TinyWall Version 3 released! (Sept 2020)

oldschool

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Mar 29, 2018
7,044
You seldomly need it, but the "Elevate" menu option has mainly two purposes:
1. "Whitelist by window" only works on apps with admin privileges if TinyWall's tray is also running as admin. So for example if you want to unblock an installer, you'd have to select the Elevate option in TinyWall first (or simply use another whitelisting method other than "by window")
2. It increases TinyWall's process security somewhat, because when it is running as admin, non-admin apps cannot inject code or hook into it
I wasn't aware of this, which may explain why I had some trouble with TW v.2.7.xx and early v. 3.0.
For both of the above reasons, one of my goals for TinyWall 3.1 is to run TinyWall's tray app as admin by default on system startup.
Nice! (y) (y)
 

ultim

Level 2
Thread author
Oct 13, 2011
86
Hi All! New version, new digital certificate, new fixes. Enjoy and let me know if you have any problems.

Code:
3.0.8 - Maintenance release (27.09.2020.)
- Add workaround for "grey icon on Win7" issue
  Note: On affected systems icon will appear with considerable delay after boot.
        This is expected and does not affect start of firewall protection.
- Fix WMI leak when mountpoints change
- Fix GUI crash if mountpoints change after changing the GUI language
- Fix service crash if pipe command results in uncaught exception
- Fix windows are potentially invisible if virtual desktop size changes
- Fix text placement in pt-BR localization
- Make dependency on eventlog service optional
- Updated Italian localization
- Updated application database
 

ultim

Level 2
Thread author
Oct 13, 2011
86
Yay, new version!

3.0.9 - Maintenance release (01.11.2020.)
- Automatically ask for passphrase when needed, and remove now redundant "Unlock" menu item
- Fix child process monitoring not working (3.0.7 regression)
- Fix memory leak in traffic rate monitor
- Fix service becomes temporarily unresponsive when network parameters change
- Fix missing signature could be incorrectly detected as an invalid signature
- Reduce dependency on WMI
- Add runtime profiling feature
- Updated Brazilian Portuguese and Polish localizations
- New Bulgarian localization

Another stability and bugfixing release, with a notable exception for better quality-of-life if you use the password protection feature. This should be a safe upgrade, so no reason not to get 3.0.9.

Alternative release post (a bit more verbose): Wilders
Official download link: Homepage

The new version will be available over the built-in update checks too shortly.
 

mazskolnieces

Level 3
Well-known
Jul 25, 2020
117
"NAT slipstreaming" is the new WOW! today on the internet in security circles. Since I was asked a question about this, I've written a somewhat lengthy article for non-experts. It is only minimally related to TinyWall and IMHO is actually a generally useful writing for everybody. I'm linking it here. Do you think it is useful?
Nice summary article Károly.

NAT slipstreaming will get blown far out of proportion to its actual threat to end users as do most IT security news items. The WOW! is meant to terrorize and fear-monger people into buying a decade subscription to some internet security suite @ $279.99 per year.
 

show-Zi

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Jan 28, 2018
2,463
Thank you for releasing the new version. The trouble with WFPdotNet.dll that I had been suffering from before has recurred, but I have dealt with it and the update was completed successfully.:)(y)

I'm guessing that in the near future, a product called'IoT Safety Software'will be announced. Anxious users are recognized as the best customers.:unsure::coffee:
 

ultim

Level 2
Thread author
Oct 13, 2011
86
Thank you for releasing the new version. The trouble with WFPdotNet.dll that I had been suffering from before has recurred, but I have dealt with it and the update was completed successfully.:)(y)

I'm guessing that in the near future, a product called'IoT Safety Software'will be announced. Anxious users are recognized as the best customers.:unsure::coffee:
About your WPFdotNet issue. I changed its version slightly already in 3.0.10. With a bit of luck you won't have the problem anymore.
 

ultim

Level 2
Thread author
Oct 13, 2011
86
Hello Everyone!
TinyWall 3.1 will be released soon, but before I do that I'm making a test build available. This is not yet an official release, but it passes all my own tests, and is practically identical to the final release if public testing shows no issues. I'd be grateful if a handful of you could install it and tell me if there are any unexpected problems.
Changelog
Link to Release Candidate
 

show-Zi

Level 36
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Well-known
Jan 28, 2018
2,463
3.1 is operating stably. Thank you!:)
- Fix rule is ineffective for paths with certain international characters
Looking at this log, I expected a bug when double-byte characters such as Japanese were included in the path. But there was no problem.(y)
 
F

ForgottenSeer 69673

Edge doesn't
ScreenHunter_147 Oct. 09 05.45.jpg
like it
 

ultim

Level 2
Thread author
Oct 13, 2011
86
Hello @ticklemefeet ,
This is normal. I only sign official releases, so this test build doesn't have a digital certificate either. Feel free to run it through Virustotal if you have any doubts about the download's safety. Or you can wait for the official release, which will be signed and will not have a problem with "reputation".
 

silversurfer

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Content Creator
Malware Hunter
Well-known
Aug 17, 2014
10,057
Hello Everyone!
TinyWall 3.1 will be released soon, but before I do that I'm making a test build available. This is not yet an official release, but it passes all my own tests, and is practically identical to the final release if public testing shows no issues. I'd be grateful if a handful of you could install it and tell me if there are any unexpected problems.
Changelog
Link to Release Candidate

TinyWall 3.1 RC works flawlessly (y) here even on Windows 11 (latest stable build 22000.194)
 

ultim

Level 2
Thread author
Oct 13, 2011
86
TinyWall 3.1 released! All known issues to date have been fixed and of course there are new features too. As usual, automatic updates will be enabled a bit later.
This version is likely the last TinyWall version to officially support Windows 7. It is also the last version to support the old (v2.1) config format, a direct upgrade (without stopgaps) from v2 to future versions will not be possible. All users are recommended to upgrade.

There have been a few fixes since the Release Candidate so you should update even if you already have the RC.

And thanks for all the feedback I've got from testers here on MalwareTips :)

Changelog:
Code:
3.1.1 - Important update (11.10.2021.)
- Add option to block internet during display power-save
- Heuristically determine and show PIDs of blocked processes if possible
- Support for showing and whitelisting services in Processes and Connections windows
- Launch GUI with elevated privileges on boot if possible
- Use exact capitalization of paths from autolearn and blocked processes
- Reduce dependency on WMI and avoid polling by WMI
- Avoid creation of redundant "-" entries during autolearn
- Fix WFP audit logging is not disabled when autolearn mode ends
- Fix "active connections" and "open ports" lists would not recognize UWP processes as such
- Fix rule is ineffective if loaded while its target path is not mounted
- Fix rule is ineffective for paths with certain international characters
- Fix Bulgarian translation not loading
- Fix non-form Korean messages are gibberish due to wrong encoding
- Updated Italian translation
- New Hebrew localization
- GUI layout fixes for various localizations
- Updated application database
- Deprecation notes:
    Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and certain older versions of Windows 10
    will soon not be supported in a future TinyWall release.

Download link
Patreon release post (some extra info)
 
Last edited:

oldschool

Level 81
Verified
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Well-known
Mar 29, 2018
7,044
Hello @ultim I noticed only today that you now have a "Windows Defender" special exception that is 'unchecked' by default. I had installed TW without knowing about this. Maybe it would be a good idea to add a section about this in FAQ? or even a splash screen alert upon install for users who depend on WD for their protection. Thanks again for the great software.
 

ultim

Level 2
Thread author
Oct 13, 2011
86
Hello @ultim I noticed only today that you now have a "Windows Defender" special exception that is 'unchecked' by default. I had installed TW without knowing about this. Maybe it would be a good idea to add a section about this in FAQ? or even a splash screen alert upon install for users who depend on WD for their protection. Thanks again for the great software.
Even if you leave the Windows Defender unchecked in TinyWall's settings, you will not be left without WD's protection. WD engine and virus signature updates are delivered over Windows Update, so as long as you leave Windows Update turned on (and it is ON by default in TinyWall), you'll always have the latest WD protection, even with "Windows Defender" disabled. The "Windows Defender" setting in TinyWall only controls cloud-based scanning and automatic sample submission (automatic file uploads to Microsoft) in WD.

I agree it might be a good idea to explain this in the FAQ, but I am not convinced that the current defaults are bad or that they'd need a warning. E.g. most privacy-conscious users do not prefer their files to be secretly uploaded to Microsoft.
 

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