I should be getting a new computer in about 1-2 weeks and I'd very much like to have a good and reliable firewall up and running since a I have a cable connection. I'm not too knowledgeable on the subject so I thought I'd consult you guys. I tried out the free version of ZoneAlarm and it seems to work pretty well. However, I don't like the interface too much, I find it a tad too simple and I'm always skeptical of free downloads as it is (spy/adware etc.). I used to use BlackICE Defender a while back and really liked it but I lost the install disk somehow. :(

Anyways, does anyone have any suggestions for any specific firewalls (or against any that are just plain crap )?

I use zone alarm myself (free) it dosent contain any spyware/adware that i have ever found, but its just a basic firewall. Still it is very functional and i score very well with just it when running assorted port scan hacks/tests. Black ICE was nice, then i learned about them ignoring and just covering up a defect with their protection instead of doing something about it. I do believe it has been fixed now, but still wasnt a good showing.

Kerio personal (free still i think) isnt bad, i had a few probs with it bu a good friend runs it on 3 networked comps on comast just fine.

Throw a search up on google about "suggested firewalls" or "best firewalls" stuff like that. You should run across tons of forums where you can get suggestions.

Honestly firewalls anymore seem to come down to personal pref, most the bigges like zone alarm, blackICE, even nortons firewall/af/spyware set is effective. I perfer low intrusion lower footprint firewalls. (well as low as you can get with winblows)

If you wanna go all out, get a nice port blocking router, some flavor of linux of your choice. Then bust out a nice firewall + ipblocker as well as one of the many nice spam filters so you dont have anything hogging ram on your game box.

p.s. Free isnt ALWAYS bad. open source is the only way to go, and 99% of open source is free and is still damn nice compared to any bought item thats similar.

http://www.sourceforge.net seriously, all free, all open source and will honestly be the best firewall stuff out there.
I don't know if you are setting it up on a windows machine or not though. If you are the options on sourceforge are still there but will run you thin.
I'm a avocate of taking a old 486, sticking a 2 gig hdd on it, putting in two network cards and linux. It works as a combination firewall and router. It's alot of effort (took me about a week last time I did it) but it's cheaper (pawn shop will sell you a 486 for about $20...max) and more secure than 90% of what windows can offer.
Mine held strong for about 2 years when it finally died after a power outage and everything went all weird. I miss that little noise machine (it had a broken fan blade...it was noisy as all hell)

-Alex