Firewalls

Valmont · 20-09-2010 12:43AM #1

I have AVG up and running as my anti-virus program but I'm having trouble with firewalls. I installed Comodo and it is really annoying; there are at least ten prompts every time I download something and when I start the computer up. Are there any free firewalls that don't require so much interaction?

bhickey · 20-09-2010 07:22AM

Windows since XP already contains a built-in firewall so unless you need to do something pretty strange then that should be fine. As for interaction, you'll hardly know it's there - which is the way firewalls should be.

marco_polo · 21-09-2010 05:10PM

I don't use Comodo at the moment but after the initial settling in period it usually sits fairly quitely in the background.

Remeber Comodo is not just a firewall it is also has a very active HIPS (Host Intrustion Protection System) which monitors process exectution, registry settings, host file etc in real time as well, which is actually the cause of the bulk of the popup messages, not the firewall itself.

The HIPs is fairly configurable so it should be possible to turn down the level of protection (Clean PC mode or something like that).

Alternatively you could turn off the HIPS part (called Defense+) entirely and just use the firewall, making sure you click 'Remember my answer' each time you allow a inbound or or outbound connection (thus creating a permanent firewall rule) it should quickly become unintrusive after a day or so.

But Comondo a poweruser application and overkill for most users, although if using XP personally I would prefer Comodo as XP firewall does not monitor outbound connections. (Not an issue with the Vista / Win 7 firewall)

donaghs · 24-09-2010 06:59PM

I'd second what marco_polo says. Firewalls like Comodo and ZoneAlarm are more "intelligent" and hence require some management by the user. Once it has gotten used to your computer habits, you should rarely get a prompt from it. But every new internet related activity, or application may require some action, because they are after all a new potential threat.

The original XP firewall wasnt much more than a port blocker. Crude, not too effective, but better than nothing. The latest ones (SP2, SP3) have more features and should suffice if you to stick safe browsing and online habits.

Firewalls

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