Avast WEBforum
Other => General Topics => Topic started by: Vlk on July 08, 2007, 02:15:05 PM
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Hi guys,
I was just wondering: what is it that you like about Comodo PF? I mean, I once trialed it and didn't find it that great - but I'd be very curious what other people think, too.
To be honest, it is probably no secret that we're working on our own PF and so I'd like to take your input as a constructive discussion of the final version of avast personal firewall.
Of course, if you have other ideas to share (not necessarily related to Comodo) please bring'em on, too!
Cheers
Vlk
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To be honest, it is probably no secret that we're working on our own PF ...
Now it isn't 8)
For me Comodo strikes a good balance between security and ease of use. Its about as tight as Jettico (according to the leak tests) but where Jettico is almost impossible to use Comodo is as easy as Zone Alarm.
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I want a fw that is low on RAM use. Jetico 1 uses between 1mb to 9mb. Most of the time it was at the lower end. I didn't have to make a rule to use ICQ voice chat in Jetico 1. I don't want to have to make rules. A firewall should be user friendly. The only 2 things I didn't like about Jetico 1 is 1) Microsoft updates couldn't be set in it 2) the HIPS were too much.
Ashampoo has a good idea. The internet connection is blocked until Ashampoo fw is up & running.
I don't like anything about Comodo! Tried it 4 times.
I hope the avast pf will be completely stand alone. Let it be a firewall, not a jack of all trades. There are plenty of HIPS & other security apps available. I hope it will play well with other apps.
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For me Comodo strikes a good balance between security and ease of use
What does "ease of use" mean, exactly? Not asking very many questions? Or the questions are well-asked? Or nice GUI? Or something else? :)
I want a fw that is low on RAM use. Jetico 1 uses between 1mb to 9mb. Most of the time it was at the lower end.
How do you measure this? Did you know that it's quite easy that e.g. in Task Manager shows as using almost no memory - while the reality is elsewhere? E.g. kernel-mode allocations dont show up in Task Manager (and most PF's do have a kernel component in place).
I didn't have to make a rule to use ICQ voice chat in Jetico 1. I don't want to have to make rules.
Of course, a robust pre-created rule DB is one of the pillars of a good PF.
Ashampoo has a good idea. The internet connection is blocked until Ashampoo fw is up & running.
I don't know if that's Ashampoo's idea but of course, a special ruleset is used by most PF's during system startup.
I hope the avast pf will be completely stand alone. Let it be a firewall, not a jack of all trades.
I too think there'll be a standalone avast PF - even though a suite will exist as well. Remember that most users (I mean average users) DO WANT suites. We simply cannot ignore this fact.
Cheers
Vlk
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I think by 'ease of use' it's not having pop-up overload asking for decisions from users that are unlikely to be able to make an informed decision. So a balance on decision overload or too slack security, a very difficult balance.
The ZA free was such a beast requiring little user input, even though the latest free ZA version is crippled and doesn't provide as good outbound protection when compared to its pro version.
Choice is a wonderful thing, so if a suite does appear on the horizon, I trust you will continue the stand alone avast AV.
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What does "ease of use" mean, exactly? Not asking very many questions? Or the questions are well-asked? Or nice
Comodo has never failed to recognize the network when I've installed it. Some firewalls require this to be manually configured which can be tough for the average user (and not something I particularly want to do anyway. Like rdmaloyjr, I don't want to be a rule writer).
The "Scan for Known Applicaitons" option saves time during the learning process, though the data base could be larger. I also like the infomation Comodo gives when alerting to a new application. It saves a little research sometimes and I think its very helpful to users who don't have lot of firewall experience.
Very importantly, when I tell Comodo to remember an action it does remember it. This was not my experience with Jettico.
The GUI with Comodo is nothing special. Even some options I know exist are dificult to find if I haven't opened it in a while. I would prefer a more logical interface but live with it as is since it's hardly ever necessary to use it.
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Comodo Firewall Pro is the best firewall that I have found so far. It has earned a "stealth" rating at Shields Up and has been easy to use. It has an Application Monitor,Network Monitor,Component Monitor,and Application Behavior Analysis. The early versions of Comodo were heavy on resource usage. Comodo listened to the complaints and made subsequent upgrades lighter on resources.Very responsive developers for freeware!This firewall has always been rock solid with no conflicts of any kind. Version 3.0 is in beta and sounds promising too. I have tried LookNStop,Kerio,Bit Defender,Sygate,Zone Alarm,Filsec,and a few others and I would take Comodo over any of them!
i hope avast!firewall will have some or all of the above monitors and light on resources and doesn't pop up and ask you everything-just the things that are necessary ;)
VLK-do you know at this point in time if there will be a free and a pro version just like the anti-virus or ???
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Of course, if you have other ideas to share (not necessarily related to Comodo) please bring'em on, too!
Vista compatability, of course.
It has earned a "stealth" rating at Shields Up ...
Stealth is OK and probably needed from a marketing point of view. Personally don't lose any sleep if I'm not stealthed.
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I like configuring PFW applications and liked Kerio 2.1.5, Jetico 1.0. Now that Jetico moved to 2.0, I began to use Comodo Pro Free.
At first, my opinion on Comodo was not that different from yours, vlk but opening up Security>Advanced>Miscellaneous>Configure window, I set Alert Frequency Level Very High, which enabled me to configure rules in a detailed manner. I still like Kerio 2.1.5 and Jetico styles, but Comodo is not that bad option especially when we are behind a security router with its own firewall. I must confess that I don't know how to measure memory usage at kernel level, but I don't feel that the application is slowing down my computer, either. Over all, I agree that Comodo is somewhere between the above PFWs and Zone Alarm, which isn't so configurable.
P.S. Vlk, you may like to browse around some security boards to read opinions. Some are very learned - Stem at wilders comes to my mind.
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Hi Vlk,
I am a late adopter of COMODO FW together with ComodoBOClean, which seem a nice accompaniment. After years of using ZA free on Win98 SE, WinMe, and WinXP SP2, I became annoyed with ZA lately, because it collapsed and it would not work together with TORPark, enabling Tor made it crash. And following all the enthusiastic postings here, I then installed COMODO.
I also could see what a firewall could bring with qualities like FwPaPI, so when you combine a fw that monitor processes with one that does packet filtering.
Packet filtering gonna be more and more important. Maybe you know that Belgium is one of the spearhead countries here, because a judge decided a certain ISP that it should filter all P2P traffic to block "illegal" (copyrighted) content being shared. So there a FW could kill two birds with one stone when this option was given, because P2P will go encrypted to avoid this, and then if they cannot put a halt to sharing they will find an excuse that will take it off completely, but then we are ready for the censored Internet 2. But for the moment we do not know what this development will really be, but it seems to go down this route. Let us all we see what will happen.
polonus
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I was just wondering: what is it that you like about Comodo PF?
Great firewall. I use it since from the beggining of the betas...
The interface could be better, but, after all is the only 'very good' firewall that we have as freeware.
I would love if you 'join' Comodo or you can increase your coding time using Comodo as a 'first' step on Alwil firewall.
Other points:
Pros:
1. Rule firewall.
2. Application and network protection (with rules).
3. Languages allowed.
4. Low resources usage (RAM), but from time to time, the service takes huge CPU cicles.
5. Updated frequently at startup (could allow a little bit more configurability on this topic).
6. Forum support.
7. Beta program allowed.
8. Good protection (leak tests).
9. Balanced decision (allow or not) and security. Configurability.
10. Standalone application (not a suite).
11. Recognize networks at installation time. Recognize added networks (for instance, VMWare ones).
12. "Scan for Known Applications" feature. Although a small database of predefined applications.
13. Free and pro versions.
14. Packet filtering.
Cons (or could be better):
1. Logging is not that good.
2. Misses a 'save configuration'. Unfortunatelly, uses the Windows Registry for that and then we need to manage registry (export) to get it, manually. Registry cleaners interfere. There isn't a 'cleaner' for non-existent programs (that you allowed in the past). For the same reason, there isn't a import feature.
3. Does not show the path of the allowed application.
4. Requires a 'must have' path for installation.
5. Does not show a 'search' button for application and components (libraries) interface to search Google, for instance, and learn more about the allowed item.
6. Not skinnable. Poor GUI.
7. Requires registering (not automatic).
8. On installation, you can make the 'wrong' easy decision to use it as Windows Firewall, i.e., allowing all outbound connections.
9. Slow on login, I mean, the Windows Central Security accuses the absence of a firewall before Comodo is loaded. Fortunatelly, Comodo driver blocks input/output connections at this login time.
10. Memory management, I mean, driver takes other applications space on memory and could lead to crash. This was deeply improved on last versions.
11. To install a new version you need to uninstall the old one. It's a pity, generates too much work.
12. Does not allow to 'dismiss' parent application check while using, I mean, you need to open the settings panel to change the rules.
13. Not (yet) Vista compatible.
I mean, I once trialed it and didn't find it that great
Why not? What didn't you like it?
To be honest, it is probably no secret that we're working on our own PF and so I'd like to take your input as a constructive discussion of the final version of avast personal firewall.
Wow... we don't need to keep this secret anymore... Is Peter Kurtin working hard on it? Does the code advance since last winter?
As you can see by my first observations, Comodo has a lot of similarities with avast 8)
Vlk, except our honored David with Outpost Pro, the most of the old guys here use Comodo right now.
Vlk, I suggest that you open a new board for the new firewall now, you can start discussion about firewalls etc. on this new board. I will either move this thread as the first of the new board.
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you've got the best security for free. No pro(high protection) and free(shit protection) like ZA or Kerio(now Sunbelt FW) or Outpost FW.
No problem with home lan. And no slowdown my PC
I use it with Comodo BOclean and AVAST! Free and SSM and other free products for on demmand. Not very difficult like Jetico(Jetico 1 will have no updates and v2 isn't free)
V3 will have HIPS, and he promises it will use little reources., then i'll unistall SSM free.
I feel quite safe.
I translated Comodo FW to Spanish of Spain(that is no my language.
Well, if AVASt makes a very good firewall, like Comodo, and it's available in catalan(my language) or spanish(my second language), i'll use AVAST! products.
Sorry my poor english :D
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David says...
Choice is a wonderful thing, so if a suite does appear on the horizon, I trust you will continue the stand alone avast AV.
I personally despise suite's...totally. I am in total agreement with David. I chose avast! for this very reason...separate from other entities. Makes it nice to be able to pick and choose what you wish to use for protection on your pc.
No problem with avast! having a firewall....just please keep it separate from the wonderful antivirus software you have.....
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Fully agree with David and news.
I've worn a lot of "Suits" in my time... ;D ;D
Since my retirement, :) I've learned that leisure wear (individual pieces of attire) is a much
more comfortable way to go. :) ;D :)
I'm actually looking for a nice casual 3 piece attire consisting of:
1. avast! Anti Virus (Missiom accomplished!)
2. avast! Firewall (Still at the taylor's)
3. Avast! Anti Spyware (Still being designed ??? )
Thanks
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I switched to Comodo from ZA a few months back when even the free version of the latter became bloatware.
From what I've heard, it's got excellent protection. Better yet, from my point of view, there was virtually no learning curve involved in making the switch.
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VLK,
Any guess of when the beta of APF will be out?
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I was just wondering: what is it that you like about Comodo PF?
I don't like it! ;D i always liked Kerio a lot more. It is very easy to use!
it is probably no secret that we're working on our own PF
Finally I can open my (big) mouth about it! Anybody remember this post of me, back in September 2006 about Alwil's "secret project" ;) --> http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=23763.0
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When ??? When ??? When ???
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Bob really meant NOW ;D Now ;D Now ;D
i can wait till is GREAT 8) GREAT 8) GREAT 8)
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Hi Vlk,
For your information I tried Comodo P.F. and did not like it. To me it wasn't user friendly, slowed down my pc and I suspected was very P2P oriented. I use Sunbelt Kerio P.F. and haven't had any problems with it. I like what I am using. Guess it's just a matter of "different strokes for different folks". :)
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Comodo Firewall is actually pretty nice (apart lack of Vista compatibility), though resource consumption was rather high compared to some other firewalls. I'll give few reasons what i like and dislike...
1. I always want nice trey icons. Thats one and first rule for any of my programs. I watch those icons all the time in trey bar and i don't want some crappy jagged icons with awful graphics or meaningles icon like Outposts blue question mark. WTF!? If there is a traffic indicator, it has to be optional. I liked avast!-s spinning ball but i prefer it stationary, because i was staring at it most of the time, instead doing something productive. If there is an option to enable/disable it, thats cool :)
2. Must be P2P compatible out of the box (especially with eMule which puts every firewall to a test).
This means it should act as Stealthed but should also not drop important packets and choke itself on resource side like ZoneAlarm does with eMule (starts to consume massive amounts of memory and CPU, badly affecting PC's speed). Sygate, Outpost, Comodo and Windows Firewall never had such problems.
3. There has to be 2 modes, Basic and Advanced. Some prefer all the features and tightest leak control (Advanced).
I don't need that as it's annoying (for me alone) but i like to keep basic control over programs connecting to internet (Basic).
So, a program checking without crosslinking over DLL's and other mechanisms. Just direct programs connection monitoring. I don't want firewall to be annoying, which becomes quiet fast even if you have massive programs database.
4. Logical and easy to use interface with settings properly categorized and arranged so you don't have to look for them over entire interface.
5. Warning popup has to be nice looking, peferably displayed as popup above clock (similar to blue VPS update popup just a bit different so you can notice the difference and of course a bit larger) or similar to McAfee Firewall popup. I liked that very much. Also info on it is displayed nicely so almost anyone can understand it.
6. It has to pass ShieldsUp tests with flying colored numbers. I know it's not much but it's a basic thing that every firewall worth using should pass (while still allow P2P tools to work properly!, this part is especially tricky because most of firewalls pass the ShieldsUp but bork up the P2P apps to the max, mostly with it's ping handling engine!). Comodo required tweaking in the Network Monitor part to even work properly on both fronts (as mentioned earlier).
So much for now. I'm really looking forward to test this tool, hope there will be a free edition of it too :)
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2. Must be P2P compatible out of the box (especially with eMule which puts every firewall to a test).
This means it should act as Stealthed but should also not drop important packets and choke itself on resource side like ZoneAlarm does with eMule (starts to consume massive amounts of memory and CPU, badly affecting PC's speed).
I've used eMule with ZA on two computers, both 1.8GHz machines, the newer one a dual core machine. ZA worked with eMule "out of the box" with no problems on either machine.
Comodo does not work "out of the box" with eMule: even allowing it server rights results in the mule wearing a mask in the tray: a low ID.
Comodo requires a special rule to work with eMule.
http://forums.comodo.com/faq_for_comodo_firewall/emule_and_bittorent_tuttorials-t411.0.html (http://forums.comodo.com/faq_for_comodo_firewall/emule_and_bittorent_tuttorials-t411.0.html)
I agree that Kerio is excellent in the user-friendliness of its pop ups: green is good, red is bad- that's pretty easy to understand. ZA is OK too with alerts that tell you an application 'wants to access the internet' wants to access the trusted zone' and 'wants to act a server'.
One drawback for Kerio is that visiting Shields Up! generates red pop-ups for incoming connections- these must be blocked with a rule for the firewall to pass this and other stealth tests- ZA blocks these connections "out of the box". One good point for Kerio is that it allows you to block incoming connections for all new applications. With ZA I occasionally get a blue pop-up telling me an application is trying to act as a server: it doesn't seem to be possible to block all new applications from accepting connections by default.
Comodo pop-ups used to talk about TCP/UDP connections- meaning it was only for people who understood network connections, but the new version has dropped these messages, talking about applications wanting to access the internet or act as a server a la ZA, but Firefox generated a message about the application wanting to act a server with a network address. This required a Google serach for information:
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=117569 (http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=117569)
ZA simply says that Firefox wants to access the trusted zone, which is a lot more understandable.
Kerio was my personal choice on my old computer until it suddenly stopped loading at boot up, when I switched to ZA. Previous to that it had intermittently refused to load and been the cause of more than a few BSOD's.
I tried Kerio on my new computer but it crashed twice immediately after installing. I reckon Kerio is the most buggy of the trio- ZA runs without a hitch, and so did Comodo during my brief trial.
To extract the main points from the above:
- A firewall should be stable.
- A firewall should stealth the computer by default.
- A firewall should have pop-ups that can be understood without knowing about network protocols and IP addresses.
- A firewall should work "out of the box" and not require special rules for individual applications.
It's also reassuring to know that a firewall will block intrusion attempts: Symantec firewall (one of the best) used to download intrusion signatures from time to time just like an AV program- not sure how useful this feature was, but it was very impressive. ZA occasionally updates itself, and I've read this is to respond to new intrusion methods. For me it's good to know intrusion detection is there, even though I don't understand it.
Well, that's just about everthing I like or don't like about firewalls: hope it's useful. ::)
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I agree that Kerio is excellent in the user-friendliness of its pop ups: green is good, red is bad ...
"green is good, red is bad" is not so good for us colorblind users. The alerts should always include a graphic or text.
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ZoneAlarm doesn't work even though you may think it does. It's dropping packets that it shouldn't and overal eMule performance is very bad compared to other firewalls. Sources take long to connect and some never even connect properly.
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The alerts should always include a graphic or text.
There is text as well.
http://www.geocities.com/dontsurfinthenude/kerio_setup.htm (http://www.geocities.com/dontsurfinthenude/kerio_setup.htm)
ZoneAlarm doesn't work even though you may think it does.
I'll bear that in mind, but since Comodo requires a rule and Kerio was unstable, I seem to be stuck with ZA.
It always seems to perform OK, well enough for me anyway.
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Sunbelt Kerio P.F.
We were very close to get this engine 8)
5. Warning popup has to be nice looking, peferably displayed as popup above clock (similar to blue VPS update popup just a bit different so you can notice the difference and of course a bit larger) or similar to McAfee Firewall popup. I liked that very much. Also info on it is displayed nicely so almost anyone can understand it.
The answer to the screen message, the time to answer, is poor... you can wait for the firewall to 'remove' the message after you click the "Allow" or "Deny" button.
Comodo does not work "out of the box" with eMule: even allowing it server rights results in the mule wearing a mask in the tray: a low ID. Comodo requires a special rule to work with eMule.
http://forums.comodo.com/faq_for_comodo_firewall/emule_and_bittorent_tuttorials-t411.0.html (http://forums.comodo.com/faq_for_comodo_firewall/emule_and_bittorent_tuttorials-t411.0.html)
Comodo required tweaking in the Network Monitor part to even work properly on both fronts (as mentioned earlier).
Well, other firewalls requires this tweaking too in order to allow High ID of P2P, don't they?
Comodo pop-ups used to talk about TCP/UDP connections- meaning it was only for people who understood network connections, but the new version has dropped these messages
You can configure this to low-level of disturbing questions...
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Hi Tech,
Comodo is fine, and allows Torpark with Privoxy enabled, but is not free of an occasional bug there to close it, allthough it isn't at bad as ZA that closes down all the time.
Comodo then reports: "You have found a bug in COMODO, now it has to close down". Annoying, really.
polonus
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Tech, i meant the look and feel of the popups, not how they work. I hate firewalls that display screen centered warnings (warning in the middle of the screen). Donno why but i hate that. I like if antiviruses do the same but so far avast! warnings were never annoying because of this.
Unless if they'll make same popup dialog just with different graphics (red burning wall instead spining radioactive logo ;) ).
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Well, other firewalls requires this tweaking too in order to allow High ID of P2P, don't they?
ZA doesn't.
ZA that closes down all the time.
??? ZA hasn't closed down once in six months on this machine. I guess different people just have different experiences with the same software on different machines.
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I hate firewalls that display screen centered warnings (warning in the middle of the screen).
You're not alone ;D
ZA doesn't.
Well... isn't it worse? Allowing server rights to all ports?
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I still use and like an older version of ZA free (version 6.1.744.001) as it does a very good job and is easy to use. The newer versions of ZA are not as good. The version I use never has crashed and it does not allow server rights without the user giving those rights.
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Well... isn't it worse? Allowing server rights to all ports?
...it does not allow server rights without the user giving those rights.
Correct. Also ZA only gives server rights to eMule, and I assume only to the port(s) eMule uses while open?
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Hey alwil, comodo decided to give you a chance :D. From here: http://forums.comodo.com/general_discussion_off_topic_anything_and_everything/alwil_software_working_on_a_personal_firewall-t10495.0.html
maybe someone should mention to them, then we can provide them our engine, so that they don't need to develop their own :) We do have an OEM programme, where we can create a version for them.
Melih
Quote from: LeoniAquila on Today at 04:11:27 PM
Oh, would you actually help a competitor? Or maybe you don't conside them as real competitors as Comodo makes money from certificates, and Alwil from AV? I believe Alwil makes a good antivirus, but any company would need help to get close to Comodo's firewall 2.4 - and any company would need more than just help, to approch CPF 3.0. ;)
Don't worry Melih, I'll continue to spread the word of Comodo, no matter what Alwil is up to!
As you rightly pointed out, we have different business models, hence we don't mind helping them at all. Any security vendor wanting to OEM/Private label our firewall is welcome to it :)
Just send me an email and we'll help you out..
Melih
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Hey alwil, comodo decided to give you a chance :D. From here: http://forums.comodo.com/general_discussion_off_topic_anything_and_everything/alwil_software_working_on_a_personal_firewall-t10495.0.html
maybe someone should mention to them, then we can provide them our engine, so that they don't need to develop their own :) We do have an OEM programme, where we can create a version for them.
Melih
Quote from: LeoniAquila on Today at 04:11:27 PM
Oh, would you actually help a competitor? Or maybe you don't conside them as real competitors as Comodo makes money from certificates, and Alwil from AV? I believe Alwil makes a good antivirus, but any company would need help to get close to Comodo's firewall 2.4 - and any company would need more than just help, to approch CPF 3.0. ;)
Don't worry Melih, I'll continue to spread the word of Comodo, no matter what Alwil is up to!
As you rightly pointed out, we have different business models, hence we don't mind helping them at all. Any security vendor wanting to OEM/Private label our firewall is welcome to it :)
Just send me an email and we'll help you out..
Melih
I thought that was a really nice offer from Melih, maybe Alwil will take them up on it :)
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Hey alwil, comodo decided to give you a chance
Interesting - but I don't think this will actually take place.
I mean, we've been working on the FW engine for some time yet (so there's already lots of effort behind it), plus I still consider Alwil a technology company - that is, it's not our business model to resell someone else's technology.
Cheers
Vlk
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Hey alwil, comodo decided to give you a chance
Interesting - but I don't think this will actually take place.
I mean, we've been working on the FW engine for some time yet (so there's already lots of effort behind it), plus I still consider Alwil a technology company - that is, it's not our business model to resell someone else's technology.
Cheers
Vlk
I agree with you.
Moreover, there's AVAST! users don't like CPW.
I am sure AVAST! firewall will be great.
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Moreover, there's AVAST! users don't like CPW.
There are many avast! user who are currently using Comodo's Firewall.
Until avast! comes out with their own which is equal to or better than Comodo's,
I intend to keep using it. Comodo's Firewall at least passes all of the leak and stealth tests
which is more than I can say for a lot of the other Free Firewalls. :)
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I use COmodo FW because is free and, how you said, passed all leaktests.
I know AFW will be better than CFW, and i expect will be lighter reources user, like AV. And i desire will bew available in my languages(catalan(1st) or spanish(2nd)
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Hi vlk,
When I know what I know about avast, I think the FW will be greatly appreciated. Very curious as to what you guys have in store for us here.
Will you launch a pre-launch for the evangelists to test it, so you have a general idea what you are offering to the public at large? In that way you have a nice bunch of beta-testers,
polonus
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Yes I would love to test Alwil's firewall and help report bugs, if that is possible I would be very willing to install it on my test machine.
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I mean, we've been working on the FW engine for some time yet (so there's already lots of effort behind it), plus I still consider Alwil a technology company - that is, it's not our business model to resell someone else's technology.
For a while I've though you'll buy Comodo technology... What have make me to think this 'strange' thing? ;D
And i desire will bew available in my languages(catalan(1st) or spanish(2nd)
If they follow the same profile, the translations are done by the users. Can you help?
Is avast (program and files) already translated to Catalan?
Vlk, please, take us out from the dark, help our curiosity, any schedule for the firewall to birth?
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AV has a catalan version, but not help files. But i don't need help files in AV.
Help file in a firewall may be essential. But if there is a FW section here, no problem.
i can help to translate.
In another forum i can speak with AVAST! AV translator.
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But i don't need help files in AV.
But other Catalans could need it...
i can help to translate.
You can ask Igor from Alwil team about it...
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I chime in Tech's suggestion of opening a board for this anticipated product.
I wrote I like configuring PWF but, strictly speaking, I like PWFs which allow me to configure them in details. I think this is one of the tendency you can expect from a product such as Avast! anti-virus. Vlk asked of the definition of "ease of use", which can taken as beginner-friendly as some people mentioned above. This will suffice in dividing the interface into simple and advanced mode. However, the phrase can be said about saving some routine tasks for more experienced users as well. I'll write down some "ease of use" features I'd like to see in a PWF.
1. I'd like PFWs to remember some common sets of rules and a list of a certain addresses I use frequently. For example, I made my own HTTP connection rule set for Jetico, named as HTTP rule and categorized it under some rules for web based apps, which also were combined into a few applications such as alternative web browsers, downloader, an RSS reader and updater. I short, I'd like to build a certain set of connection rules, which makes parts for application rules. Shame that Jetico didn't have the same future for some IP addresses such as my router, mail servers and update servers since I'd like to see such feature. Related with this, I'd like to see copy and paste functions for rules sets so that I can easily make rules from lists on more common formats.
2. To save the users from the initial bombardments of pop-ups, a streamlined way to build rules from pop-ups would be nice. Some firewalls tend not to allow users to configure rules before they reply to the pop ups. However, like I wrote in #1, some application rules and addresses may be already in the old rules and only need to be modified a little rather than making it from a ground following the same routine procedures trough pop-ups.
3. For ease of use, I like my PFW ask only once to use the same rule sets when the application in question is updated. There should be finger printing for each app but I don't like to do the same thing for each update when I am sure of what I am doing.
4. Intuitive interfaces, which I don't think need more explanation. However, it seems to be really tough to clean up interfaces and quite may PWF interfaces force user to explore a bit when they try to get more control on them.
5. Personally, I started from old Kerio and there was no advanced or simple mode. Recently I find quite many users who use simple mode tend to stay in that way for few years. I'd like to see a PFW, which is beginner friendly but, at the same time, can give information for its users to learn about their environment if they like to learn more, which will build a bridge between simple and advanced mode. Also, the users may begin to appreciate the quality of the product after getting some experiences.
6. Integrity with Avast! Anti-virus Web Provider and Internet Mail Provider. Especially about Internet Mail Provider, I see quite a lot of regular questions related with SSL connections. Is Avast! PFW will provide the users with solutions, which doesn't require stunnel or some open SSL tweaks to already existing local spam mail filters such as K9 and POPFile?
7. I guess I am being very demanding with above suggestions but this is probably the toughest, which is already mentioned equivocally in some of above posts: For beginners who don't care or are not willing to learn how things work but want protection, I'd like to see some out-of-box easy mode. In fact, someone behind our router at home tends to click on "yes" to "get rid of annoying pop-ups," which efficiently discourages me to install any PFW. I set packet rules from/to his computer most strict and let his ISP mail go through gmail, which is more convenient than building our own mail filtering server if not good for his privacy, in order to secure his computer. Is the upcoming Avast! PFW idiot-proof user-friendly enough for me to finally let him use his own personal firewall?
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I switched to Comodo from ZA a few months back when even the free version of the latter became bloatware.
From what I've heard, it's got excellent protection. Better yet, from my point of view, there was virtually no learning curve involved in making the switch. The message warnings though are slowing a bit my PC but that's ok. 8)
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Switched from ZA to Comodo after reading about it here and been very happy. If APF is as good will use it. Give us a beta to play with ;D.
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I've been using Zone Alarm (Free Edition) for years.
I've never had a problem with it. It did what it was
supposed to do and that's all I ask of any Programme.
Then...then...they couldn't leave well enough alone
and decided in their infinite wisdom to turn it into
bloatware. I loathe, hate and despise bloatware of
any kind! >:(
Well, two months ago, having read everything there
was to read about COMODO's Personal Firewall, I
got rid of ZONE ALARM and went with Comodo and
used it for about three months.
There are things I like about it and things I came
to hate about it. The things I hate about it outweigh
the things I like about it. So I have returned to Zone
Alarm Free Edition.
For one thing, Comodo is always in a "Learning" mode.
I should think that after three months, it ought to be
finished "Learning" and get down to "We got it!"
I don't always know what's going on behind the scene
in most of these programmes, but my preference is to
"set it and forget it". Let it do it's thing. Otherwise,
I get very antsy when I have to check and double
check and triple check if I've got a programme such,
as an Anti-virus checker or a Firewall, is as secure as
it claims to be.
I want my Firewall and Anti-virus Programmes to be
simple, uncluttered, easy to understand when I'm looking
at it without having to play IT Pro.
No matter how many years I've been using a P.C. I'm
never more than a NOVICE. Period.
I've been using computers since 1978 when I was
in DOS. Yet, I still call myself a NOVICE when it comes
to software.
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I want to reply each and everytime you update or upgrade a program, Comodo will send you warning messages. It's normal! Not negative at all! Try to understand the software...
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Vlk, here (http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=29905.msg246513#msg246513) you say:
My opinion on Comodo?
We haven't done any thorough tests so all the following is just my 'impression'):
+ solid protection
+ strong user community
+ nice GUI
- the emphasis on leak tests passing is IMHO misleading. Leak tests should NOT be the cornerstone of firewall quality
- moe generally, I don't like the way they market the product.
Overall, I'd say it's still one of the top contenders (although I'd personally prefer other products at the time being [but these are not free of charge]).
Thanks
Vlk
1. If the emphasis on leak tests passing is misleading, what would be the parameters to judge a firewall?
2. What would be the way to market the product that Alwil will adopt to its firewall?
Thanks.
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Bump to Vlk...
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I haven't used Comodo for a while because they seem so slow about fixing it. Can you believe it STILL doesn't work with Vista? ::)
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Bump to Vlk 2 ...
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For one thing, Comodo is always in a "Learning" mode.
I should think that after three months, it ought to be
finished "Learning" and get down to "We got it!"
When you think Comodo is finished learning, you must take it out of learning mode by going to component monitor, and clicking "On".
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Was using Comodo until a few days ago when started giving many warnings and would not seem to remember settings. Then would not let me onto some sites. Tried a repair install but no go so went back to old ZA 6.5.737 and all back to normal. Hope final version of Comodo 3.0 will be ok. But may just wait for Avast.
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For one thing, Comodo is always in a "Learning" mode.
I should think that after three months, it ought to be
finished "Learning" and get down to "We got it!"
When you think Comodo is finished learning, you must take it out of learning mode by going to component monitor, and clicking "On".
Justin,
I am having trouble trying to understand about the component monitor, please explain what you mean in the quote section when Comodo is finished learning ??? ??? ??? ??? and than take it out of learning and click it on.
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Hmmmm, what do I like about Comodo? Let's see...hmm...I can't think of anything right now... :-\
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Was using Comodo until a few days ago when started giving many warnings and would not seem to remember settings.
You can configure this level...
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This is beginning to turn into a Comodo Support Group and Fan club..... :(
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***
Is it time to lock another Comodo topic?
***
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Is it time to lock another Comodo topic
yes-but i bet someone will start another one sometime soon ;D
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Vlk, here (http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=29905.msg246513#msg246513) you say:
My opinion on Comodo?
We haven't done any thorough tests so all the following is just my 'impression'):
+ solid protection
+ strong user community
+ nice GUI
- the emphasis on leak tests passing is IMHO misleading. Leak tests should NOT be the cornerstone of firewall quality
- moe generally, I don't like the way they market the product.
Overall, I'd say it's still one of the top contenders (although I'd personally prefer other products at the time being [but these are not free of charge]).
Thanks
Vlk
1. If the emphasis on leak tests passing is misleading, what would be the parameters to judge a firewall?
2. What would be the way to market the product that Alwil will adopt to its firewall?
Thanks.
When I don't receive answers from the staff I get sad...
I don't want to ask by email... isn't this a forum? isn't if a forum a place to ask?
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(http://i12.tinypic.com/61td34p.jpg)
isn't this a forum? isn't if a forum a place to ask?
seems so if you can ever get an answer tech ??? ;D
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@ TechTM ;D
Well my personal view is that the leak tests are an artificial means to 'try' and equate one firewall against another. The problem comes when firewalls actually look out for these leak tests. Outpost got caned in the matsu(whatever) firewall test (but even so scored highly) as matsu though that outpost was looking out for the leak tests and using some hooking that he felt was wrong to achieve that.
Component control is one thing which is difficult to test, as is process injection and this may not be fully/properly tested in the current leak tests. These I feel are more important than any leak tests, the problem is how to test.
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Well my personal view is that the leak tests are an artificial means to 'try' and equate one firewall against another. The problem comes when firewalls actually look out for these leak tests. Outpost got caned in the matsu(whatever) firewall test (but even so scored highly) as matsu though that outpost was looking out for the leak tests and using some hooking that he felt was wrong to achieve that.
Component control is one thing which is difficult to test, as is process injection and this may not be fully/properly tested in the current leak tests. These I feel are more important than any leak tests, the problem is how to test.
Thanks David. Still waiting for Vlk's answer.
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1. If the emphasis on leak tests passing is misleading, what would be the parameters to judge a firewall?
Leaktests are popular mainly because they are very easy to perform: you simply run a program, and it tells you PASSED or FAILED. However, life is not that simple, unfortunately.
The primary goal of a firewall is to keep hackers out of your system, that is, prevent INBOUND attacks in the first place. I find it almost astonishing that many firewaller "testers" only focus on outbound protection, completely ignoring the inbound part (which is absolutely vital). It's like they assumed it worked flawlessly in case of all the products - which, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be the case, really.
Next, outbound protection is of course also important, but so called 'leak tests' are not everything. There's a myriad of other things that a decent firewall should do, and which are usually not assesed by these tests.
All I'm saying is that testing a firewall is a very complex task and focusing on leak tests is a gross (and inappropriate) simplification.
2. What would be the way to market the product that Alwil will adopt to its firewall?
I'm not a marketing guy, plus it's too early to talk about these things. Let's wait till the product is in a beta phase. :)
Cheers
Vlk
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Thanks Vlk.
Wishing the beta comes out this year (yet).
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The primary goal of a firewall is to keep hackers out of your system, that is, prevent INBOUND attacks in the first place. I find it almost astonishing that many firewaller "testers" only focus on outbound protection, completely ignoring the inbound part (which is absolutely vital). It's like they assumed it worked flawlessly in case of all the products - which, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be the case, really.
Agreed...totally. I'll be willing to test your firewall in it's beta stage on my test pc whenever the time comes Vlk.
I'll be around...looking forward to it.
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I am COMODO USER, but i use AVAST AV, and AV is awsome. I'm impatient, because i expect, i know, AVAST FW will be one of the best FW.
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looking forward to the Avast!Firewall....
AVAST FW will be one of the best FW.
if not the best as is the anti-virus ;)
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Let me point out another obvious but often overlooked fact.
Even though Matoseuk gives Comodo Firewall the highest leaktest rating, in the comprehensive overall firewall evalution of popular firewalls products, it is not Comodo that is ranked the highest.
That should tell you something...
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I have used a lot of different firewalls, some were rated 0 protection from "leaks" to excellent. Nothing has gotten by any of them.
ZA free (rated poor on "leaks") has kept hackers out by sometimes cutting my internet connection. A hacker tried to shut down ZA & failed. ZA held!
Jetico (rated excellent) blocked hackers & kept my internet running.
No doubt immunizers like SpywareBlaster, Advanced Windows Care Personal, SB S & D, WinPatrol & Spyware Terminator's immunizer have protected many systems from infection that had poorly rated (from "leaks") firewalls.
Secure browsers such as Firefox & Opera have defenses that have saved the day for many with poor "leak" fw's.
I have read in this forum that avast! protects from one or two "leak tests".
I'm not sure if some anti-spyware programs like AVG AS, SAS, ST & WD protect from "leaks".
My point is that I agree with vlk.
There is a lot of "crossover" protection today, if you use an av, as (real-time), a secure browser & fw. Keep everything up to date & you should be fine. Don't overdue it with too much active protection. Conflicts can occur.
I can't wait for the avast! firewall!
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Even though Matoseuk gives Comodo Firewall the highest leaktest rating, in the comprehensive overall firewall evalution of popular firewalls products, it is not Comodo that is ranked the highest.
That should tell you something...
Actually, I know 'Matousec' (conincidentally, they're also based in Prague :)) and last time we talked, they mentioned that they find it quite frustrating that most people only look for their leak test results. While in fact, they've done many more analyses (beyond leak testing). The page people should use (instead of the leak test results) is this:
http://www.matousec.com/projects/windows-personal-firewall-analysis/results.php
According to the current results, the current "king" is the Kaspersky firewall.
Cheers
Vlk
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A lot of good information on this site. Explains in detail so many things I really need to know about firewalls. You can never know enough.
Thanks for the link Vlk.
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I think Comodo users use software such as SSM to deal with the weakness. Likewise, conventional firewalls mainly dealt with packet filtering and had almost no protection against the "con-game" played by more sophisticated modern hacking attempts. In fact, some still prefer to using Kerio 2.1.5 with SSM. So, ultimately I think it comes to the combination. Nowadays routers do quite a lot of packet-filtering and, to some extent, it is natural for people to be interested in leak tests but there should be an eye on other sneaky attempts to fool firewalls.
To Vlk and other people working on firewall project, like other people here, I am looking forward what you are doing. Good luck. ;)
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According to the current results, the current "king" is the Kaspersky firewall.
It's not free... looking forward Alwil firewall.
Comodo Personal Firewall 2.3.6.81, now Comodo Firewall Pro, is a firewall with very simple security design, which is far from being perfect and misses some important security features. But the simplicity is also one of the strongest qualities of this product because a potential attacker has not much chances to bypass the implemented protection. Comodo firewall offers the best anti-leak protection among over 20 firewalls we have leak-tested. Comodo firewall is free in its full version, this can be a strong argument for many end-users. Because of the design imperfections, it is relatively easy to bypass the protection that Comodo Personal Firewall 2.3.6.81 implements. However, the vendor of this firewall is working on its new series. We were told that this is going to be much more secure solution. First beta-versions of Comodo Firewall 3 should be available in a few months.
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page 6 coming soon ;D
(http://i9.tinypic.com/6h860i8.jpg)
edited-oops! this is page 6 ::)
http://usa.kaspersky.com/products_services/internet-security.php
and tryed this for about a week-couple of months ago on my quad core desktop(kaspersky 7.0 came with computer package)and didn't care too much for the firewall-was blocking me on certain things ::)
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(http://i9.tinypic.com/6h860i8.jpg)
Dan,
You have this picture labeled wrong, It's the JA that uses comodo!
The little girl is cute & has an intelligent look in her eyes, so no doubt she uses PC Tools Firewall Plus. ;)
Personally I liked ZA best, but it is too bloated. I also like Jetico v1, but M$ updates can't be configured in it.
I don't really care for PCTFW+, but for my RAM starved pc's, I use it.
It's not a like or dislike issue!!!
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You have this picture labeled wrong, It's the JA that uses comodo!
nope-it's the right way ;)
(http://i12.tinypic.com/54ebpqq.jpg)
no disagreements here on that pic above-i hope not ::)
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rdmaloyjr,
Dan,
You have this picture labeled wrong, It's the JA that uses comodo!
I see you're still at it. Knocking a product without presenting any proof.
I know it's hard to get proof since there isn't any.... ;D
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I know it's hard to get proof since there isn't any
and there never will be any ;D
(http://i18.tinypic.com/6c4ue12.jpg)
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I feel that CFP's configurable rules have made it most successful. A noob can use default settings and be protected, or, you can tweak it so your own mama can't get in! ;D
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How many pages are we Avast forum members going to devote to Comodo PFW this go around? :)
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How many pages are we Avast forum members going to devote to Comodo PFW this go around? :)
LOL, Neal you're 100% right ! This looks like Mary-go-round...
Oh BTW, PC Tools Firewall... just uninstall it and on next reboot you'll see Windows Security Center reports it's still there... even its design points that this product looks like some unfinished doodle-like-product...
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Oh BTW, PC Tools Firewall... just uninstall it and on next reboot you'll see Windows Security Center reports it's still there... even its design points that this product looks like some unfinished doodle-like-product...
that's proof enough for me-thanks Sasha ;D
may this thread end NOW please-i know i help it along somewhat ::) ;)
I know it's hard to get proof since there isn't any....
here's some bob ;D
(http://i15.tinypic.com/4u0yruf.gif)
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Another vote for closing this thread ...
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Thx for you posts - i enjoyed reading them. I'd be grateful if someone could explain why they are using them if they have a router. I have used a little firewall called Tiny that is now no longer available. It was quite basic with just a message saying who was trying to contact you i.e. IP address and provider name... i just click on Accept, Deny, or create Formula. I read alot of comments which was that it was the simplest yet most effective firewall. Probably dropped because it didn't have enough 'bells and whistles'. ZoneAlarm by comparison was a poor thing each revision i've tried.
Now with a router it would seem it is redundant - i never get anyone trying to contact.
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FYI. In ref to the above post. I was able to find a location for Tiny Personal Firewall, version 2.0.12. Of course it's not supported anymore. To acquire it please go HERE. (http://www.fileplanet.com/58651/50000/fileinfo/Tiny-Personal-Firewall) :)
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Thx for you posts - i enjoyed reading them. I'd be grateful if someone could explain why they are using them if they have a router.
<snip>
Now with a router it would seem it is redundant - i never get anyone trying to contact.
The reason is outbound protection, some of the malware that infects systems downloads more of the same and most hardware routers provide no outbound protection.
Any malware that manages to get past your defences will have free reign to connect to the internet to either download more of the same, pass your personal data (sensitive or otherwise, user names, passwords, keylogger retrieved data, etc.) or open a backdoor to your computer, so outbound protection is essential.
Whilst Tiny might still be available at a number of old-version or archive sites, the important thing is continued development to combat new developments. So which ever you choose you should check them out (grc.com and firewallleaktester.com) with a view to protection and not just light on resources, etc.
See http://www.matousec.com/projects/windows-personal-firewall-analysis/leak-tests-results.php (http://www.matousec.com/projects/windows-personal-firewall-analysis/leak-tests-results.php) later set of results
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Comodo Firewall Pro 2.4.18.184FREE 9475 Excellent
look who's still on top of the mountain ;)
page 7 coming soon ::)
(http://i12.tinypic.com/4qicmte.gif)
may this thread end NOW please-i know i help it along somewhat
sorry-couldn't help it posting ;D
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Still am happily with Comodo :)
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(http://i12.tinypic.com/4qicmte.gif)
may this thread end NOW please-i know i help it along somewhat
sorry-couldn't help it posting ;D
You bad bad fat lazy cat......when are you going to learn to behave yourself otheriwse you won't get fed, or you can just go outside and live on Rats. :P ;D
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when are you going to learn to behave yourself otheriwse you won't get fed, or you can just go outside and live on Rats.
ain't gonna happen-that's just the way garfield is-and he likes rats sometimes ::)
and SpeedyPC-where's your avatar-don't see it ;) what happened-garfield finally caught speedy ;D
this is what i see on my end here-(http://i16.tinypic.com/4poqx45.gif)
page 7 now huh!!
(http://i15.tinypic.com/66jwdxt.gif)
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what happened-garfield finally caught speedy ;D
You ate me!...................can I get out of your fat tummy ;D..........I don't mind getting out the otherway if you light a match ;D ;D
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I hope avast! firewall will be free, just like home edition is :)
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I hope avast! firewall will be free, just like home edition is :)
Yes, it will. There will be a paid version also.
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I hope avast! firewall will be free, just like home edition is :)
Yes, it will. There will be a paid version also.
This is the problem, free and paid versions?
Well, if COMODO offers the best firewall for free, without restrictions... ZA free and Outpost free, you can see the results.
There isn't a full free AV, but if there is a full FW, and also is one of the bests FW...
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Outpost free hasn't been developed for years, it really shouldn't be even considered, it is still 1.0 when outpost pro is version4.0.
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Well, if COMODO offers the best firewall for free, without restrictions... ZA free and Outpost free, you can see the results.
There isn't a full free AV, but if there is a full FW, and also is one of the bests FW...
You're fully right. Now I see that I'm not sure that will be a free and a paid version.
The free must be full firewall. Although it could not include, for instance, HIPS and let is only for paid version.
But, you're right, why do we need a 'half' firewall for free... or it works or it does not.
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Well, if COMODO offers the best firewall for free, without restrictions... ZA free and Outpost free, you can see the results.
There isn't a full free AV, but if there is a full FW, and also is one of the bests FW...
You're fully right. Now I see that I'm not sure that will be a free and a paid version.
The free must be full firewall. Although it could not include, for instance, HIPS and let is only for paid version.
But, you're right, why do we need a 'half' firewall for free... or it works or it does not.
Exactly ! And if it's some kind of half-good product, I don't care if it's free million of times, they can even give me some money with that free version, but I still wouldn't take it. I need something that's fully functional like you guys mentioned, OK maybe without some extra features, but fully functional firewall that will protect my Windows machine. If it's not good as I mentioned already, it can be million times free, I wouldn't touch it...
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I'm a Comodo firewall user and there are a few negatives but the positives in my experience outweigh the negatives.
What I like about Comodo firewall:
1)It gets Tru Stealth at Sheilds Up.
2)It's easy to use.
3)The developer has been responsive to complaints/suggestions.A good example of this was the high resource issue in the early version of CPF.Comodo lowered RAM usage in a short period of time.
4)The program is also configurable to a certain extent.
These observations are based on version 2.4.
Version 3 promises to be a much different beast. ;)
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What I like about Comodo firewall
What do you dislike?
Version 3 promises to be a much different beast. ;)
I'm using it on Vista. Quite impressive 8)
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What I really disliked was Comodo Launch Pad!
It was a nuisance and they changed the program to eliminate having that start up.
Anything I didn't like has been fixed.
Happy to hear that you have the new version running successfully.
I like what little I have seen of it.
Comodo has a lot of interesting ideas.I have to wonder if all of those ideas are going to slow down the development and release of that version.Potentially more bugs to fix.I like the potential in version 3.0.
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What I really disliked was Comodo Launch Pad!
It was a nuisance and they changed the program to eliminate having that start up.
Anything I didn't like has been fixed.
It was only present on early versions, I think version 2 hasn't it anymore. Oh, it's installed on the disk, under Comodo folder, but does not load at Windows startup.
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Comodo Launch Pad
hey tech....what was it or what was it purpose ::) ???
page 8 coming soon ;)
(http://i7.tinypic.com/61jh7pt.gif)
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Guys, could you please stop hijacking this thread? I mean it. :(
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Guys, could you please stop hijacking this thread? I mean it. :(
hijacking ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? Sorry Vlk I don't understand sound like someone it in deep trouble.
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By hijacking, I mean posting tons of off-topic posts.
I don't want to close this thread but with all this off-topic stuff it's becoming useless...
I think I'll prune the thread by deleting all the o-t posts... 8)
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Vlk,
I understand now you are entitle to close the thread as you wish because you more control over this, and I would to have this thread close because I see to many are getting out of hand.
This is me last post in the thread as of now.
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Hi guys,
I was just wondering: what is it that you like about Comodo PF? I mean, I once trialed it and didn't find it that great - but I'd be very curious what other people think, too.
To be honest, it is probably no secret that we're working on our own PF and so I'd like to take your input as a constructive discussion of the final version of avast personal firewall.
Of course, if you have other ideas to share (not necessarily related to Comodo) please bring'em on, too!
Cheers
Vlk
I've tried Comodo, liked the interface and ease of use. Didn't like the amount of cpu and ram it uses compared to Sygate. I've read this entire thread and a few others on the +/-'s of Comodo and other firewalls by the users but assume most of them are the sole user of their pc. That is not the situation here I am a single dad of 3 sons 2 of which are teens and they have every IM (MSN, Yahoo, AIM, Skype, PalTalk, Trillian, with cam/mic all going at the same time) IRCX (private irc server for their online gaming friends and could have as many as 200 connections at any given time), mIRC, multiple browser tabs with either youtube, myspace etc. open, streaming music, online games. So what I look for in a firewall (open to trying a new avast fw) and any other security app is ease of use, low on system resources, and does the job it is supposed to do while not interfering with the multiple apps and connections that are going on almost 24/7 ( only time this pc gets turned off is during storms and rebooted 1 - 2x's a week). So far I've only ever tried 3 different firewalls Sygate started with them with v2.1 and have upgraded everytime a newer version was released until the last one before being discontinued, Keiro forgot which version was in 2004 & Comodo last Sept. then went back to Sygate.
Tried to be as detailed as possible on what all is running on this pc so you get an idea of what is wanted/needed in a firewall solution.
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That is not the situation here I am a single dad of 3 sons 2 of which are teens and they have every IM (MSN, Yahoo, AIM, Skype, PalTalk, Trillian, with cam/mic all going at the same time) IRCX (private irc server for their online gaming friends and could have as many as 200 connections at any given time), mIRC, multiple browser tabs with either youtube, myspace etc. open, streaming music, online games. So what I look for in a firewall (open to trying a new avast fw) and any other security app is ease of use, low on system resources, and does the job it is supposed to do while not interfering with the multiple apps and connections that are going on almost 24/7 ( only time this pc gets turned off is during storms and rebooted 1 - 2x's a week).
I'm not that far of thinking you need just Windows Firewall and nothing else... why monitoring a crazy demand of outbound programs? If you really wants it, I suggest Comodo after all. You can try PCTools too.
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Like Tech suggested, windows firewall is quite good and nothing else out there is easy on resources as WF is. The only problem is outbound protection which is not covered with standard Windows firewall.
Another suggestion - in case you don't have one, I'd suggest you buy and install a hardware router/firewall as soon as possible. Dealing with such a number of chat applications, online gaming etc. will be a lot easier with hardware one... and most important, it will give you a piece of mind. Of course, never forget the human factor - regardless of how good software/hardware protection we have installed, huan factor will always be the most important link in this whole computer security chain. I am sure you already explained to your kids what they are allowed to do and what they can not do when online, but most people don't spend that much time trying to teach their kids... biggest mistake they can make... and then trouble.
So, hardware router/firewall and some light-on-system-resorces software firewall...
Cheers!
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for comodo users: is it ok to edit the protocol for each application? like instead of having each protocol for incoming(TCP/UDP In) and outgoing (TCP/UDP out). the application can only have TCP/UDP In/Out protocol. thanks.
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Hi malware fighters,
What I like about Comodo FW is that it is one of two firewalls that implement the kernel mode drivers in their software correctly according to the instructions handed out by Microsoft. A lot of security software had bugs and crashed. Read the results here:
http://www.matousec.com/info/advisories/plague-in-security-software-drivers.php
polonus
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What I like about Comodo FW is that it is one of two firewalls that implement the kernel mode drivers in their software correctly according to the instructions handed out by Microsoft.
Another positive point to Comodo!
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To be fair about all this discussion about Comodo. Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall is the OTHER firewall of the two mentioned that has the correct kernel driver mode
implemented.
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But Kerio PFW isn't free.
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Yes, Kerio is free. You can try full version for 30 days and after that in case you don't want to buy it, you'll have fully functional freeware version. Some features will be disabled though, but you won't be any less protected than with full paid-for version.
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Yes, Kerio is free. You can try full version for 30 days and after that in case you don't want to buy it, you'll have fully functional freeware version. Some features will be disabled though, but you won't be any less protected than with full paid-for version.
Sure?
I prefer COMODO. All for free.
(http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/1676/classifyt9.th.jpg) (http://img217.imageshack.us/my.php?image=classifyt9.jpg)
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Sure?
I prefer COMODO. All for free.
Let's be fair. What is 'all' here? The features that Kerio is paied for aren't even available in Comodo. You can compare both free versions. Kerio (not free) has more features than Comodo (free). But, like Sasha said, you won't be less protected with Kerio (free).
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Hi Tech,
Sometimes people have problems to combine Comodo FW and P2P. I know some parties want to turn P2P into "a dirty word", but I think in some form or other it will be around for a bit ("some bits") (at least in some countries). This is a way to do it properly:
Comodo Firewall & Bittorent
A mini tutorial of how to open ports for bittorent and similar p2p programs
Go at the "Network Monitor" panel and add the following rule
Rule for TCP/UDP protocol
Action = Allow
Protocol = TCP or UDP
Direction = In
Source IP = Any
Destination IP = your computer IP adress (or "Any" )
Source port = Any
Destination port = the port your bittorent program uses for the TCP/UDP
connections e.g. 62423
You must move the rules up, over the default rule "Block IP in". (
CPF "reads/applicates" the rules from the top to the bottom)
ps. Remember that for CPF "Source IP" is the adress of the computer
which sends the data and "Destination IP" is the computer that receives
them. When your computer sends data is consindered Source, when
receives them is consindered Destination.
For using the search in Kad you must disable the feature "Do protocol
analysis" Wink
IMPORTANT
you will have to disable the UPnP option from the program you use if you
want this guide to work properly. If you don't disable it you will have NAT
problems. Wink
example for azureus:
Azureus->Tools -> Options -> Plugins -> UPnP
There uncheck "Enable UPnP"
By moving the rules you do give a priority to those rules. That is why the
rules are numbered.
#0,#1,#2, #3, etc. The lower is the numberof the rule, the higher is the rules
priority. Wink
The rule with the position-number #0 has the highest priority of all.
polonus
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Just to tell that I've moved from Comodo to PCTools firewall on Vista.
Less bells and whistles because HIPS is not present.
Also, it's recognized by Vista Security Center.
Also, we have the very recommendable applications from PCTools over Vista (like Spyware Doctor Starter Edition).
On XP SP2+, I'm still with Comodo version 2 (Stable).
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In vista, I'm using Vista FireWall Control (http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/order.html). It's about as light as a feather.
In XP, i'm using the windows firewall and a Netgear router with built in firewall.
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In vista, I'm using Vista FireWall Control (http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/order.html). It's about as light as a feather.
No doubt it's light... but I'm looking for configuration capabilities (as usual ;D).
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Just to tell that I've moved from Comodo to PCTools firewall on Vista.
Also, we have the very recommendable applications from PCTools over Vista (like Spyware Doctor Starter Edition).
I've give up on both.
Lack of detection: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=30622.msg254436#msg254436
Bad uninstallation process: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=30742.msg254437#msg254437
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I like this.
This seems contrary to what most have posted relating to comodo and connecting to the internet.
http://forums.comodo.com/help/2_ques...s-t5675.0.html
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;D
Hi,
I love my lifetime look'n'stop with phantom's ruleset with a light impact in my system because of low on RAM use and It is considered very stable and secured one. But I like comodo softwares they have pros an cons. Nowadays CFP is considered the best fw as matousec says and everybody is repeating.Their developer is very bright with a great support team. CFP 3.0 will improve it a lot. But I think its ram resources it's eating a lot of ram resouces yet. It should be lighter. FW can't be system resources bloated.This is my modest opinion. Best Regards.
Hi guys,
I was just wondering: what is it that you like about Comodo PF? I mean, I once trialed it and didn't find it that great - but I'd be very curious what other people think, too.
To be honest, it is probably no secret that we're working on our own PF and so I'd like to take your input as a constructive discussion of the final version of avast personal firewall.
Of course, if you have other ideas to share (not necessarily related to Comodo) please bring'em on, too!
Cheers
Vlk
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For me Comodo strikes a good balance between security and ease of use
What does "ease of use" mean, exactly? Not asking very many questions? Or the questions are well-asked? Or nice GUI? Or something else? :)
Well asked questions ;D And user interface in most cases is friendly and not very complicated. Although, sometimes it is not enough to be just a basic user to understand about what action you are asked. So, I never recommend comodo for first day users ;D For those I' suggesting ZA. totally simple basic interface, but.... it's not as secure as comodo. And actually i haven't got nay software/hardware conflicts with it.
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In vista, I'm using Vista FireWall Control (http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/order.html). It's about as light as a feather.
In XP, i'm using the windows firewall and a Netgear router with built in firewall.
I'm too behind the router, but... I don't like XP firewall is not monitoring outgoing traffic in most cases...
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The problem with Vista FireWall Control (http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/order.html) is that it does not check parental application. A malware can easily use the browser (allowed to connect) to download and mess things...
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The problem with Vista FireWall Control (http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/order.html) is that it does not check parental application. A malware can easily use the browser (allowed to connect) to download and mess things...
If you allow a program access to the net, then it makes no difference which Firewall you use. Once you've given a program the green light, it's gone.
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If you allow a program access to the net, then it makes no difference which Firewall you use. Once you've given a program the green light, it's gone.
Nope... it can access directly but not as a parental application.
It could access using a parental application but not other one...
The way of access is a security rule for the firewall.
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Hi tech,
Just to let you know my love affair with Comodo 3 beta and AVAST on Vista goes on. Now, I've set-up a wireless network between my Vista and XPpro pc, Comodo 3 beta did like a charm. I'm impressed! ;)
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Hi tech,
Just to let you know my love affair with Comodo 3 beta and AVAST on Vista goes on. Now, I've set-up a wireless network between my Vista and XPpro pc, Comodo 3 beta did like a charm. I'm impressed! ;)
I couldn't install Comodo beta on my Vista system.
Just a nightmare discussed on Comodo forums...
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I'm really hesitant about downloading Comodo because I've skimmed the net and have seen user reviews stating that it takes up around 60% of your CPU without any reason mostly. Any thoughts?
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Actually, I've never faced this kind of problem with Comodo... ??? Works like charm in here.
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I'm really hesitant about downloading Comodo because I've skimmed the net and have seen user reviews stating that it takes up around 60% of your CPU without any reason mostly. Any thoughts?
Old Comodo versions have this issue... it came back some times, but their support work to solve them very quickly.
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Does that mean it doesn't have crazy CPU issues anymore, Tech?
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Does that mean it doesn't have crazy CPU issues anymore, Tech?
Not that I'm aware of. Are you using (testing) the version 2 or the beta 3?
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I just recently downloaded the most up to date version. Though in the "About" section on Comodo it states that I have version 2.4.18.184... and certified applications database version 3.0.
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version 2.4.18.184
This version is very stable on XP. I don't have problems with it (I use it in my XP computer).
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Yes, it seems to be stable so far. :)
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I also have just downloaded the latest version of Comodo. I am impressed. It has changed from the older first early versions that were available to us. Now, I see that it is very user friendly and effective. I was wrong in believing that it still was like it used to be. It has changed. Very nice program.
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Finally found something to replace Kerio Sunbelt Firewall - Comodo ;). Definitely happy that I downloaded Comodo now. It runs quite smoothly without any hassle in regards to anything so far.
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it looks like online armor is starting a free verison
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=187975
looks intersting :) to compete agenst comodo v3 maby :)
Online Armor Comparison
http://www.tallemu.com/comparisons.html
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Hi Lurkinatu2,
A little lurking of the forums would reveal this, http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=30808.msg256548#msg256548 (http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=30808.msg256548#msg256548), starting from that post there is a lot about OA and not all of it good.
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i'm sorry about that i looked around did not see nothing about it i just wanted to get your guys
take on it :) i'v got a friend that i'm trying to help find a easy firewall to use she uses
the windows firewall and has 2 teen girls that like myspace :( oh well back to comodo thanks :)
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No problem, I only know about it because I remember it and only found it because I did a forum search for online armour, easy really ;D
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I really liked nothing about comodo.... :-X
Stuff I would look out for in a firewall:
1> Quick startup
2> Low resource Utilization
3> Ability to manually choose which protocols to allow and block (like with guarddog under linux http://simonzone.com/software/guarddog/#screenshots)
4> Be totally seperate from my Antivirus
5> Set it forget it. I dont mind if it asks a lot of questions during its 'training' period but once set up it should ask minimal questions.
When is the avast PF comming out neway?
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8)
hi, I quoted you "Ability to manually choose which protocols to allow and block (like with guarddog under linux http://simonzone.com/software/guarddog/#screenshots)". I know exactly what you meant because I'm a linuxer but what I can say to you. use pctools firewall because it's free and good. otherwise, I like best the look'n'stop firewall which I have a lifetime license, but both are not compared to the guarddog. I don't want to cause a flame about this subject because it depends upon someone's opinion and taste, but if you check the international tests you choose comodo personal firewall. but my opinion matches to you I'd rather to have something light resources and not with too many popups.it's a difficult choice. good luck! best regards.
:D
I really liked nothing about comodo.... :-X
Stuff I would look out for in a firewall:
1> Quick startup
2> Low resource Utilization
3> Ability to manually choose which protocols to allow and block (like with guarddog under linux http://simonzone.com/software/guarddog/#screenshots)
4> Be totally seperate from my Antivirus
5> Set it forget it. I dont mind if it asks a lot of questions during its 'training' period but once set up it should ask minimal questions.
When is the avast PF comming out neway?
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Hi...
From the tiny bit of experience I have with Comodo (installed it for a customer,) it seems to be a nice firewall that from what I saw, worked well with avast. The list of options seemed impressive and it didn't bog their system too much upon bootup. I would use it myself, actually. :)
Best Regards...
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I upgraded to the latest Comodo firewall and it denied access to my wireless modem. Becuse teh interface is so confusing I was not able to get back Internet connection, so I uninstalled Comodo. I'm now limping along with Win XP built-in forewall and I'm looking for a better free firewall. I want one that is as simple to use as Zone Alarm free.
Last time I used Zone Alarm it didn't get along with Avast. Is the new one better? Is there another easy to manage free firewall I can use?
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ZoneAlarm gets along great with avast! on my computers. :)
Try the latest version here (http://www.filehippo.com/download_zonealarm_free/).
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I tried Comodo and didn't care for the way it showed what was connecting to the internet...Still prefer ZA because I have been suing it for almost 10 years and really like the way it shows what is going out as well as what is coming in.I like the alerts and the way it shows the product mfg and date.I also think the ZA user interface is more user and noob friendly then comodos'.
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I installed Comodo last year and hated it. All I want is a lightweight, easy to use firewall which won't keep bothering me. This drove me to distraction with its constant messages and complexity. Uninstalling it was a nightmare - Vista security centre was still reporting it as active after I had removed it.
After many hours of sourcing information about this, I finally managed to get rid of it by re-installing, uninstalling again using Revo Uninstaller (deep scan mode) and then using a batch file supplied from the Comodo forum.
Even then the 'fun' wasn't over - the batch file had disabled the security centre and when I restarted it was not monitoring my AV so I ended up reinstalling it. All is OK now but I really can't do with companies who make their products so hard to remove.
If Avast would care to develop a firewall that is lightweight, simple to use, and not take up a sizeable proportion of the computer's CPU then I would be happy to use it. For now, I am sticking with Vista firewall, the one in my router, and the firewall provided by my ISP at their end. It must be OK as so far I haven't had any infections (using Avast which I like enormously and Defender).
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If you want to change vistas own firewall into a 2 way one that is not to hard to configure I would suggest vista firewall control by sphinx software.I got it for free also.C net and others have it or get it direct from sphinx. ;)
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Download Vista Firewall Control (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download5578.html)
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Thank you for the information about Vista firewall/two way configuration. I have been researching this on the Internet but it seemed a bit complicated.
I will go and look at the link because this is really what I would like to do if possible.
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Registered less than 24 hours ago and already have a good bit of information. Read up a bit and downloaded the Vista Firewall Control and it is an absolute joy - so simple and easy to configure. Already it has alerted me to the Google installer wanting access - going to check this now because am not sure why I need it. Thank you for the advice.
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I wanted to know if anyone has good advise to offer about which free firewall works best with Win XP SP2 and Avast. Comodo proved too complex and confusing, Online Armor reviews mentioned it doesn't perform well and Zone Alarm is bloated and nags.
Anyone used (successfully) Sunbelt Personal Firewall (free version)??
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The first thing I would suggest is getting XP SP3 as it has been out for over 6 months now and closes some exploits and gives some added security.
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I wanted to know if anyone has good advise to offer about which free firewall works best with Win XP SP2 and Avast. Comodo proved too complex and confusing, Online Armor reviews mentioned it doesn't perform well and Zone Alarm is bloated and nags.
Anyone used (successfully) Sunbelt Personal Firewall (free version)??
Don't know what version of Online Armor you are referring to, but sites like Matousec http://www.matousec.com/projects/firewall-challenge/results.php , Scots Blog http://blog.scotsnewsletter.com/2008/03/24/the-best-firewall-software-of-2008-online-armor/ , and Wilders http://www.wilderssecurity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31 rate OA very highly as both a firewall and a HIPS. Or Wilders http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=230726 for a recent discussion of firewall selection. New version 3.1 should be out soon, since there is a public beta of it at their site http://support.tallemu.com/vbforum/forumdisplay.php?f=23 . i use the paid version on two Vista machines, the free version on an XP SP3 . All work well with Avast! I used Sunbelt when it was Kerio 4, liked it OK but the HIPS is not included in the free version, and overall performance seems to have fallen behind some of the others. Also used Comodo Firewall/D+ for a year and was a moderator there; now use paid OA in preference to free Comodo.
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In reference to Online Armor, CNet had a couple of poor reviews and one mentioned that it was hard to remove if (and when) required.
http://www.download.com/Online-Armor-Personal-Firewall/3000-10435_4-10426782.html?tag=lst-1&cdlPid=10989958
Other than this comment, it sure looks like the app is fine by others ratings. Thanks to all for the info and personal experience.
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Give the OA free version a try-either the public beta of 3.1.14 at http://support.tallemu.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=6706, or wait a few days to see about the next public release. There are usually more issues with the first public release of a product like 3.0.190, but the extensive beta cycle has certainly shaken most things out now. Haven't heard of removal problems, but could be with some configurations. I remove it and reinstall it regularly as a beta tester. Also find that OA is very quick with fixes and help from the actual developers as well as the volunteers. Important thing is to find a firewall that suits you, though, and what you think is important, and Wilders is usually a good source for commentary.