Here is my situation,
For some reasons i am on an old AMD Athlon 600 MHz CPU with 512 RAM junk machine (Windows XP SP2 Pro), and will have to stay on it for a while.
After the last virus attack I hardly recovered from, I feel I can’t rely anymore on Windows Firewall, it just doesn’t do anything to protect me.
I would really appreciate an advice for an alternative Firewall that would be protecting better than Windows Firewall, but would take just as many resources as Windows Firewall does.
Please consider seriously that I am on an old machine and working with monsters like Photoshop, every bit of RAM and CPU power matters to me, and i would kindly ask you to advice me only software you are sure about (not just for advertising purposes), and have tested it and know what you are talking about.
p.s. by the way I am really want to know:
1. How many resources take Windows Firewall and where can I check such data?
2. How exactly can I check if my Windows Firewall is really running (and doesn’t just appear as ON in control panel, or Security Center) because after the last attack I am not sure anymore if my firewall is running at all…

Hi-- welcome to PCHF


Windows Firewall is not vey effective.
In your case-- you want to be sure you are completely clean before going further. Some bugs disable firewalls (hidden from the user)
Please follow the Prework link in my sig (below)-- and post the required logs in the HJT logs forum for security team analysis.

A good free firewall is Comodo-- as to exactly how many resources it will use... the only real way to know how your system will react is to try it out. One thing is certain -- you should not be online these days without good protection.
In order to maximise available resources-- in XP -- a good guide is needed-- there are many,many things running in XP by default... that the average user does not need at all.
Windows XP Home and Professional Service Pack 2 Service Configurations by Black Viper
is a great place to figure out what works for you .
Windows will tell you if something it needs is disabled.

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Very useful link.
Thank you a lot.