I have massive problems with the Comodo firewall after upgrading to version 7 (don't want to bore you with the details, but if you're interested, here's a long write-up), and so I'm looking for alternatives again. I'm pretty much out of the loop since I changed to Comodo in 2006, so I would appreciate some recommendations.

I'm looking for a firewall that meets the following criteria:

1. Offers good protection. Though, to be honest, I find it increasingly difficult to determine which kind of protection I really need, and which is just unnecessary overhead with a less than one-in-a-million chance to ever become relevant.

2. Assists me in creating rules for my applications, ideally with an efficient and easy-to-use rules creation wizard.

3. Can handle large amounts of data. Should be able to handle rules for 2000+ concurrently installed programs without running into hiccups or performance issues.

4. Allows me to specify very detailed rules if desired (e.g., allowing a game's connection to one group of IPs, but not to another; separating incoming and outgoing traffic, etc.)

5. A bonus feature would be the ability to batch process rules for an entire group of programs, e.g. I don't want to have to specify individual rules for 1500 games again.

I don't really need antivirus features or adblock features, I'm using dedicated programs/plugins for that.

Any recommendations? What are your own experiences with firewalls and large rulesets? Also, did I miss any important criteria?

I stopped using software based many years ago.. Go with a good hardware firewall. Use the built in windows one if you want also. But hardware firewall all the way. Just look up in the info on the net.

I know that hardware firewalls are the best option in terms of security, but I think I forgot one very important criterion - it should be free product. ;)

ive crashed and burned it the past With various firewalls. Atm i am just trusting in win8.1 own meek firewall and My router. 3rd party firewalls started to cause more Trouble Than What i felt Was worth.

Sorry that Can't be Really helpful about This.

Thanks for sharing, I'm also using Comodo Firewall, albeit not updated since 5.12...
Was about to update but upon seeing so much problems, I guess I'll just use the old version which haven't managed to fail me in anyway.

What this guy said.
Just practice safe computing!

You could try IPCop (http://www.ipcop.org/) - the software itself is free, all you would have to provide is the hardware to run it on. Because it is Linux based (though all the administration is through a web interface) you can run it on pretty low end hardware.

Mixing your gaming machine use with network security needs sounds like a recipe for headaches to me...

Whenever I see Comodo I start to cringe, what good is antimalwaresoftware if that software hoses your system as much as malware does?

I've been using Privatefirewall for a couple of years now and suits me well.

I've always had this reservation against some of the more intrusive antivirus programs, but so far, my firewalls (including Comodo) didn't hose my system. Until now. I've seen that reviewed favorably. The general verdict sems to be "powerful, secure, lots of features, might be overwhelming to new users". The last point doesn't necessary bother me if I can set up some efficient rules / group management after an initial phase of getting accustomed with the product.

Question is, does "Private Firewall" still get further development and updates? A well-designed firewall probably doesn't need as many updates as (say) an antivirus program, but in case that some vulnerability gets discovered, I would want some developer to be there and provide a patch.

Maybe this helps: http://www.chip.de/artikel/Firewall-Test-Kostenlose-und-kostenpflichtige-Tools-fuer-Windows_32878576.html

I had similar experiences with Comodo a few years ago and it seems nothing has changed. =P It's at least updated once a year, maybe twice but not more.
You also need to do the updates manually, deinstall the old version, install the new version and if you want to bring over the exceptionrules etc. you made in the old version you have to copy the file manually too (I think).

Yes - http://www.privacyware.com/PF_support.html
I'm using this on my XP machine, on 7 I use Windows firewall.

Comodo Internet Security got all you needz

A bit late, but honest question - did you actually read the OP?

yup but still from my point of view its the best out there and ive never ran into any problems with it :) so thats still my honest oppinion