windows firewall

[Arnold72]

Thank you craigb and please excuse my lack of knowledge on firewalls.
I know that running two firewalls is not adviseable but is there any way possible i can run OA and the windows firewall too?
I know its a silly question but is it a viable possibility?
Thanks.

[CraigB]

Thank you craigb and please excuse my lack of knowledge on firewalls.
I know that running two firewalls is not adviseable but is there any way possible i can run OA and the windows firewall too?
I know its a silly question but is it a viable possibility?
Thanks.

Not possible im affraid, well you can activate the windows firewall if you want but you'll end up with problems - OA should have disabled the windows firewall automatically when you installed it.

The avast firewall is the only firewall i know of that can safely run with the windows firewall.

[Para-Noid]

The avast firewall is the only firewall i know of that can safely run with the windows firewall.
[/quote]
+1

[SafeSurf]

I'm a former OA tester, and you should have plenty of protection with OA, which is user-friendly and configurable.  Yes, OA does disable Windows firewall when in use, and turns on the Windows firewall when OA is disabled.  Because OA is strong with HIPS, you shouldn't need Windows Firewall at all, esp. if you have XP.  You can see from my Signature that my machine is XP and that is why I wanted a strong firewall.  Just make sure you add the mutual exclusions (make OA and Avast "trust each other") for each software.  If you have questions how to do this, I can explain how to do this step by step and it's very easy for both software.  You would need to do this for any firewall other than AIS (Avast).

[Arnold72]

I'm a former OA tester, and you should have plenty of protection with OA, which is user-friendly and configurable.  Yes, OA does disable Windows firewall when in use, and turns on the Windows firewall when OA is disabled.  Because OA is strong with HIPS, you shouldn't need Windows Firewall at all, esp. if you have XP.  You can see from my Signature that my machine is XP and that is why I wanted a strong firewall.  Just make sure you add the mutual exclusions (make OA and Avast "trust each other") for each software.  If you have questions how to do this, I can explain how to do this step by step and it's very easy for both software.  You would need to do this for any firewall other than AIS (Avast).

Thank you very much for your input on OA.
Ive always liked OA and it has very good reviews and from what i understand it is one of the best firewalls out there.
It runs beautifully with avast and ive never had any problems with either programs.
Just out of curiousity how strong a firewall is online armor in regards to tests etc.?
Kind regards.

[Dch48]

OA runs fine if you leave the HIPS portion on. If you disable it, then you can have problems, including hard lock ups of the system. That was my experience and since I do not like HIPS, I got rid of OA.

[SafeSurf]

With the newest version of OA (the lastest version is 5.5.0.1616), you can configure OA as you please.  That means turning on/off HIPS, web shield, and using different modes (Standard/Advanded/Banking) etc.  There are no problems or conflicts that I have experienced.

If Dch48 was having hard lockups, perhaps he didn't mutually exclude the software properly with Avast and OA with the older versions. 

The best way to exclude both OA and Avast is the following:

To exclude OA in Avast:

·   Settings > Exclusions > Add > search for Online Armor and click on the box to the left of it and add it, then click OK.
·   Real Time Shields > Expert Settings > Trusted Processes > Add > search for Online Armor and click on the box to the left of it and add it, then click OK.
·   Behavior Shield > Expert Settings > Trusted Processes > Add > search for Online Armor and click on the box to the left of it and add it, then click OK.  Also change action to take in Behavior Shield to “Ask.”

To exclude Avast in OA:

·   Open the OA GUI > Options > Exclusions > Add > click on the pop-up window and find C:\Program Files\Avast Software\.

·   When you reboot OA (to go into Learning Mode), make sure ALL Avast shields are left on.

·   Reboot your machine again; OA requires two boots.  After this second reboot, you may get a pop-up asking you if you trust Avast.  Answer the pop-up as "Trust Always" and "Remember My Decision" and you should not get any more pop-ups. 
·   Open the OA GUI > Programs > untick "Hide Trusted" so that you can see everything > look to make sure everything from Avast is not "blocked" (red) or "ask" (yellow).  If it is, right-click the item and change it to "Trust."  Reboot.

·   Open the OA GUI > Options > Backup/Restore > Save your settings once you have everything the way you want it.


Both of these software have made it possible to be more compatible with other security software as well.  I think you will be pleased.  But as I suggested earlier, do a trial version first to make sure you like it, it plays well with your other software on your machine, and know how to uninstall it prior to you installing it.