Windows Firewall Control

Not to be confused with Win7 Firewall Control from Sphinx Software.

This looks to be a decent little app, for those that use Vista and Win7 native firewall. I'm thinking about taking it for a spin.
http://binisoft.net/wfc.php

Here is a youtube video that I found.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQCT6ovi25E

If anyone here has tried it, then please let us know what you think.

[J_L]

Many people on Wilders tried it: http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=293143

Originally Posted by J_L

Many people on Wilders tried it: http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=293143

It seems to be getting some positive feedback over there. I'll think I'll wait for the next build release or two, and then give it a try.

[MidnightCowboy]

Seems Windows 7 SP1 is causing more issues with network drivers in third party software. PC Tools has had some problems and I believe has issued two driver updates which even then have not fixed it completely. I've also experienced issues with three internet security suites I was looking at to the point that I decided to run a clean install of W7 without SP1.

Originally Posted by MidnightCowboy

Seems Windows 7 SP1 is causing more issues with network drivers in third party software. PC Tools has had some problems and I believe has issued two driver updates which even then have not fixed it completely. I've also experienced issues with three internet security suites I was looking at to the point that I decided to run a clean install of W7 without SP1.

I've been using Windows native firewall for over a couple of years now. With Win7, that's all I've ever used, and with Vista prior to that, I used the native firewall for about the last year or so that I was using that OS until Win7 released.

This looks to be a decent little app that uses the Windows Firewall API, and according to what the dev said over in the Wilders thread, he's planning on adding outbound block notifications pretty soon, as well as a couple of other enhancements, like a menu that would allow a program with port and protocol options, etc.

[MidnightCowboy]

Originally Posted by JohnnyDollar

This looks to be a decent little app that uses the Windows Firewall API, and according to what the dev said over in the Wilders thread, he's planning on adding outbound block notifications pretty soon, as well as a couple of other enhancements, like a menu that would allow a program with port and protocol options, etc.

Certainly this is in need of some more features to make it appealing to the average user, and the projected development sounds good.

Setting rules in Windows firewall is actually pretty straight forward but for many, some sort of prompt as to what is happening or needed is essential otherwise there's little incentive to use it. 95% of such I'm sure will just take the easier route and install ZoneAlarm or something else instead.

[alexandrud]

Hi, my name is Alexandru Dicu and I am the creator of Windows Firewall Control. I have found this thread just a few minutes ago.

You can visit my website here: http://binisoft.org

or you can try a google search using keywords "windows firewall control" or "binisoft", and you will find the program listed on softpedia.com, majorgeeks.com, download.com, and more others.

Or visit my website to see more screenshots and found out more.

What's new in version 2.9.3
√ Implemented an alternative reading mode of security events to avoid the unhandled exception, "Length cannot be less than zero", raised on some computers where, due the fact that security logs are locked off from non-admins, the security event logs cannot be read.
√ Fixed for Learning Mode, the wrong path detection of executable files when using an operating system installed on different drive than C:\
√ Learning Mode will not activate if the following, dependant, Windows services "TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper" and "Workstation" are not set to Automatic.
√ New context menu for rule items, with the possibility to move a rule from "Programs Allowed" to "Programs Blocked" and viceversa.
√ From this version, 'Import Policy' and 'Export Policy' are available for all users.
√ Learning Mode. Show user notifications for outgoing blocked connections with detailed informations about these connections, and permit the user to "Allow Always" or "Block Permanently" the programs that were blocked by Windows Firewall. When using Learning Mode: 1) For Windows Update, DHCP Client, Network Services, and many other system related tasks to work, you must create a rule to allow "svchost.exe" to connect through Windows Firewall. 2) For network tools, like ping.exe, you must create a rule to allow "System" to connect through Windows Firewall, otherwise they won't work.
√ User can now edit the rules created by Windows Firewall Control in Management Console to Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.
√ Updated the list of rules to provide extended informations for the programs from the list.
√ Display current active network connections for the local computer.
√ At uninstallation of the program, the user has now the possibility to restore default settings of Windows Firewall, to restore the settings that the user had before installing Windows Firewall Control or to keep current settings.

Product Overview
√ Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Vista have already a built-in default, free and powerfull firewalls, but unfortunately, they lack a simple interface to define own simple rules and can be difficult sometimes to configure them the right way. Windows Firewall Control is a nifty little application developed to provide quick access to the most frequent options used from Windows Firewall. It sits in the system tray and allows user to control the Windows Firewall easily without having to waste time by navigating to the specific part of the Firewall. Options to enable or disable firewall, access Windows Firewall and it’s Advanced Security are all given in the system tray right-click context menu. It extends the default functionality of the native firewall by integrating the program into the context menu of the executable files and by showing to the user the notifications of outgoing blocked connections. This is the best tool to manage the native firewall in Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
√ Windows Firewall Control offers access to four filtering modes, each with their own status icon in system tray, and different functionality:

> High Filtering - All outgoing connections are blocked. Neither of programs can not initiate outgoing connections. This setting blocks all attempts to connect to and from your computer. With this option, you aren't notified when Windows Firewall blocks programs, and programs in the list of allowed programs are ignored.
> Medium Filtering - Outgoing connections that do not match a rule are blocked. Only programs you allow can initiate outgoing connections. If you want to allow a program to communicate through the firewall, you can add it to the list of allowed programs. For example, you might not be able to send photos in an instant message until you add the instant messaging program to the list of allowed programs.
> Low Filtering - Outgoing connections that do not match a rule are allowed. You can block the programs you do not want to allow to initiate outgoing connections. If you want to block a program to communicate through the firewall, you can add it to the list of blocked programs. For example, you might want to block an instant messaging program so just add the program to the list of blocked programs.
> No Filtering - Windows Firewall is turned off. Avoid using this setting unless you have another firewall running on your computer. Turning off Windows Firewall might make your computer (and your network, if you have one) more vulnerable to damage from hackers and malicious software.

Program Features
√ Just one small size executable file, all features are packed in the same single executable file. The same executable file is the setup program as well the program itself, and it has only 212 KB.
√ Easy to use, intuitive menus placed system tray, which allows you to configure easily Windows Firewall.
√ Quick access to Windows Firewall and Windows Firewall with Advanced Security from Control Panel.
√ Allow or Block a program to connect through Windows Firewall with just a single mouse click.
√ Quick access to user defined rules with the possibility to delete them right away.
√ Display current active network connections for the local computer.
√ Start automatically with Windows, at user logon.
√ Quick reset to default Windows Firewall settings.
√ Import and export the policies of the program, helping you to easily save and restore the program's settings.
√ Protection to uninstallation of the program when it is locked with a password.

Features for registered users only
√ Display user notifications on blocked outgoing connections, with detailed informations about these connections, and permit the user to "Allow Always" or "Block Permanently" the programs that were blocked by Windows Firewall.
√ Lock the current configuration of the program with a password. Useful if you don't want other users to alter program settings. This will disable the access to the shortcut from Control Panel for Windows Firewall and the Management Console snap-in control file that provides additional administration capabilities for Windows Firewall.
√ Shell integration into the right click menu of the executable files, which helps you to create new firewall rules with a single mouse click, right from an executable file, or even from a desktop shortcut of an executable file.
√ Reset a forgotten password used to lock the configuration of the program.

System Requirements
√ Windows Firewall Control requires to run .NET Framework version 2.0 which is already installed by default in newer versions of Windows.
√ Designed for Windows 7 and Windows Vista, this program runs on all versions, including with Service Packs.
√ Compatible with both x86 and x64 versions of Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
√ Before using this software make sure that "Windows Firewall", "TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper" and "Workstation" services are not disabled.

[MidnightCowboy]

Hi alexandrud, thanks for joining us.

A lot of users now regard this as crippleware though, since you need to pay in order to have the notifications and there is no trial.

[alexandrud]

Originally Posted by MidnightCowboy

Hi alexandrud, thanks for joining us.

A lot of users now regard this as crippleware though, since you need to pay in order to have the notifications and there is no trial.

Trial versions can be easily defeated by deleting a registry key or an obscure file on disk, or both of them. Also a variant of calling home to check a license key is a bad practice. Nag screens will annoy the users and they will decide to move to another product.

Yes, you can say that is kind of a crippleware, but there is a video on YouTube showing the full potential of the program, there are forum discussions which are talking about it, there are reviews.

I don't want to make this project a commercial one, this is why I choosed donations with a really low amount of donating. I'm developing this in my free time, after work, after faculty courses, and a commercial product will imply more expectations from the users who buy a product.

Trial, shareware, etc, supposed a commercial trade at some time, and I don't want to do this.

In the future, I will think to a solution to let a user to test the full product.

[MidnightCowboy]

Thanks for the explanation. It will now be up to our members and visitors to judge how useful the free version might be for their own particular needs.