Comodo Pro

Steven Gerrard · 24. Mar 2009, 03:12 PM

Good day

I've been searching hi and low on reviews on firewalls, mostly Comodo comes up with the best free firewall...Would you people agree with that? When we talk about the leak protection and just the best overall security.

My current setup with that is Antivir9, Spyware Terminator for real-time protection and Spyware Doctor Free. I am running Comodo with HIPS enabled and Spyware Terminator HIPS disabled. Spyware Doctor as my secondary scanner. I've had more success with Spyware Doctor than SAS and Malware Bytes. I think that is a good setup, but terminator is a bit heavy on recources...

MidnightCowboy · 24. Mar 2009, 04:29 PM

Yes, I would agree with that especially since the last version of CIS seems to be very stable. There are of course other opinions! Regarding the tests, Matousec are certainly a good guide and if the 3.8 version of CIS was tested It may even take top place. It's still not really a firewall for novice users but if you are prepared to read the help file there's very little better protection available.

Rizar · 24. Mar 2009, 04:44 PM

I agree Comodo is one of the very best for security, and it competes very well against paid firewalls. Online Armor and PC Tools Firewall are the next picks, but they lack some anti-keylogger protection -- a HIPS or anti-malware function in some of the Matousec tests. Otherwise those three free products test very similar to each other, but as MC points out the newer version of Comodo may put it even higher if it solved its crashing and termination problems.

Steven Gerrard · 24. Mar 2009, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midnightcowboy

Yes, I would agree with that especially since the last version of CIS seems to be very stable. There are of course other opinions! Regarding the tests, Matousec are certainly a good guide and if the 3.8 version of CIS was tested It may even take top place. It's still not really a firewall for novice users but if you are prepared to read the help file there's very little better protection available.

Thank you for replying

What is your current security setup?(freeware)

Steven Gerrard · 24. Mar 2009, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rizar

I agree Comodo is one of the very best for security, and it competes very well against paid firewalls. Online Armor and PC Tools Firewall are the next picks, but they lack some anti-keylogger protection -- a HIPS or anti-malware function in some of the Matousec tests. Otherwise those three free products test very similar to each other, but as MC points out the newer version of Comodo may put it even higher if it solved its crashing and termination problems.

Thank you for your input.

what is your security setup?

kendall.a · 24. Mar 2009, 05:35 PM

I'm going to probably be the lone naysayer in regards to Comodo. For me, I couldn't get it to install on my computer. I tried a number of times to install it and I got errors everytime. So, I can't say whether it's the best or not. Again, I couldn't get it to install.

Instead, I installed PC Tools Firewall. (I will be adding Threatfire to that installation shortly.) So far, I've been impressed with PC Tools Firewall. Is it the best? I have no clue. Does it appear to be working and does it have a nice GUI and was installation a snap? Yes! Did I have to do anything special to setup and have it recognize my home network? Nope. Did it allow my home network to automatically see and use my one network printer? Yep! (Unlike several other firewalls I've used!) Did it pass the leaktests? Yep.

Again, I am NOT a firewall junkie. I don't even know how a whole lot about ports, allowing or disallowing applications, etc. But, I do know that, for me, PC Tools firewall was easy to install and easy to run and appears to be doing what it's supposed to be doing.

Keep in mind that I hold to the K.I.S.S. philosophy. I believe in 1 resident anti-virus, 1 hardware firewall, 1 software firewall (for outbound protection), 1 HIPS, and 1 resident anti-spyware (IF you're anti-virus does not include this feature). I don't think you need to run all of that plus Spyware Terminator or Spyware Doctor...but that's just my opinion.

Steven Gerrard · 24. Mar 2009, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kendall

I'm going to probably be the lone naysayer in regards to Comodo. For me, I couldn't get it to install on my computer. I tried a number of times to install it and I got errors everytime. So, I can't say whether it's the best or not. Again, I couldn't get it to install.

Instead, I installed PC Tools Firewall. (I will be adding Threatfire to that installation shortly.) So far, I've been impressed with PC Tools Firewall. Is it the best? I have no clue. Does it appear to be working and does it have a nice GUI and was installation a snap? Yes! Did I have to do anything special to setup and have it recognize my home network? Nope. Did it allow my home network to automatically see and use my one network printer? Yep! (Unlike several other firewalls I've used!) Did it pass the leaktests? Yep.

Again, I am NOT a firewall junkie. I don't even know how a whole lot about ports, allowing or disallowing applications, etc. But, I do know that, for me, PC Tools firewall was easy to install and easy to run and appears to be doing what it's supposed to be doing.

Keep in mind that I hold to the K.I.S.S. philosophy. I believe in 1 resident anti-virus, 1 hardware firewall, 1 software firewall (for outbound protection), 1 HIPS, and 1 resident anti-spyware (IF you're anti-virus does not include this feature). I don't think you need to run all of that plus Spyware Terminator or Spyware Doctor...but that's just my opinion.

Thank you for your input as well, what is your setup exactly if i may ask?

Anupam · 24. Mar 2009, 07:04 PM

I will agree about Comodo Pro being a good firewall. I am not a firewall expert, and I don't know much about the intricacies of firewall... but I have tried some firewalls in recent times. Of all the firewalls I tried, Comodo impressed me. I feel it is a good, solid and thorough firewall. Yes, it is not a firewall for average user. To understand its working, you have to read the manual, which is quite extensive. I have seen many people complain about Comodo being too talkative, and giving too much pop-ups, but I didn't feel so. I think those people did not read the manual properly. I found the pop-ups from the firewall very reasonable, and isn't that the job of a firewall... to alert you with pop-ups? If a firewall is there, it will alert you, it will ask you for feedback, and that's how it works. I also didn't had any trouble installing or uninstalling the firewall... everything was smooth, and it worked fine alongside Avast antivirus.

I will second Spyware Doctor Starter Edition. I have been using Spyware Doctor since the early days, and this software has impressed me a lot. It finds out the nasties which others miss. Even though, the starter edition uses a smaller signature database, it is still an effective anti-spyware. I keep it on my system alongwith SAS and MBAM, for on-demand scanning.

Steven, there is already a thread in the security forum, where you can learn about security setups of different users. Please refer to that. Heres the link:
What is your security setup?

MidnightCowboy · 24. Mar 2009, 09:28 PM

I would echo what Anupam says here and just add a few more things. First, if you read all the latest stuff about the start-up vulnerabilities in Windows and bios infiltration you would probably never switch your computer on again! So, in reality we are all accepting that there is no definitive solution which will offer 100% protection. What we are all seeking to achieve therefore is minimum risk. As most of this relates to being connected, your first step is to choose a safe browser like Opera, Firefox or Chrome and try to discipline yourself to use a sandbox. Other than that what you describe in your setup is an ideal and appropriate choice. Everyone has different opinions and most of them are just as good as mine or anyone else's but if you are happy with what you are running and confident in using it properly I would try to resist the temptation to change. Over time you will begin to appreciate more the strengths, weaknesses and configurability of your software choice and be able to manage it more effectively. Sometimes, changing can lead to confusion, frustration and infection!

MidnightCowboy · 25. Mar 2009, 01:56 PM

Many users will be aware of past problems with V3 of the Comodo firewall which prevented installation or re-installation in certain circumstances. You may be interested to learn that I have duplicated two of the situations known to cause this problem for me previously and now all is stable. The version I am using is CIS 3.8.65951.477. First I uninstalled CIS using only the 'safe' mode of Revo to ensure that at least something would get left behind. Next I installed Privatefirewall, used it for a day and then uninstalled, again using the safe Revo mode. Today I reinstalled CIS but deliberately knocked over my internet connection half way through the set-up. Having re-connected I started again and Comodo configured with no problems. It took me 5 minutes to re-enter my custom rules and now all is back to how it was two days ago. This is a big step forward from how the previous versions would have reacted to these situations. I should add that I don't use many custom rules so I prefer to add these back in manually rather than use the export/import feature which again was known to have some issues but may now also be fine.

24. Mar 2009, 03:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
Steven Gerrard Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 24	Comodo Pro Good day I've been searching hi and low on reviews on firewalls, mostly Comodo comes up with the best free firewall...Would you people agree with that? When we talk about the leak protection and just the best overall security. My current setup with that is Antivir9, Spyware Terminator for real-time protection and Spyware Doctor Free. I am running Comodo with HIPS enabled and Spyware Terminator HIPS disabled. Spyware Doctor as my secondary scanner. I've had more success with Spyware Doctor than SAS and Malware Bytes. I think that is a good setup, but terminator is a bit heavy on recources...

24. Mar 2009, 04:29 PM	#2 (permalink)
MidnightCowboy Site Manager Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: South American Banana Republic, third bunch from the left Posts: 9,250	Yes, I would agree with that especially since the last version of CIS seems to be very stable. There are of course other opinions! Regarding the tests, Matousec are certainly a good guide and if the 3.8 version of CIS was tested It may even take top place. It's still not really a firewall for novice users but if you are prepared to read the help file there's very little better protection available. __________________ Knows nothing and cares even less

24. Mar 2009, 05:35 PM	#6 (permalink)
kendall.a Foundation Editor/Forum Manager Intern Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 1,814	I'm going to probably be the lone naysayer in regards to Comodo. For me, I couldn't get it to install on my computer. I tried a number of times to install it and I got errors everytime. So, I can't say whether it's the best or not. Again, I couldn't get it to install. Instead, I installed PC Tools Firewall. (I will be adding Threatfire to that installation shortly.) So far, I've been impressed with PC Tools Firewall. Is it the best? I have no clue. Does it appear to be working and does it have a nice GUI and was installation a snap? Yes! Did I have to do anything special to setup and have it recognize my home network? Nope. Did it allow my home network to automatically see and use my one network printer? Yep! (Unlike several other firewalls I've used!) Did it pass the leaktests? Yep. Again, I am NOT a firewall junkie. I don't even know how a whole lot about ports, allowing or disallowing applications, etc. But, I do know that, for me, PC Tools firewall was easy to install and easy to run and appears to be doing what it's supposed to be doing. Keep in mind that I hold to the K.I.S.S. philosophy. I believe in 1 resident anti-virus, 1 hardware firewall, 1 software firewall (for outbound protection), 1 HIPS, and 1 resident anti-spyware (IF you're anti-virus does not include this feature). I don't think you need to run all of that plus Spyware Terminator or Spyware Doctor...but that's just my opinion. __________________ <-------Is looking for his brain....

24. Mar 2009, 07:04 PM	#8 (permalink)
Anupam Moderator Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: India Posts: 9,484	I will agree about Comodo Pro being a good firewall. I am not a firewall expert, and I don't know much about the intricacies of firewall... but I have tried some firewalls in recent times. Of all the firewalls I tried, Comodo impressed me. I feel it is a good, solid and thorough firewall. Yes, it is not a firewall for average user. To understand its working, you have to read the manual, which is quite extensive. I have seen many people complain about Comodo being too talkative, and giving too much pop-ups, but I didn't feel so. I think those people did not read the manual properly. I found the pop-ups from the firewall very reasonable, and isn't that the job of a firewall... to alert you with pop-ups? If a firewall is there, it will alert you, it will ask you for feedback, and that's how it works. I also didn't had any trouble installing or uninstalling the firewall... everything was smooth, and it worked fine alongside Avast antivirus. I will second Spyware Doctor Starter Edition. I have been using Spyware Doctor since the early days, and this software has impressed me a lot. It finds out the nasties which others miss. Even though, the starter edition uses a smaller signature database, it is still an effective anti-spyware. I keep it on my system alongwith SAS and MBAM, for on-demand scanning. Steven, there is already a thread in the security forum, where you can learn about security setups of different users. Please refer to that. Heres the link: What is your security setup? __________________ Anupam

24. Mar 2009, 09:28 PM	#9 (permalink)
MidnightCowboy Site Manager Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: South American Banana Republic, third bunch from the left Posts: 9,250	I would echo what Anupam says here and just add a few more things. First, if you read all the latest stuff about the start-up vulnerabilities in Windows and bios infiltration you would probably never switch your computer on again! So, in reality we are all accepting that there is no definitive solution which will offer 100% protection. What we are all seeking to achieve therefore is minimum risk. As most of this relates to being connected, your first step is to choose a safe browser like Opera, Firefox or Chrome and try to discipline yourself to use a sandbox. Other than that what you describe in your setup is an ideal and appropriate choice. Everyone has different opinions and most of them are just as good as mine or anyone else's but if you are happy with what you are running and confident in using it properly I would try to resist the temptation to change. Over time you will begin to appreciate more the strengths, weaknesses and configurability of your software choice and be able to manage it more effectively. Sometimes, changing can lead to confusion, frustration and infection! __________________ Knows nothing and cares even less

24. Mar 2009, 04:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
Rizar Editor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Space Posts: 368	I agree Comodo is one of the very best for security, and it competes very well against paid firewalls. Online Armor and PC Tools Firewall are the next picks, but they lack some anti-keylogger protection -- a HIPS or anti-malware function in some of the Matousec tests. Otherwise those three free products test very similar to each other, but as MC points out the newer version of Comodo may put it even higher if it solved its crashing and termination problems.

25. Mar 2009, 01:56 PM	#10 (permalink)
MidnightCowboy Site Manager Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: South American Banana Republic, third bunch from the left Posts: 9,250	Many users will be aware of past problems with V3 of the Comodo firewall which prevented installation or re-installation in certain circumstances. You may be interested to learn that I have duplicated two of the situations known to cause this problem for me previously and now all is stable. The version I am using is CIS 3.8.65951.477. First I uninstalled CIS using only the 'safe' mode of Revo to ensure that at least something would get left behind. Next I installed Privatefirewall, used it for a day and then uninstalled, again using the safe Revo mode. Today I reinstalled CIS but deliberately knocked over my internet connection half way through the set-up. Having re-connected I started again and Comodo configured with no problems. It took me 5 minutes to re-enter my custom rules and now all is back to how it was two days ago. This is a big step forward from how the previous versions would have reacted to these situations. I should add that I don't use many custom rules so I prefer to add these back in manually rather than use the export/import feature which again was known to have some issues but may now also be fine. __________________ Knows nothing and cares even less

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