App Review Comodo Firewall vs a new Data Stealer

[rashmi]

Average user's need to learn how to clean install Windows anyways.

People do not learn by having the software do it all for them. The last thing the world needs are billions of ignorant, incapable users that do not know what to do. That is exactly what the world is full of. Until that problem is fundamentally solved the malware problem will never stop. It will only get much, much worse in the coming years because the bad guys are much better funded, have better resources, and they got Thug Life AI on their side. They just cannot lose.

This is the extended information about average users in my comment.
"Average users shouldn't use Comodo, but it's one of the easiest default-deny setups to learn and use. I suggest installing Comodo on average users' systems, as long as you can handle it."

The first sentence is clear: I do not recommend Comodo for average users. In the second sentence, I meant "average users can use Comodo if they have someone to manage it." (In several Comodo threads here, I have shared these thoughts about Comodo and average users.)

 

[ForgottenSeer 114834]

Average user's need to learn how to clean install Windows anyways.

People do not learn by having the software do it all for them. The last thing the world needs are billions of ignorant, incapable users that do not know what to do. That is exactly what the world is full of. Until that problem is fundamentally solved the malware problem will never stop. It will only get much, much worse in the coming years because the bad guys are much better funded, have better resources, and they got Thug Life AI on their side. They just cannot lose.

That's a catch 22 scenario right there isn't it? Not one I recommend. Give all these users Chromebooks and teach them the basics with passwords and what to divulge. Much more tangible goal.

I mean if they misconfigure the systems wouldn't this leave them open and more vulnerable then they were, an easier target. Oh wait I understand this is a "let's just get it over with scenario" where evolution weeds out the incapable.

You are correct that uninformed users are literally the issue now days, not that the root of the problem isn't corrupt, no morals or ethics criminals without conscious.

 

[Sandbox Breaker - DFIR]

We have Xcitium deployed to tons of endpoints and some customers use container only with another NGAV we manage for them. The Xcitium settings are of course customised and hardened. I also have tons of family and friends I've deployed containment blades to and I can report zero issues.

Xcitium is only good if someone knowledgeable sets it up. Plus all of these systems are monitored via openedr and top MDR/DFIR staff including myself.

 

[bazang]

Comodo as a company is irrelevant because of its history of mediocre products, which has always condemned it to a negligible market share.

Market share is irrelevant because people are always interested in free products. Hundreds of millions of people will always use a free product over a paid product. So demand for Comodo will remain safe because people are always willing to try a free product. Those that like it keep using it.

Market share is a metric measured by revenue. Cannot do that for a product that has a revenue = $0.

And its management team's stubborn obsession with a wrong business model that has failed for decades... also confirms Comodo's insignificance in the future.

The entire point of Comodo is it was always meant to be free. The owner is a billionaire. He started with $0. That sure seems like one effective business person to any measure. He always wanted to give a decent product away for free.

There is nothing wrong with that business model. Google, for example, operates on that business model with its Chrome browser. To Comodo's credit, they don't scrape user data and sell it. A company like Google exploits users for profit whereas Comodo does not.

Therefore, the only topic worth discussing is the Comodo's fanatics. They're mentally ill, carriers of a pathological emotional attachment to the software, which among other serious problems, also makes them intolerant people. Worse still, their irrationality mixed with lack of objectivity transforms them into propagators of lies, myths, fallacies, contradictions, selectivity, manipulations etc. In this context, fanatics should once and for all recognize that:

Wow. Just wow.

There is something wrong with you, bruv. Did you bother to read anything you have posted about Comodo in the past years? The way you wrote the above points to you being fanatical, mentally ill, overly emotional, and intolerant. You're the only one that jumps into Comodo threads and makes unhinged rant posts.

Comodo fanbois\fangirlz are mentally ill liars and manipulators?

I'd say at some point Melih's words hurt you and you have never recovered.

Your "fight" against Comodo makes zero difference. In the time that you spent running to this thread and pounding out your rant at the keyboard, ten people downloaded Comodo and began installing it on their system. Melih does not know you exist. Comodo users who are not here at MalwareTips do not care about what you have to say. The ones that are here be like... "There's Decopi. We expected his usual nuclear meltdown." You are stuck and life moves on. That is your personal issues and you're fully entitled to have them. And you're entitled to express your opinions. It is just sad Comodo bothers you so much that you behave the way that you do.

 

[ErzCrz]

Comodo blocks things well, that's what it does. I don't expect it to do anything else. Some statements here like "They're mentally ill, carriers of a pathological emotional attachment to the software" really too far in my opinion. Anyway, not bothering to engage further and just glad there's an ignore button.

 

[ForgottenSeer 114834]

Comodo blocks things well, that's what it does. I don't expect it to do anything else. Some statements here like "They're mentally ill, carriers of a pathological emotional attachment to the software" really too far in my opinion. Anyway, not bothering to engage further and just glad there's an ignore button.

How is it any different than the thugs of gangs on here ganging up on a single user until staff reprimands that user in favor of the majority, even if the crowd is wrong and that single user was correct. I have witnessed this many times, and all of those times, it only took one popular person to push it in a online website where popularity actually means nothing realistically. These type behaviors are treated in mental clinics for real.

 

[overdivine]

there is no such thing as bad publicity

please, keep it going at least 5 more years

 

[bazang]

How is it any different than the thugs of gangs on here ganging up on a single user until staff reprimands that user in favor of the majority, even if the crowd is wrong and that single user was correct. I have witnessed this many times, and all of those times, it only took one popular person to push it in a online website where popularity actually means nothing realistically. These type behaviors are treated in mental clinics for real.

This is how all social media platforms work. Forums are a type of social media.

Digital Thug Life

Mob Rule - Mob Justice

 

[Chuck57]

I take the position that it doesn't matter whether the person using CIS, full or just firewall, is average or expert. That's like telling someone you've never driven any car but a VW beetle. You can't have a Corvette (Ferrari, etc) because you're not knowledgeable enough. It's a non argument because it is their computer to put on whatever software they choose. not for you, me, or anybody else to dictate.

 

[wat0114]

Many of those were attributed to playing with Comodo. I can remember just getting it installed and having to get through the first restart without the system crashing was a feat.

I had this happen to me the first few times trialing CIS years ago, the cause of which was HIPS enabled in "Paranoid mode". I figured out it was best to use Training mode, (although maybe I could have also used Clean PC mode and/or Create rules for safe applications??), knowing of course I had a system free of malware, then after a few reboots, logging in/out and allowing the account to lock, running common Windows tasks and all the programs I normally used, I would then lock it down in Paranoid mode. Of course cruelsister does not utilize HIPS, rather opting instead for her own custom approach that utilizes Proactive security with auto-containment and the firewall blocking new requests, a configuration recommended for new and inexperienced users as well.

Nowadays because I don't use Windows that often and because I've grown bored and weary of these types of security programs, I just utilize a free tool that enhances Windows defender.

 

[ForgottenSeer 114834]

I had this happen to me the first few times trialing CIS years ago, the cause of which was HIPS enabled in "Paranoid mode". I figured out it was best to use Training mode, (although maybe I could have also used Clean PC mode and/or Create rules for safe applications??), knowing of course I had a system free of malware, then after a few reboots, logging in/out and allowing the account to lock, running common Windows tasks and all the programs I normally used, I would then lock it down in Paranoid mode. Of course cruelsister does not utilize HIPS, rather opting instead for her own custom approach that utilizes Proactive security with auto-containment and the firewall blocking new requests, a configuration recommended for new and inexperienced users as well.

Nowadays because I don't use Windows that often and because I've grown bored and weary of these types of security programs, I just utilize a free tool that enhances Windows defender.

It was after changing from the default profile to proactive which indeed would enable the HIPS but in safe mode. The profile change required a restart and it would blue screen the system. This was early years though mind you. Back then it was not uncommon for bugs to be present and cause crashes and issues. I played with CIS up through windows 10. I have not done so on Windows 11 so can not comment on how stable it is there. I can however comment on the advanced settings and the knowledge it takes to use such a product.

 

[bazang]

I take the position that it doesn't matter whether the person using CIS, full or just firewall, is average or expert.

Security software is an unregulated product. There is no user knowledge or experience required. A 6 month old baby can use security software and they don't even need a car seat or a rubber baby buggy bumper.

There's just a lot of strawman concern here by a particular individual that have very deep resentments against Comodo. They come here and part of the argument is "Comodo is harming users." OK then. Provide the evidence. Where is it? Provide the evidence that all these inexperienced users are being harmed. Like, anyone who even makes that statement in the first place is being absurd. Then particular Indvidual couch it in "Comodo is unethical because it has a buggy product and bugs hurt people." Complete strawman fake concern about others.

The legal definition of a harm is that an entity has to suffer a loss of one form or another. It does not cover the loss of time nor does it include emotional upset because of a software bug.

Software causes problems and if people - anyone - experienced or inexperienced - encounters troubles that upset them - oh well, sorry about your luck because that comes with the territory. It happens with all software and all devices. It happens with novices and experts.

The more controversial a product, the more people are going to want to try it. That's what good children do. They do the exact opposite of what the parent tells them to do.

The drama created here by one particular individual is just free advertising for Melih.

 

[ForgottenSeer 114834]

I take the position that it doesn't matter whether the person using CIS, full or just firewall, is average or expert. That's like telling someone you've never driven any car but a VW beetle. You can't have a Corvette (Ferrari, etc) because you're not knowledgeable enough. It's a non argument because it is their computer to put on whatever software they choose. not for you, me, or anybody else to dictate.

That absolutely did not make sense, because helping users be informed that there is a level or degree of difficulty is not telling them what to use, it's helping them make informed choices on correct information.

But if we are to use analogy like cars, how about a user that has driven nothing but a automatic their whole life just jumping into a stick shift, hell lets make it fun by adding a suicide clutch. Let's say this driver has no idea what rpms to shift at, or gear patterns as well. This is closer to the reality of using say Norton or other products compared to CIS, but still does not do it justice because in order to use a deny default properly you need to understand what you are allowing and not allowing. Seems pretty cut n dry to me.

 

[Trident]

If Comodo was developed by a market leader with many users and channels of receiving safe files, always updated and maintained, and developed to a high standard, it would have been a dream.

But it’s not, Comodo is an abandonware product, getting updates once in a blue moon, being highly user dependant (almost entirely), and hardly any innovations have been presented in the last 15 years.

It’s OK to use Comodo but it’s not OK to present its alerts and various prompts as protection, even less so calling other solutions “oblivious to malware” because they didn’t issue the same.

I’ve got no issue with the people using Comodo, my issues have always been:

• Presenting Comodo as superior to other products when they are clearly lighting years ahead of it
• Using low prevalence malware and unrealistic scenarios as evidence that Comodo is superior
• Issuing false statements that other software can’t protect a user’s machine, using generalisations such as “average user” and thus, tempting people into trying Comodo. Issuing statements that other products are “oblivious to malware” when there is very little evidence of the same.
• Failing to mention that other software can issue some of these alerts and prompts
• And last, but not least, presenting prompts and alerts handled by knowledgeable users as protection suitable for everyone.

It is irresponsible doing the above. I don’t think we are on this forum to mislead each other.

The video on this thread reminds me awfully of the videos Enigma Software used to make on every fake AV. 100% marketing campaign, 0% informational. We already know that Comodo contains and controls the traffic — this is not since yesterday.

 

[Chuck57]

That absolutely did not make sense, because helping users be informed that there is a level or degree of difficulty is not telling them what to use, it's helping them make informed choices on correct information.

But if we are to use analogy like cars, how about a user that has driven nothing but a automatic their whole life just jumping into a stick shift, hell lets make it fun by adding a suicide clutch. Let's say this driver has no idea what rpms to shift at, or gear patterns as well. This is closer to the reality of using say Norton or other products compared to CIS, but still does not do it justice because in order to use a deny default properly you need to understand what you are allowing and not allowing. Seems pretty cut n dry to me.

NO, I've seen it every thread, "experts" trying to tell anybody who chooses CIS or Firewall that, if they aren't an above average user, to leave it alone. None of you are trying to help anybody. Your intent is to keep anybody who isn't an expert, whatever that is, from using the software.

 

[Trident]

None of you are trying to help anybody. Your intent is to keep anybody who isn't an expert, whatever that is, from using the software.

We don’t care who’s using Comodo, people can use Protegent as well if they want. We don’t like when readers are being led on. I understand that this is not loved by people who are only here to lead on, get 10 minutes of daily “fame”, and support their fanboyism and bias. It is also not loved by their sidekicks and loyal supporters who just can’t wait to react to their content. But that’s the truth.

 

[ForgottenSeer 114834]

NO, I've seen it every thread, "experts" trying to tell anybody who chooses CIS or Firewall that, if they aren't an above average user, to leave it alone. None of you are trying to help anybody. Your intent is to keep anybody who isn't an expert, whatever that is, from using the software.

I tell the users they need to know the operating system and how it works to apply default deny properly because a misconfigured security will leave them more vulnerable than they were with default security and could actually corrupt the system files as well depending, causing damage. It is as stated just above irresponsible to tell users otherwise. I do not do this with just CIS but all software designed for intermediate to advanced users.

What I type is my responsibility, what you perceive is yours.

 

[Chuck57]

We don’t care who’s using Comodo, people can use Protegent as well if they want. We don’t like when readers are being led on. I understand that this is not loved by people who are only here to lead on, get 10 minutes of daily “fame”, and support their fanboyism and bias. It is also not loved by their sidekicks and loyal supporters who just can’t wait to react to their content. But that’s the truth.

You don't like users being led on, so try to lead them on. Got it.

 

[Chuck57]

I tell the users they need to know the operating system and how it works to apply default deny properly because a misconfigured security will leave them more vulnerable than they were with default security and could actually corrupt the system files as well depending, causing damage. It is as stated just above irresponsible to tell users otherwise. I do not do this with just CIS but all software designed for intermediate to advanced users.

What I type is my responsibility, what you perceive is yours.

Sometimes catastrophes such as you mentioned are the best learning experience. Lord knows I did it enough, exactly as you've described. I learned from it. I used an old firewall and configured it without a clue what I was doing, and ended up locking myself out of my own computer. After reinstalling, I was more careful, but did the same thing, and again. Finally I got it right. I learned by trial and error.

 

[monkeylove]

This reminds me of one TPSC video about default-deny: there's a popup, and you're only given certain information, and you don't know if you should allow or block. Meanwhile, you have work to submit in an hour and you're rushing.