Free firewall?

hi

i use windows xp, have dsl net (2 mb/sec), i have avast antivirus, i want to know if a firewall is necessary, because everytime i activate zonealarm , free version ,it ends up blocking my internet connection, i cannot surf, it works for some time then againit gets blocked , inspite of my isp ip address being in trusted zone,in addition zonealarm is huge about 10 mb , and they remind me of updates which r 16 mb, also tried jetsico, can u recommend a good, free , low size, less irritating, firewall, it should be free and just do what a firewall does but silently, not block my net connections !!, i have avasti antivurus its free but still works so well !!

Free firewall?antivirus protection

You are correct. ZoneAlarm will slow down the connection you have to the net. Best free firewall to go with is comodo.

Free firewall?computer repair

sygate personal firewall but it is no longer updated.

the most important thing to do is, anyway, learn the basic function of firewalls, since they all work the same way.

your net connection is blocked probably because you told zone alarm somehow, somewhere to block it in certain cases.

firewall are like every other computer programs: if you don't know them, they hardly do what they have to.
i use AVG and its free
You should try Comodo Firewall. It has a learning mode thats easy to understand. The first time an app tries to connect to the internet it will ask you to allow or deny it. You can check a box before you allow or deny to make a rule to always use that answer when that app connects. It is the best firewall available and it's free:

http://personalfirewall.comodo.com