windows firewall........is it any good

[2shoes]

just downloaded a free one and it is doing my head in. I am running AVG now, so need a firewall.
will the windows one be ok.
if I down load a free one, which one should I go for. preferlably one that will not make everything go slow.

Windows firewall doesn't have a great reputation. To be honest I don't know anyone that uses it and whether it's poor reputation is justified.

Most people I know use ZoneAlarm.

that is what I have downloaded. it was being a pain, but seems to have calmed down a bit now.
ds just kept saying that the windows one would do(as only a 16 year old can)
thanks

I use Windows Firewall, the version in Vista works fine.

When I was on XP I used ZoneAlarm though, so cannot recommend the Windows XP firewall. AFAIK the bad reputation was based on the XP firewall which tended to work TOO well and stopped things working on corporate networks.

More importantly, if you are running the free version of AVG you need some proper anti-virus software that scans downloads (including ActiveX) on the fly. Neither AVG Free nor any firewall will do that (it's not what firewalls are for).