Software firewall tests

Question

Scot Finnie rates the best 'lightweight' software firewalls, with an emphasis on outbound protection, ease of use, and compatibilty with other defensive apps. This is Part I of 2 (to follow). His comments on ZoneAlarm 7(free) are particularly interesting. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=printArticleBasic&articleId=9024319   Matousec.com has also published their leak-test results for various firewalls (both standalones and suites). Note the big difference between the results for ZAPro  and ZA free. http://www.matousec.com/projects/windows-personal-firewall-analysis/leak-tests-results.php#firewalls-ratings   ... and a Happy 4th to all, from the 'Great White North'.

ky331 · Answer

interesting articles.

one quick observation on Scott Finnie's article: of the five contenders/finalists he's considering (and we don't know yet which one will "win" ),

only one --- Comodo Firewall Pro 2.4 --- is a FREE (and non-BETA) product.

[and coincidentally, it earned " the top rating from Matousec, although not with its default settings"].

Message Edited by ky331 on 07-04-2007 08:22 PM

dxernnj · Answer

Joe53,   Scot F, earlier this year, picked ESET's NOD32 as the BEST AV product.   Enjoy the 4th

MoneyGuyBK · Answer

joe53 wrote:

Scot Finnie rates the best "lightweight" software firewalls, with an emphasis on outbound protection, ease of use, and compatibilty with other defensive apps. This is Part I of 2 (to follow). His comments on ZoneAlarm 7(free) are particularly interesting.
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=printArticleBasic&articleId=9024319

Matousec.com has also published their leak-test results for various firewalls (both standalones and suites). Note the big difference between the results for ZAPro and ZA free.
http://www.matousec.com/projects/windows-personal-firewall-analysis/leak-tests-results.php#firewalls-ratings

... and a Happy 4th to all, from the "Great White North".

Matousec chart "Firewalls' Ratings" brings me to this question

* When I ordered my H2C XPS720, I specifically asked to have the Trend Micro PCCillin (Rated Good) package as part of my bundle... which IS available on the Large-Biz Dell site; but I was told, I Could not get it and was stuck with McAfee suite (Rated Very Poor) :smileysad:

I even offered to pay more to get the PCCillin, but I was refused. :smileymad:

I Thought Dell says they build a PC "Just for Me' but apparently NOT The way I want it :smileyindifferent:

Peace

Message Edited by MoneyGuyBK on 07-04-2007 08:21 PM

joe53 · Answer

MoneyGuyBK: Dell has a track record of foisting both McAfee or Symantec products on purchasers. It's a pity, and I personally would not want either of these on my PC either. All I can suggest is that you uninstall these products ASAP.   dxernnj: I can't disagree with Scott Finnie's choice of Nod32. I use it myself, although I still hold the free AVs (AntiVir, avast, AVG) in high regard.   ky331: As you know, I had a lot of issues with ZA 7 (mostly concerning bloatware). I hadn't even considered 'outbound protection' when I finally dumped it in favor of Comodo's FW. It wasn't an easy decision, given ZA's track record, and its continued recommendation in this board. To date, I have no regrets; I was pleased though to find those links that affirmed my decision.

dalem29 · Answer

Much appreciate the info! :smileyvery-happy:

It really was interesting to see the difference between the free and paid for versions of Zone Alarm. I never thought much about the outgoing info...this article was a wake up call. I think I will give the Comodo free FW a go. Any other comments about it from you, or anyone else here who uses it?

Message Edited by dalem29 on 07-05-2007 07:10 AM

ky331 · Answer

testing Comodo here....

seems simple/straightforward enough...

of course, it has to "learn" about all the programs I run through the internet... but that's to be expected....

i've quickly gone through a list of most [all?] of them, so i hope my "tutoring" session is basically done by now

Message Edited by ky331 on 07-05-2007 10:38 AM

ky331 · Answer

after having such an easy time with comodo on my first machine, I decided to immediately install it on a second (my "main" machine). But it didn't go as smoothly this time...

The problem was that Windows Security Center (WSC) was not recognizing the Comodo firewall... it was saying I was unprotected. [I tried rebooting several times, but it made no difference.]

I went to the comodo forum, and found this "acknowledged" among the FAQ.

http://forums.comodo.com/faq_for_comodo_firewall/ive_installed_cfp_but_i_cant_see_it_in_windows_security_center-t9509.0.html

An explanation given was that my "Repository" had most likely become corrupted.

They gave a link to a suggested DOS/command-line procedure

http://forums.comodo.com/help/rebuild_repository_folder_to_recognize_comodo_resolved-t2479.0.html;msg19751

1) to (temporarily) turn off Windows Management Service (WMS):

net stop winmgmt

2) to remove the exisiting Repository:

rd /S /Q %systemroot%\system32\wbem\Repository

3) and then to restart WMS:

net start winmgmt

4) A message later in that thread indicated a REBOOT was required in order to get Windows to re-build the repository folder.

[ I modified their procedure, by renaming (rather than removing) the existing Repository... I figured this was a reasonable precaution, just in case their suggestion didn't work].

And it worked... at least for me. I can't say it will work for everyone, but it's something to keep in the back of your mind.

Message Edited by ky331 on 07-14-2007 05:59 PM

Dr. Lawrence Ho · Answer

As Artie Johnson used to say on Laugh In, 'Verry interesting.'

Bugbatter · Answer

As Artie Johnson used to say on Laugh In, 'Verry interesting.' We're showing our age! ;)

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