When comparing Portmaster vs Windows Firewall, the Slant community recommends Windows Firewall for most people. In the question“What are the best firewall tools for Windows?” Windows Firewall is ranked 4th while Portmaster is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose Windows Firewall is:
Most experienced (amateur) users use just a frontend application beside Windows Firewall like TinyWall, Glasswire, Windows Firewall Control. If you don't want to bother and spend a lot of time tweaking: use solely the integrated Windows Firewall. [Wilders Security Forums](http://www.wilderssecurity.com/) can be used to learn and know about the lastest trends.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Free version
Pro Most other firewalls use the Windows Firewall API anyway.
Most experienced (amateur) users use just a frontend application beside Windows Firewall like TinyWall, Glasswire, Windows Firewall Control. If you don't want to bother and spend a lot of time tweaking: use solely the integrated Windows Firewall. Wilders Security Forums can be used to learn and know about the lastest trends.
Pro Automatic updates for newly installed/ removed programs
Cons
Con Not very intuitive
The already included Windows Firewall is not very easy to set up. Although new rules might be set up very fast, it's hard to understand what's going on for normal users.
Con The notifications aren't very helpful
The notifications just pop up once. If you press the wrong button it's hard to go back and change your choice. And not all programs that connect to internet will trigger a notification.