Glasswire ?? is it good software to manage my Windows firewall ?

DDE_Server

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Hello gents,
i want more control on my windows firewall and monitoring of outbound connections of the software installed on my laptop. i was looking for some useful software for such task. used Wireshark for some time but found it not user friendly . so i found Glasswire i used it from long time ago but i read about its features and found it useful for real time monitoring of software real time internet communications .but my question here if someone using it
  1. is it GUI for managing windows firewall or separate windows firewall module ??
  2. Does it contain any Adware or Ads popups or not ?
  3. is it has any conflict with any antivirus (i have Emsisoft and Vodooshield installed)
  4. is it worth it or just Windows firewall custom rules is enough
  5. is it free or paid software ?
i found it has rich features:

Update 1: i installed Tiny wall but i want to white list Seed4me VPN as it keeps blocking VPN connections any advice gents :unsure: :unsure: ?
Update 2: i allowed Autolearn VPN connection still couldnot be established :unsure: ?
Update 3 : i whitlisted by process seed4vpn services but still connections couldnot be established :unsure: ?
 
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EndangeredPootis

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Glasswire free doesnt have a firewall, and is kinda useless without it, its decent but is not for the average user, and emsisoft and voodooshield is overkill, keep one of them, if you want to harden your firewall, get TinyWall (you may need to exclude many programs)
 

DDE_Server

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Glasswire free doesnt have a firewall, and is kinda useless without it, its decent but is not for the average user, and emsisoft and voodooshield is overkill, keep one of them, if you want to harden your firewall, get TinyWall (you may need to exclude many programs)
so paid has separate firewall ??
i like tweaking and advanced settings
 

EndangeredPootis

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so paid has separate firewall ??
i like tweaking and advanced settings
Paid has a firewall, the free version doesnt, and I believe there is pretty much no configuration you can do, only the basic stuff like excluding programs, while TinyWall have a lot of configuration and the advanced settings you ask for, its also good because it has a inbuilt anti-malware blocklist that protects you against malicous connections.
 

DDE_Server

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Paid has a firewall, the free version doesnt, and I believe there is pretty much no configuration you can do, only the basic stuff like excluding programs, while TinyWall have a lot of configuration and the advanced settings you ask for, its also good because it has a inbuilt anti-malware blocklist.

you are right.i found this comparison and i found the free product is useless
 

EndangeredPootis

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you are right.i found this comparison and i found the free product is useless
If youre interested in tinywall, its free, but do remember its pretty strict, so youre going to have to exclude many programs.
 

TairikuOkami

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Free version allows you to block the process, after it has already made the connection, making the whole firewall business useless. Glasswire is visually very nice, so it replaces Windows Firewall GUI pretty well, but it is only allow/block, no advanced rules, it also uses CPU constantly (3-5%).
 

EndangeredPootis

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Free version allows you to block the process, after it has already made the connection, making the whole firewall business useless. Glasswire is visually very nice, so it replaces Windows Firewall GUI pretty well, but it is only allow/block, no advanced rules, it also uses CPU constantly (3-5%).
Which you can do with the normal windows firewall anyways (though not as easily) but I do agree its UI is fancy and easy to navigate, it does have the option to add a virustotal scan for every program, but it doesnt automatically block them if a lot of engines detects it, and it requires your virustotal API key, which I have no idea why and its intrusive.
 
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TairikuOkami

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Which you can do with the normal windows firewall anyways (though not as easily)
Yes, it is missing the most basic feature. I really really like sphinx windows firewall control, zero performance impact, no dependences, you do not even have to run GUI, once rules are created, but free version allows windows processes and making rules in the paid version is an extreme pain.
 

SeriousHoax

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I think for an advanced firewall there are better options than GlassWire and it also consumes more than acceptable CPU. If you do torrenting then GlassWire is a big no as it consumes massive CPU and it's a known issue which they officially acknowledged.
WFC is a great option to manage Windows Firewall. You can set it up to ask for your permission before a program tries to connect to internet, make permanent allow/block rules.
SimpleWall is another great option but it's not an UI for Windows Firewall lilke WFC, it's based on Windows Filtering Platform. It blocks all inbound connections by default and would ask for your permission when a program tries to create an outbound connection.
 

TairikuOkami

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WFC had to add the note, that it requires DNS Client service to be running, because of my complaint. One of those needs Windows Event service as well. As for simplewall, I lost internet, after removing all rules and after uninstalling it, I could not get it going. But they are OK for normal users. :ROFLMAO:
 

DDE_Server

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SimpleWall is another great option but it's not an UI for Windows Firewall lilke WFC, it's based on Windows Filtering Platform. It blocks all inbound connections by default and would ask for your permission when a program tries to create an outbound connection.
I wanted to try this from long time ago but it require a re installation for the operating system as i remember which is require a lot of hassle
 

SeriousHoax

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I wanted to try this from long time ago but it require a re installation for the operating system as i remember which is require a lot of hassle
No no it doesn't require anything. You can simply install it and start using. The first time I used it I actually installed it in Sandboxie and it still worked :p But it will disable windows firewall and everytime after turning your pc on, windows will notify you once that windows firewall is turned off.
 

Deletedmessiah

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Simplewall worked well on my end but many others were reporting bugs. Tinywall is very good, you may try that one.
You can also check out Spyshelter free. Its Firewall was pretty good and easy enough for me, although just the Firewall part, not the HIPS. You can turn off HIPS if you find it difficult and just use the firewall portion but I'm not sure if there is some issues if you do this. On Comodo Firewall, cruelsister forbade to disable other components and only use the firewall, it may or may not be the same for Spyshelter.
 

DDE_Server

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I wanted to try this from long time ago but it require a re installation for the operating system as i remember which is require a lot of hassle
Minimal system requirements:
  • Dedicated hardware/virtual machine with cd/dvd support.
  • Hardware must be x86 architecture supported.
  • 2GB+ RAM (recommended).
  • Two Ethernet network interface.
  • 40GB (minimum) Hard disk drive SATA / PATA.
  • Note: Take a backup of your data as installation process will erase all the data on your DISK.
 

Deletedmessiah

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Minimal system requirements:
  • Dedicated hardware/virtual machine with cd/dvd support.
  • Hardware must be x86 architecture supported.
  • 2GB+ RAM (recommended).
  • Two Ethernet network interface.
  • 40GB (minimum) Hard disk drive SATA / PATA.
  • Note: Take a backup of your data as installation process will erase all the data on your DISK.
Not that one, thats a different simplewall.
Use this one: simplewall
 
L

Local Host

Glasswire doesn't have any Firewall unlike what was stated above, is a UI to manage and monitor WFP (which means it uses the Windows Firewall).

I have a Lifetime License for it and I like it, is easy to use and has a good chunk of features, but due to the live monitoring of network traffic it uses more resources than other more simple tools.
 

Freki123

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....it does have the option to add a virustotal scan for every program, but it doesnt automatically block them if a lot of engines detects it, and it requires your virustotal API key, which I have no idea why and its intrusive.
Talking about paid Glasswire:
You can set glasswire to "ask to connect" mode so you will see the VT ratings (if enabled) for programs and then have to chose allow or not.
You don't need a virustotal API key for that. I never had any API key and the scans work without it. Maybe it creates one of its own but I never entered or owned any....
If you don't care about live monitoring all the time "incognito mode" seems to drop the cpu average alot :D
I would still be using WFC from binisoft if I hadn't found out I got an old glasswire license and wanted to play with it.
 

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