer Management settings to obtain maximum performance.

How To Optimize and Speed Up Slow Vista Computer

Windows Vista  actually contains many hidden features and services that are not always necessary to run your machine smoothly, meaning they are not always required to perform basic computing tasks.  One of the reasons that make your Windows Vista-run  computer run slow is the large number of unnecessary programs that start automatically, unnecessary Windows services and background applications.

Basic Tweaks

First of all follow the bellow basic tweaks to speed up your Vista machine and then proceed to the next advanced one:

1. Make sure your computer is free from viruses, trojans, malware, adware and other malicious software/applications.
2. Delete unnecessary junk files to free up space using computer optimizer application. There are a lot of them, maybe the most popular one is CCleaner since it is free yet a very excellent utility software, you can download CCleaner here.
3. Use registry cleaner to clean  unused registry keys, this can also be done with CCleaner, but for optimum result you may need to consider buying a  commercial registry cleaner application.
4. Disable start up applications, they are applications that start when you turn your computer on, you can do this with CCleaner .

Enable  advanced performance

The following  steps will help you to improve the performance of your Windows Vista .

1. Step one : Right click on My Computer icon, then select Manage.
2. Step two :  select the Device Manager and point your cursor to your  disk drive.
3. Step Three: Right click on your disk drive then  select Properties then go to Policies tab.
4. Enable the setting “Enable Advanced Performance ‘and click’ OK ‘to activate your new settings and restart your computer  or your laptop in order for change to take effect.

 Disable unnecessary Windows Vista services

1. Navigate  to Administrative Tools, by going  Start> Run> type services.msc
2. To start automatically or manually and disable services, double click on the service in the list. This opens a panel where, under “Startup Type” you can choose the desired option.

See the bellow video on how to tweak Windows start-up and disable WIndows services:

Below is a list of unnecessary services that you can disable or change to start manually  when you turn your Vista Computer on  to speed up your slow Windows Vista. Before you proceed make sure you write down the original settings of your Windows Vista Services just in case you disable services that you actually need.

• AdobeLM Service: Not all computers have this service. If you are installing Adobe Reader on your computer, you can disable it.
• Alerter: If your computer is not connected to the internet or local area network you can disable this service, since it will not be  used by the system.
• Application Layer Gateway Service: This service is only required when you want o share internet connection.
• Application Management: Change the setting from automatic and manual.
• Automatic Updates: If you do not want to automatically receive Windows updates,  you’re recommended  disable automatic updated.
• ClipBook: This service is only require if only you are connected to a local area network or the internet. If you are not you can disable this service.
• Computer Browser: If your computer is used to connect to the internet and you can safely disable this service.
• Cryptographic Services: If you are not sure if you need this service, change the startup type from automatic to manual.
• Distributed Transaction Service: Set it to manual.
• DNS Client: If you are not connected to a network, then set it to manual.
• Error Reporting Service: Just disable it. It is useless to run this service, besides I have not heard people got any feedback after submitting error reports to Microsoft
• Fast User Switching Compatibility: If you are the only person using the computer, or use the “switch user”, then you may disable this service.

• FTP Publishing: If you’re not on a network or if you do not use the FTP for downloading or uploading files to web server then I suggest you turn it off.
• Help and Support: If you do not need the “Help and Support” then I suggest you disable this service or set it to manual.
• HTTP SSL: Turn off the automatic start.
• Human Interface Device Access: If you do not use combinations of keyboard shortcuts and do not use remote access systems can be set to manual or disable this service.
• IIS: Internet Information Service allows your computer to function as a web server. If you do not use this function, or use alternative software, you can disable this service.
• IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service: Set this service in manual start mode allows you to save a good amount of memory and velocizzre your PC. Do not disable this feature if you have a DVD burner or CD burner installed on your computer.
• Indexing Service: This feature uses a lot of the CPU memory  resources on your computer. If you’re not storing large files on your computer , disabling  this service will help speed up Window Vista
• InstallDriver Table Manager: Turn this service off
• IPSEC Services: Set it to manual.
• Windows Messenger: If you are connected to a computer network, you’re recommended to disable this service since it uses a lot of memory

• MS Software Shadow Copy Provider: Set it to manual.
• Net Logon: If you are not active on the network then I suggest you disable it.
• NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing: If you do not use the Remote Desktop to control remote computers , just disables this service.
• Network Provisioning Service: Disable it, because this service is not necessary if you are not connected to other computer network
• NT LM Security Support Provider: Disable this, it is completely useless.
• NVIDIA Display Driver Service: If you do not use the NVidia Desktop,the service can be disabled because it uses lots of memory.
• Office Source Engine: If you have the installation CD of MS Office then you can disable this feature, this service is only useful if your Office installation is corrupted.
• Portable Media Serial Number Service: If you connect your  mobile devices to your computer I suggest you set it to manual, or disable this function completely.
• Print Spooler: If you are not connected to a printer this service is completely useless and you can safely disable it.
• Protected Storage: If you do not need to encrypt data stored on your computer  you can disable this service.
• Remote Desktop Help Session Manager: If you do not use the Remote Desktop feature to receive assistance and support from Microsoft  disable it.

• Remote Procedure Call Locator: Set it to manual.
• Remote Registry: disable this service
• Removable Storage: If you do not use portable storage devices, set it to manual
• Routing and Remote Access: Set it to manual.
• Secondary Logon: This feature is completely useless you can disable it or set it to manual.
• Security Accounts Manager: If you do not use an NTFS encryption then you do not need to this sevice . Disable it.
• Security Center: It ‘s a useless service. Disable it.
• Server: If your computer is not connected to other computer network  disable this service.
• Smart Card: If you do not use smart cards,  disable it;
• SSDP Discovery Service: If your computer is not networked, then you can disable this feature.
• System Event Notification: If you do not  need to monitor system events you can disable this service.
• Task Scheduler: If you’re not going to schedule a defragmentation or scan errors, then you do not need this service and you can disable it.
• TCP / IP NetBIOS Helper: If you are connected to the network,  set to start manually or you can disable this service completely.

• Telnet: If you use this type of service then set it to manual, otherwise disable it.;
• Terminal Services: If you do not use the Remote Desktop feature then this feature is not needed and you can disable it.
• Uninterrupted Power Supply: If you have a UPS connected to the serial port of your computer, then I suggest you disable this feature.
• Universal Plug and Play Device Host: Set it to manual;
• User Privilege Service: Set it to manual.
• Volume Shadow Copy: If you do not run backup with “System Restore” or “Windows Backup” then you can disable this feature.
• Windows Firewall / Internet Connection Sharing (ICS): If you already use a third party  firewall such as Norton or Zone Alarm,  you can disable the Windows firewall.

• Windows Image Acquisition (WIA): If you do not plan to connect a camcorder to your computer or a scanner, then you can disable the service or set it to manual.
• Windows Media Connect: If you are not using media players like Windows Media Player and you have an iPod then you can safely disable this service.
• Windows Media Connect (WMC) Helper: If you disable Windows Media Connect, then you can do without the relevant driving. Disable this function.
• Windows Time: If your computer is not connected to a synchronized network , then you can disable this service.
• Wireless Zero Configuration: If you do not connect to a wireless networks can disable  this service.
• WMI Performance Adapters: Disable it, it’s a useless service and is only needed by advanced users.
• Workstation: If you are not connected to a network you can safely disable this service.

Maintain your computer regularly

Hardware maintenance also affects Windows Vista performance   , by scheduling disk maintenance such as Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter regularly you can maintain and boost Vista performance. You should also remove uneccesarry programs and disable unimportant features  such as memory Vista Eye Candy.

See Also related post  : Why is my computer so slow

Those are basically steps to make your Windows Vista run faster, and hopefully, after executing the above tweaks  you will not ask yourself and others the question why is my Vista computer so slow

As you might have been aware wireless network is basically easier to hack  than cable  networks because it does not require a physical connection to the network. Since data transfer is done  through radio waves, intruders can simply pick up the radio signal to gain access a wireless network. The next  essential part of  securing  your  wireless network is encrypt your connection using WEP encryption, WPA or Mac Adress filtering.

How to secure wireless network connections from unauthorized users? There are basically two methods to secure home wireless network and other small networks such as those found at Cafes  namely wireless encryption and MAC address filtering. WEP is  basically obsolete and has been replaced by WPA (Wifi Privacy Access),  a  more advanced and more secure encryption method because it has many flaws. It is therefore you opt for the WPA to secure your network.

WEP security protection  is usually only available  to older Linksys routers  such as Linksys WRT54G. If possible you’re highly recommended to upgrade your firmware to the latest one that supports WPA encryption.

Here are a step-by-step guide on how to carry out linksys router security setup to secure wireless internet on your Linksys WRT54G access point against the curious eyes.

Firs of all of course you need to log in to your wireless router by accessing your  favorite  internet browser and entering  http://192.168.1.1 -  to access your wireless router. In case this is your first logging in, keep the username field blank and enter ‘admin’ (without the quote)

Just in case you do not do the linksys router security setup correctly it is highy recommended that you make a backup of  your present/existing  configuration. Therefore in case you set something mistakenly you may at all times revert back to the original configuration.

Linksys Router Security Setup : Step-By Step Instructions

• Click on the “Administration” tab.
• Click on Config Management.
• Click on the “Backup” button. Choose a location to keep your settings somewhere in a folder you will easily remember.
• Click the Wireless tab.
• Enter a unique SSID name for your wireless network  to be recognized when your computer clients/ laptops scans for access points.
• In  Wireless SSID Broadcast:” Check  the box that says Enable,  leave the other fields as they are.
• Click the “Save Settings” button and after that Click on the Continue button.
• Click Wireless Security
• There are two types of security mode in LINKSYS ROUTERS : WEP and WPA. WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is a 64-bits key with ten hexadecimal digits or a 128-bits WEP key with 26 hexadecimal digits For this example we’ll use WPA2 Personal encryption. Before you proceed make sure the wireless software program on your computer client  uses  this type  of security.
• In  Security Mode: select “WPA2 Personal
• In “WPA Algorithms:” choose TKIP+AES
• Where it says “WPA Shared Key:” type in whatever thing you would like here. The longer the key the harder it is to guess. Combining numbers and letters and make sure you avoid utilizing dictionary words. Keep this in a safe location.
• In  “Group Key Renewal:” enter ’3600′ (without the quote marks
• Click on the “Save Settings” button next wait for the confirmation page.
• Click the “Continue” button.

To protect our computers from viruses, malware, spyware, rootkits and all those other evil programs that can infect and destroy or steal important files, there are many solutions available to us. One of the compulsory tools for heavy internet users is firewall. Even though most Windows machine comes with pre-installed Windows firewall many savvy computer users tend to use external firewall software to protect their computers from outside intruders. This post is an overview of five best free firewalls fror Windows 7. Not exactly for Windows 7 because they are also compatible with previous Windows versions. Since many now have switched to the latest version of Windows I would only discuss the best free firewall  for Windows 7, at least in my opinion.

For those unfamiliar with firewall here is the definition. What is firewall? Firewall is application that serve as a gateway between traffic in and out of your computer, filtering out incoming and outcoming data on your  connection.

Bellow are top 5 best free firewall for Windows 7, Vista and XP

1. ZoneAlarm Firewall:

Zone Alarm firewall is one of the most popular, powerful firewalls. Its maker claims that their  software is the most downloaded firewall  on the market. You may use Zone Alarm  firewall  for free yet if you want additional protections such as anti virus and complete internet security you may purchase the paid package containing anti virus, anti malware, anti rootkit, other enhanced internet security features.  Many beginner users may find using  Zone Alarm alarm quite tricky to use its advanced features yet as you become more familiar with its user interface you will fall in love with this software.  I personally use Zone Alarm on my Windows 7 computer. You can download Zone Alarm free firewalls for Windows 7 and Vista and Xp here

2. Comodo Firewall Pro:

It ‘s the most complete solution as an integrated antivirus and firewall for complete protection with a single product. It is free to use for personal use only. You may download Comodo Firewall Pro here.

3. PC Tools Firewall :

This is one of my favorite free firewalls to protect you against attempts by external programs to break into our system. It stands out among its similar firewall applications for its simple and intuitive user interface, protection against spyware attempts to sneak in search of sensitive. PC Tools Firewall plus is also continuously updated to cope with the latest hacker threats.You may download PC Tool Firewall here

4. Ashampoo Firewall:

Produced by a company that churns out  various  software utilities ranging from mp3 ripper to video editor. Ashampoo also has firewall program among its product range that has 38 million users according the data  released by the software company. Among key features of Ashampoo firewall are

1. Quick and easy installation.
2. User-friendly interface.
3. Ability to apply certain permissions.
4. Protection when browsing the network and LAN.
5. Functions to alert in case of unauthorized access.
6. A few system resources used.
7. Expert Mode setting for more complex functions.

You may download Ashampoo firewall here.

5. Online Armor Personal Firewall

Online Armor Personal Firewall is a firewall / HIPS developed by an Australian company Tall Emu and available in two versions, a freeware and shareware. The new version, just out, is compatible with Windows NT, 2000, XP and Vista and Windows 7. The freeware version has less functionality than the paid version, and is catered to beginner users, while the paid version allows you to create advanced rules.You may download online armor here

Those are the best free firewall for Windows 7, Windows Xp and Vista. You may try them yourself to find the best suited one for your needs.