OokamiCreed's Setup

[OokamiCreed]

What do you think of these two products (Forticlient AV and PrivateFirewall) ?

Well Forticlient is a pretty good middle ground between basic and advanced AV. I'd consider it advanced if you use the new feature that they integrated (FortiSandbox) which I believe you need FortiOS to use. Apparently it is usable in a VM environment. Forticlient has a great AV with great web blocking. Without the sandbox I'd imagine heuristics is it's only real defense against unknown threats. Not much else to say about it.

Privatefirewall doesn't take much editing in it's configuration to be aggressive. Unlike using some other AV with it, Privatefirewall asked a lot of questions about Forticlient while installing so you'll have to turn on training mode to avoid any problems. You should do that regardless of the AV though. I can't give too much of a judgement on this product since I've only seen about 4 of it's features come into play. All of which worked as advertised so I have a pretty good opinion of it. On Windows 8/10 I had some problems of system lockups. Using Windows 7 right now.

Each of the modules gave enough information for the most part to give me an idea of why it detected a behavior or actions that took place. The features I encountered so far include firewall, System Anomaly Detection, Advanced Application Control, and Process Control & Protection. There is a possibility that some of these features that they list are working together in order to be effective such as Advanced Reporting module being used to show case information to the user upon detection by one of it's components. No idea if things like web blocking work. Forticlient is probably one of the best (and most aggressive) web blockers I've ever used. Might not be anything to block by Privatefirewall. I'm not even sure if this has some preset list of trust/untrusted applications or connections or if it just has a list of actions or connections protocols, ports, etc that it deems unsafe or suspicious.

Have not experienced any slow downs with either (unless your using Privatefirewall on Windows 8/10 or using old version of Forticlient (like 5.2 - current version is 5.4). Version 5.2 had a problem where you could either no turn off logging (using a lot of disk and moderate - high CPU) or you could turn it off and it would still show it's logging process taking up massive system resources. 5.4 doesn't do that. Plus as I said, it integrated sandboxing but seems to need an IP address from a FortiOS install on physical computer or VM. Watching some of the videos on YouTube from the company has shown that the FortiSandbox is far more complicated than other sandboxes like Comodo Sandbox. Could potentially be better in mitigating threats as well. It actually records every little thing a file does such as dropped file locations, etc. It's pretty cool (kind of like running a file on those sites like Malwr except not painfully slow). Wondering if you could run the file directly into the sandbox (via context menu, etc) or does it run it on your computer and watch/isoloate the file.

Sorry, this is more of a run through of what I know more than what I think of these products. May contain a lot of mistakes.

 

[Cats-4_Owners-2]

Forticlient improving is good news to the ear. Private firewall is an old friend from my XP days. I am happy it continues to be a worthy shield in the dark. Spider oak shall be a name I'll remember. You've a very secure configuration, @OokamiCreed.

 

[Online_Sword]

Thank you for such a detailed reply.

 

[OokamiCreed]

Updated setup once again.

Changes include: Using Bitdefender IS (check first post for setting changes), using Halite for torrents, Total Uninstaller instead of Revo Uninstaller, Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit pro added, using AIMP instead of MusicBee (AIMP released version 4 recently, it's great - seems to be out of RC now), using OBS for screen recording, Macrium Reflect for system backup and restore with boot menu option added for convenience, using TeraCopy to move/copy/cut files (better than built in Windows as it sometimes stalls or fails), using SUMo Pro to check for program updates.

Also I've been using Firefox x64. No crashes or freezes like previous versions (this includes Cyberfox but not heavily independent builds like Palemoon). I've had problems with Gecko engine browsers for about 10 versions in a row so it's nice to be able to use it again. Great customization, privacy, plus my favorite download accelerator DownloadThemAll (only available on Gecko browsers).

 

[Cats-4_Owners-2]

OokamiCreed, I have truly liked all you've shared of your recent changes & improvements; and it helps keep the Holiday spirit feeling alive in a very positive way! Firefox performing well is very good news indeed.

 

[JM Safe]

Updated setup once again.

Changes include: Using Bitdefender IS (check first post for setting changes), using Halite for torrents, Total Uninstaller instead of Revo Uninstaller, Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit pro added, using AIMP instead of MusicBee (AIMP released version 4 recently, it's great - seems to be out of RC now), using OBS for screen recording, Macrium Reflect for system backup and restore with boot menu option added for convenience, using TeraCopy to move/copy/cut files (better than built in Windows as it sometimes stalls or fails), using SUMo Pro to check for program updates.

Also I've been using Firefox x64. No crashes or freezes like previous versions (this includes Cyberfox but not heavily independent builds like Palemoon). I've had problems with Gecko engine browsers for about 10 versions in a row so it's nice to be able to use it again. Great customization, privacy, plus my favorite download accelerator DownloadThemAll (only available on Gecko browsers).

Really good updates, friend, I like them, these updates will surely get your config stronger!!

 

[OokamiCreed]

Just a little mini update because I forgot to add it. Bitdefender used to behave negatively on my systems (regardless of OS). Recently I installed it and seems to be very stable with no real impact on system or the boot time. Unlike last time, Bitdefender actually quarantines threats instead of taking action on it's own regardless of whether I set it to quarantine all detections or not. Probably a bug that was recently fixed so now I can recover FP's from it's detection. As long as it behaves itself I will probably use it for a while (have 99 days left on free license).

I've also added NVT EXE Radar Pro (free beta version) alongside BD IS. Working very well with no conflicts. Had it whitelist all running processes (only do that if you know your system is clean obviously), whitelist MS processes, etc. All boxes were ticked is an easy way of telling what I did upon first install. I will never use lockdown unless I'm only browsing the net as I always end up using new software (I love trying new things).

Basically I will have 4 things running actively (as in these guys will do work in the background all the time, even on idle) on my computer. Bitdefender IS, NVT EXE, Malwarebytes AE, and Process Lasso (keep resources in check, not a security software). They all work without conflict (no exclusions apart from NVT whitelisting all of them - that is a must).

Not such a mini update. lol

 

[Online_Sword]

Hi, I am curious about why you removed Privatefirewall. Do you find any serious issue of it? Or just want to give a try to bitdefender?

 

[OokamiCreed]

Hi, I am curious about why you removed Privatefirewall. Do you find any serious issue of it? Or just want to give a try to bitdefender?

I'm using Windows 10 currently which in previous usage caused system lockups for a few seconds to minutes before normal activity (once every hour or so). I'm actually 50/50 on it being the OS, or the security product I happened to have been using at the time. I forget what I was using alongside it at the time unfortunately. Before moving to Windows 10, I was using Norton which includes a great firewall (in my opinion anyway) and enough zero day protection that I felt didn't need Privatefirewall.

I mostly use that firewall to supplement Forticlient's lack of zero day protection (heuristics is fine but not enough anymore). It would probably be great to use alongside Sophos Home free AV to. Might try that out on Windows 10 sometime.

 

[OokamiCreed]

Later today I was booting up my system and noticed I couldn't execute anything like browsers. There was somehow damage to Windows system files. Did not get around to backing up Windows 10 (I was able to repair it but I don't feel comfortable with simple repair as deep problems could arise later) so I simple restored Windows 7. I don't know if it was Bitdefender or NVT (or both conflicting with each other somehow) but I decided to go to another config to avoid the problem again.

Will update my config later after I find out a good stable combo.

 

[frogboy]

I had the same problem and this fixed it 100% for me.

1. Press Win+R and type regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Windows
3. Than search for APPINIT_DLLS and delete everything in it
4. Reboot
5. After that my browsers launched every time.

 

[OokamiCreed]

I had the same problem and this fixed it 100% for me.

1. Press Win+R and type regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Windows
3. Than search for APPINIT_DLLS and delete everything in it
4. Reboot
5. After that my browsers launched every time.

I simply ran a sfc scan using Windows PE boot menu inserted by Macrium Reflect. The thing is I couldn't even get ANY program to open. No command prompt, no regedit, not even the calculator. Only programs that load up on boot were able to function correctly (Bitdefender, NVT, Process Lasso, etc). The sfc scan quickly found some problem (it didn't give details) and fixed the problem. I then ran another sfc scan directly on the OS itself. It couldn't get past 40% for several minutes so something a bit bigger was going on however everything was "normal".

Me being paranoid (and not having a Windows 10 backup), I just restored Windows 7. I've never had a problem using NVT with any other product so I will never know what the real problem was.

Before I had this problem (before shut down) I was experiencing not being able to click on anything. If I right click the start button, it would flash then nothing, if I click a browser bookmark, it would flash then nothing. A restart fixed the problem. I continued to use the computer without problems then shut down the computer, went to sleep, boot up and then I had this happen. I can only imagine a NVT + Bitdefender with high settings didn't get along somehow. Bitdefender on it's own was running just fine before the incident.

I'll probably use ReHIPS alongside something instead of using NVT. ReHIPS got along with everything and basically did the same thing. I can't seem to find a download for ReHIPS save another request to get a license (I already have a license however). Download link was in the email which I deleted. Can see anything on site or forum for download. External sites have old versions without update ability.

Anyway for now I'll stick with Windows 7. Probably try another go in the future when I gather the sanity to go through another full install. Windows 10 takes a lot of time to set up, even more time after that to gain some privacy.

 

[frogboy]

I simply ran a sfc scan using Windows PE boot menu inserted by Macrium Reflect. The thing is I couldn't even get ANY program to open. No command prompt, no regedit, not even the calculator. Only programs that load up on boot were able to function correctly (Bitdefender, NVT, Process Lasso, etc). The sfc scan quickly found some problem (it didn't give details) and fixed the problem. I then ran another sfc scan directly on the OS itself. It couldn't get past 40% for several minutes so something a bit bigger was going on however everything was "normal".

Me being paranoid (and not having a Windows 10 backup), I just restored Windows 7. I've never had a problem using NVT with any other product so I will never know what the real problem was.

Before I had this problem (before shut down) I was experiencing not being able to click on anything. If I right click the start button, it would flash then nothing, if I click a browser bookmark, it would flash then nothing. A restart fixed the problem. I continued to use the computer without problems then shut down the computer, went to sleep, boot up and then I had this happen. I can only imagine a NVT + Bitdefender with high settings didn't get along somehow. Bitdefender on it's own was running just fine before the incident.

I'll probably use ReHIPS alongside something instead of using NVT. ReHIPS got along with everything and basically did the same thing. I can't seem to find a download for ReHIPS save another request to get a license (I already have a license however). Download link was in the email which I deleted. Can see anything on site or forum for download. External sites have old versions without update ability.

Anyway for now I'll stick with Windows 7. Probably try another go in the future when I gather the sanity to go through another full install. Windows 10 takes a lot of time to set up, even more time after that to gain some privacy.

Oh ok then mine was not that bad just my browsers would not open except for edge.

 

[OokamiCreed]

Installed Windows 10 Pro x64 again however I backed it up this time before trying experimental combos.

I'm using ESET Smart Security with custom settings (see first post for a brief run through), NVT EXE Radar Pro running beside that while being absolutely sure everything was whitelisted to avoid any problems.

Using Vivaldi x64 since it now works with all my add ons (the only one that didn't work was Xmarks - until Beta 2 that is) instead of Slimjet. I plan on using Vivaldi email client that is built in once that becomes available instead of something like Opera Mail (my current favorite). Really liking Vivaldi design and color scheme. While not as stable as other browsers, it works well enough on normal usage (not messing with settings).

Nothing else in my configuration changed.

 

[frogboy]

Installed Windows 10 Pro x64 again however I backed it up this time before trying experimental combos.

I'm using ESET Smart Security with custom settings (see first post for a brief run through), NVT EXE Radar Pro running beside that while being absolutely sure everything was whitelisted to avoid any problems.

Using Vivaldi x64 since it now works with all my add ons (the only one that didn't work was Xmarks - until Beta 2 that is) instead of Slimjet. I plan on using Vivaldi email client that is built in once that becomes available instead of something like Opera Mail (my current favorite). Really liking Vivaldi design and color scheme. While not as stable as other browsers, it works well enough on normal usage (not messing with settings).

Nothing else in my configuration changed.

Good idea to back it up this time.

 

[OokamiCreed]

Added EMET and Spyshelter Free Anti-Keylogger. So for real time protection I'm using 4 things. ESET Smart Security, NVT EXE Radar Pro, EMET, and Spyshelter Free Anti-Keylogger (added in that order). I have turned off "System Protection" in Spyshelter. I already have enough of that with ESET and NVT.

Real time non-security that run actively are Process Lasso. For "passive", I have Rainmeter and Remembr (clipboard tool that remembers copied text and images).

No system slow downs, no conflicts so far, and good to go on resources usage on idle and heavy use. If I add anything else, it would be more overkill than it is already... lol This configuration isn't not finalized. Might swap out or entirely uninstall something.

 

[OokamiCreed]

[deleted for useless ranting while I was very tired - MODS feel free to delete this post]

 

[OokamiCreed]

Updated due to change on MT. Using Norton Security, Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit, and Adguard. Removed uBlock Origin completely. Adguard v6 does everything I needed uBlock Origin to do but better.

Apart from that, no real changes to software. Add PNY CS2211 SSD (240GB) to replace Seagate. WD now is repurposed as Media drive (this is music, wallpapers, backups, etc).

SSD boots Windows in under 12 seconds, Manjaro boots up in about 5-8 seconds. $80 well spent. Biggest performance boost I've ever seen.

 

[OokamiCreed]

Windows 8.1 giving me random performance problems. Windows 7 has problems installing updates despite integrating updates into ISO that solely exist to fix these problems... sometimes it just works, sometimes they don't.

Since Windows 8.1 like 10 was slow to boot for whatever reason on HDD but lightning fast on my SSD, I will return to Windows 10 as it has far less problems than 7 and 8.1 and needless to say, is far more secure. Really don't buy the whole "Windows 10 is spying on me". If Microsoft wants to know I was watching Jacksepticeye play Kerbal Space Program on YouTube, so be it. Best YouTuber ever in terms of comedy... lol May also be because I love Irish accent.

Will I eventually install Windows 7 or 8 again like always? Probably not. Disk usage was my only problem. SSD should be the knight in shining armor. That is why I bought it (and to replace Seagate that was failing very slowly).

I will definitely be installing Norton Security, Adguard, and SecureAPlus (hoping beta will work well this time). Might screw around with NVT again.

 

[OokamiCreed]

Everything installed and SecureAPlus just finishing it's scan/whitelisting. They updated tray icon to reflect beta look. Looking great, working beside Norton Security with zero problems this time (that is what I'm talking about). Windows 10 boot time is stupid fast as predicted. Going to wait for SecureAPlus to finish, I'll restart then and do a check of everything then backup this bad boy via Macrium Reflect. Should be the last change on my config for quite a long time.