Battle Which is the best free Firewall to use with Avast Free?

[dragonmew]

hi i use avast free and im wondering whats the best free firewall to use it with reason why im doubting comodo as yo ucan easily change these advance settings and mess your system up like i did it made my pc run slow as hell, and comodo also puts me off for example i use firefox i click allow yet when i start my computer up next day it asks again. please reply asap thanks

 

[dragonmew]

so after my trial has run out on online armor pro firewall is the limited free version still good

 

[dowN1]

so after my trial has run out on online armor pro firewall is the limited free version still good

basically, you don't have advanced/banking mode and can't export/import any settings

 

[yigido]

Hmmmm everyone seems to vote for Comodo FW.
Now my stand point on Comodo fail wall is clear, but that being said i have a alternative that does not require any tweaking and it does not even use ANY system resources.

I assume you have a router from your ISP which you use to connect to the Internet right?
Well if thats the case then you have a Hardware based firewall in it for free, it does not need tweaking, it does not need updates, it does not need any manual labor, hell you do not even know its there and yet it does a 1000 times better job then CFW.
Just log in to your router and see if its enabled.

Step 2: Enable Windows firewall.

And you are done.

That being said if a hacker bypasses your RHFW (Router Hardware Firewall) then Comodo will not stop it either as its WAY beyond anything Comodo can bring to the table.

Case closed + 100% result.

Cheers

http://forums.comodo.com/leak_testi...simple_outbound_protection_test-t18780.0.html

 

[Nico@FMA]

http://forums.comodo.com/leak_testi...simple_outbound_protection_test-t18780.0.html

Lol so you are saying that a hardware based firewall does not STOP, Filter, Monitor ICMP in/outbound traffic?
This gotta be a joke right? Tell me you are joking? Do you really think that CFW is better then a hardware based firewall, do you honestly think that? Look if people just configure their computer in the right way, and they have their router based firewall configured exactly as their ISP did set it (Maybe few tweaks if you got crappy ISP who uses second rate router brands) then there is NO WAY that ANY software firewall can even come close to the level of security a hardware firewall provides.
Its just a technical FACT.

Now on a positive note, yes Comodo fail wall use to be a kick ass firewall (Many versions ago) but really today even while tests suggest other things... Comodo is a fail.

In regards to that ICMP outbound test here is some info...

A ICMP Ping (an echo request) is a computer network administration utility used to test the reachability of a host on an Internet Protocol (IP) network and to measure the round-trip time. Some software firewalls, as well as NAT routers may block ping requests in an effort to "hide" your external IP address and prevent any response to potential intruders and prevent possible denial-of-service attacks in the form of a ping flood, in which an attacker overwhelms the victim with ICMP echo request packets.
Most routers will allow ICMP inbound and outbound as long the request is valid and does not pass a specified security threshold.
So while ICMP might be allowed both ways, the very moment the ICMP package passes a limit, it will be blocked and locked out anyway to avoid DDOS and Flooding attacks.
Rendering ICMP exploiting useless against the targeted machine, and brining back ICMP functionality to "normal" windows communications that normally would be blocked.

In a broader term, ping can also be used to describe the transmission of any message for the purpose of locating or testing/identifying a network device and measuring latency. Such pings may not necessarily use ICMP packets, another common practice is using the UDP (User Datagram Protocol). A common use for identification purposes using TCP/UDP instead of ICMP is port 113 (ident)

A number of legitimate programs, such as IRC, online games, and network tools may need your computer to be "pingable". To accomplish this, you will have to determine first what device/software on your LAN is blocking ping requests. Commonly, this would be a hardware router/modem, or it could be a software firewall.

To enable echo requests (ping) behind a NAT router, you must log into the router and explicitly configure it to respond to ICMP echo requests on its WAN port.

Notes:
Most computers will, by default, automatically respond to ICMP echo request (pings). If you can't ping a machine, it is likely that it is behind a NAT router or some sort of firewall.
Many routers/gateways block ICMP echo requests (or simply drop ICMP when under high load).
ICMP is a session-less protocol and does not use "ports", they are a construct used by some protocols, such as TCP/UDP to maintain a persistent connection between computers.


That being said its so easy for Comodo to claim LOOK i blocked ICMP...now i feel good...
Really?
First they bashed Antivirus companies.... they failed as they got bashed back into that dark corner they did sprout from.
Second they started bashing other firewall brands... Failed again... as other firewalls actually are working and cannot be broken using a bug looooooooool (Hey comodo, other brands might be less impressive yet they at least deliver a finished product without having to use ductape and clue to keep it together)

And now they start bitching at ICMP requests? on hardware firewalls? Really?
Come on @yigido
You are one of the respected and active members here, please tell me you are better then that...
Tell me you do not seriously believe that Comodo crap...

With all do respect i do see what they are saying and what they are trying, but if what i wrote does not ring a bell to you, then you might wanna consider that sometimes having a firewall like Comodo blocking everything is actually telling the attacker "try a different way" while a firewall who allows the traffic (keeping in mind the security threshold i mentioned earlier) will put the attacker on a wild goose chase.

If you got questions or other comments please let me know and i would be happy to explain it to you.

Kind Regards Nico

 

[dowN1]

What’s the point of having a firewall? by emsisoft

Nice little article. I'm seeing things differently after reading this.

 

[Nico@FMA]

What’s the point of having a firewall? by emsisoft

Nice little article. I'm seeing things differently after reading this.

That article is correct and i applaud you for posting it.
Most exploits and hacker attacks do not come from the outside, they come from within and require human intervention which is a method that beats ANY firewall to date.
However while your hardware firewall (2 way NAT) is doing its job it does not need to know whats behind the wall as assumed is that the user does not execute malicious code and knows what they download and run. Because thats the bottom line.

On the flip side 90% off all new applications use 80, 443 and 8080 as a port to communicate with the Internet.
One of the biggest flaws why generic software firewalls don't matter is how every app and service being developed today works over either port 80 or 443, two ports you can't and never could block. The bad guys know this, and many years ago, they coded their hacking tools and malware to work over those same ports.
Most real hackers have been sailing through the guaranteed open firewall ports for many years. Today, 99 percent of all successful attacks are client-side attacks, in which the end-user runs something he or she shouldn't and in those cases, the firewall doesn't help at all.
But a hardware firewall that operates trough a NAT routine just provides that bit extra.

So to get back to my point here if you use your ISP (2-Way NAT router FW) + Windows firewall and you add a bit of brains and common sense to your browser habits and computer routines then there is no way that you are getting hacked from the outside, and with a reasonable browsing routine the odds that you get infected by a client side code is also very small.

Again i am not saying that software firewall applications are bad or should be avoided, as they are needed plain and simple.
But Windows firewall is already doing a pretty darn good job just on standard settings filling that gap while being in tandem with a HFW.
For example i am using Symantec EP (The whole suit) and yes my security is very tight as explained many times.
But if you just download the unmanaged version then you will see it manages WFW. And by doing so providing a level of security way past anything Comodo can bring.
The trick with security is not to block everything, as any application can do that and look smart.
The real trick is to keep all the functionality you ever need and block unwanted traffic and rogue requests without telling your attacker that you actually blocking them. Now a good ISP router with NAT also has SPI (Statefull packet inspection) and this will filter data requests and avoid port 80, 443 general hacking tools (And obviously other ports) but as mentioned these 2 ports are basically open 24/7 no matter what you do.
So with all that in mind i cannot help myself laughing at Comodo which claims to boost security by blocking everything.
Yet they fail to realize that a request is in fact like a sonar echo, there is always a reply going home.

Now the difference is what will this echo reply tell you?
1: This firewall blocked your ass, now get your tool box and exploit, buffer, overflow me (100% success rate) "Comodo style"
2: This firewall does not block your ass it appears to accept your calls (But what it does not tell you i am keeping and eye on your sorry hacking attempt and i just send you on a wild goose chase towards a internal ip address with no device connected) "ANY real firewall style"

Pick ur poison...

 

[Kent]

There is no "Best Free" third party firewall for Windows.

WFN, http://wfn.codeplex.com
http://malwaretips.com/threads/windows-firewall-notifier.3824/

Anyway, what are the reason(s) you're looking for a 3rd party Firewall? (Apart from the Comodo story).

Can I use Online Armor with Malwarebytes Premium?