FREE Firewall for VISTA64 (FINALLY)

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annaconda

[H]F Junkie
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I have been looking for Free Firewall for Windows VISTA64. This is the only Firewall i found that can support VISTA64.

So enjoy and please post if you know any good one.
 
Smoothwall FTW!

I hate OS firewalls, always slows down your PC and causes issues IMO.
 
comodo firewall is a great product

Their AV is shaping up well as well
 
*ahem*

Vista has a firewall, you realize. Even VISTA64!!!

*ahem*

Seriously, the Vista firewall isn't the XP one, not by a longshot. It works just fine, and it sure would be nice if people realized that at some point. Why bog the box down with software one simply does not need... it just doesn't make sense.

Adding software to do things Vista already does just Sam-freakin-dandy is a total waste...
 
Because, obviously it's better to trust Joe blow random 3rd party guy to secure my system rather than Microsoft. :rolleyes:;)
 
Yep because it works always better than the built in stuff. Vista firewall can't hold a candle to comodo 100% sure.
 
Vista firewall + easy admin like this is good enough for me, at least.
 
Outbound filtering can be turned on with Windows Firewall in Vista. Look it up.

EDIT: Beat me to it, Met-AL. :)
 
annaconda said:
How about this
Click to expand...

Nice.

Hey, how come you are concerned about outbound traffic anyways?

The only computer I have that I run the firewall on is my laptop since at times I connect to public networks with it. (I like how Vista or One Care changes my firewall automatically to secure up my files when on a public network versus my own private network at home.)

EDIT: Read this link: http://searchwindowssecurity.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid45_gci1217062,00.html

Why is outbound filtering not all what people think it may do for them:
Can a compromised operating system really protect you? If someone is able to infect your system with malware, do you honestly expect the infected system to be able to defend itself against the malware sending outbound traffic? It's kind of like expecting a thief not to steal anything after he has gone through the trouble of breaking into your house.
Click to expand...
 
Grentz said:
Smoothwall FTW!

I hate OS firewalls, always slows down your PC and causes issues IMO.
Click to expand...


I use SW as well (version 3.0 now with a buttload of mods)..but I also leave Vista's built in firewall going too ..I have 2 other computers on my home network that I don't have control over as far as what they click on out there in the evil internets .. I haven't experienced any problems whatsoever running it ..let's me know when something is trying to connect to the net when an app first runs and then I have to give it the ok or not..


[F]old|[H]ard
 
I've been using Comodo firewall on my Vista Ultimate 64-bit laptop, and I'm very happy. Best free third-party firewall ever used, and I've used many. Put it on "Training Mode" and it uses almost no resources, yet provides excellent security. You can also step up or even step down the security level from that, as well. It's also 64-bit, and specifically designed for Vista.

As for the Windows firewall built into Vista, although a major overhaul/redesign from the XP firewall, I'm just not comfortable relying on it. For the price of free and extremely small resource usage of Comodo, I see no reason not to use it. Then again, I'm also behind a router with SPI/NAT and an additional AlphaSheild hardware firewall. Call me paranoid, I dare you. :)

Note: I like the ability to control outbound communications with the Vista firewall, but this can and will cause many headaches for less experienced users. In fact, I have not been successful with it, but I've also found very little configuration information for outbound traffic control.

SemperFi,
- Joey
 
if you want to play with the advanced options in the vista firewall, go into control panel > admin tools > windows firewall.
 
bbz_Ghost said:
*ahem*

Vista has a firewall, you realize. Even VISTA64!!!

*ahem*

Seriously, the Vista firewall isn't the XP one, not by a longshot. It works just fine, and it sure would be nice if people realized that at some point. Why bog the box down with software one simply does not need... it just doesn't make sense.

Adding software to do things Vista already does just Sam-freakin-dandy is a total waste...
Click to expand...

But... it comes from Microsoft... Gotta bitch about something! :rolleyes:

annaconda said:
Vista Firewall just control inbound not outbound.
Click to expand...
As already asked- why do you care about outbound filtering?
Outbound filtering is the biggest PITA there is, regardless of who designs it.
 
We want outbound firewall filtering for the same reasons we want inbound firewall, but in practical real world terms, an outbound firewall is not logical. For example, take this quote from a PC-World article;

"To work with outbound filtering, you instead have to use the Microsoft Management Console, specifically the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security Group Policy applet, by typing wf.msc at the Search box or command prompt and pressing Enter. It's shown in the nearby figure.

If you look in the various profiles in the Overview area, you'll see that for each profile, "Outbound connections that do not match a rule are allowed."

Every rule in the Windows Firewall allows outbound connections, though. Click the Outbound Rules icon on the left side of the screen, and you'll see all the outbound rules. As you can see from the nearby figure, every outbound rule allows outbound connections. None block connection.

Making matters worse, there is no way for an individual or IT staff on their own to create an all-purpose rule that will block malware from making outbound connections. You can only create a rule to block a specific piece of malware, and doing that is an extremely difficult task, requiring that you know quite a bit of information about that piece of malware, including its location on your PC, the port it uses to make outbound connections, and so on.

To stop all malware from making outbound connections, you'd have to know all those details of all the thousands of pieces of malware in existence, and create rules for each one individually. But even that wouldn't work, because you wouldn't know about malware that has not yet been detected.

In short, as a practical matter, it's an impossible task.

Competing firewalls often use built-in intelligence to allow certain programs to make outbound connections, and then issue alerts when other programs make connections. You're told the program name and executable, and given a recommendation as to whether the program should be allowed. You can then block or allow the program to make a connection on a one-time or permanent basis."
Click to expand...

SemperFi,
- Joey
 
You can only create a rule to block a specific piece of malware, and doing that is an extremely difficult task, requiring that you know quite a bit of information about that piece of malware, including its location on your PC, the port it uses to make outbound connections, and so on.
Click to expand...

And by the time you discover that information it is too late ;)
 
ROFL how can people be so ignorant? Without outbound filtering you will never discover if an application (such as trojan downloader or something) is attempting to call home from your computer.

With comodo you'll be alerted the instant a new application (like Adobe spyware for example) tries to contact outside world from your computer.

Ignorance is bliss I guess, you're not worried about stuff that you don't know that's happening in your box. You'd be surprised how many applications call home the very instant you start the installer.
 
I installed comodo and to be honest best firewall ever. I mean it gives you alot of details, plus works with VISTA64, FREE.
 
annaconda said:
I installed comodo and to be honest best firewall ever. I mean it gives you alot of details, plus works with VISTA64, FREE.
Click to expand...
WOW, are you serious? is that your criteria for what makes the best firewall ever?

1. Must work with the users OS. [check]
2. Must be free [check]
3. Must have a nice interface that spews lots of details [check]

...hmm yea, that's like the basic bare minimums of the makings of a crappy firewall that barely does it's job... I think if you want to continue down this path of being a paranoid security freak, you should probably do a ton more research.
 
Menelmarar said:
WOW, are you serious? is that your criteria for what makes the best firewall ever?

1. Must work with the users OS. [check]
2. Must be free [check]
3. Must have a nice interface that spews lots of details [check]

...hmm yea, that's like the basic bare minimums of the makings of a crappy firewall that barely does it's job... I think if you want to continue down this path of being a paranoid security freak, you should probably do a ton more research.
Click to expand...

Although Comodo new version sucks, it's pretty far from being crappy especially when compared to Windows native jokes.
 
griffinhart said:
That's the XP SP2 firewall. Vista firewall does indeed allow blocking outbound traffic. I understand it's not on by defualt, but you can easily turn it on.
Click to expand...

Vista firewall doesn't have application verification (i.e. when checksum changes app needs approval again). This makes it vulnerable to a malware posing as outlook.exe or the sorts.
 
Wow you guys are bitching about how much resources comodo takes yet you run Vista?

Isn't that pot calling the kettle black?

I use xp64 comodo firewall is great I actually like the proactive defense more then the firewall. Its a must for a wireless networks, I admit its pain at first but once its trained up it does its job very well.
 
Wrench00 said:
Wow you guys are bitching about how much resources comodo takes yet you run Vista?

Isn't that pot calling the kettle black?

I use xp64 comodo firewall is great I actually like the proactive defense more then the firewall. Its a must for a wireless networks, I admit its pain at first but once its trained up it does its job very well.
Click to expand...

I agree... Let's see here,

Comodo is using just under 4MB of memory, but Vista's DWM is using over 47MB, Windows Explorer using over 15MB, and even Firefox is using over 40MB (at the moment)...

How is Comodo a resource hog? I'll give up a few MB's for more extensive security. Especially considering I run wireless almost exclusively.

SemperFi,
- Joey
 
Menelmarar said:
WOW, are you serious? is that your criteria for what makes the best firewall ever.
Click to expand...

A few months back, I did read a test that pitted a bunch of firewalls up against each other. Comodo turned out to be one of the tightest solutions available. I have used it once, just to try it out, and I found that while it could be as transparent as Windows Firewall one you have it configured, it would also let you know of anything out of the norm. If I had to use one, I'd probably use Comodo. Why not?
 
I've been using COMODO on x64 for about a week, and I like it. Just turn the security down on it because the constant alerts get really annoying.

And about resource usage, it's using 2.5MB... what a resource hog! :p
 
blade52x said:
I've been using COMODO on x64 for about a week, and I like it. Just turn the security down on it because the constant alerts get really annoying.

And about resource usage, it's using 2.5MB... what a resource hog! :p
Click to expand...

Like I said the new version ruined the UI totally. Old version was a dream to use.
 
i use this on my server. i love it. all the logs i can want, i know what ips are connected, programs services, etc. u can allow or block anything u want. just like with cisco, u can deny/allow. pretty cool.
 
blade52x said:
I've been using COMODO on x64 for about a week, and I like it. Just turn the security down on it because the constant alerts get really annoying.

And about resource usage, it's using 2.5MB... what a resource hog! :p
Click to expand...

That's 2.5MB that you're probably seeing in Task Manager, but it sure as hell ain't all of it. Open up Task Manager and take a look at the Handles, and several of the working sets - there's more going on that you're aware of, I promise.

But yes, it is fairly low in terms of necessary resources for operation... it just ain't that low. :)
 
bbz_Ghost said:
That's 2.5MB that you're probably seeing in Task Manager, but it sure as hell ain't all of it. Open up Task Manager and take a look at the Handles, and several of the working sets - there's more going on that you're aware of, I promise.

But yes, it is fairly low in terms of necessary resources for operation... it just ain't that low. :)
Click to expand...

For Comodo, I've got almost 11MB's commit, almost 11MB's working set, about 7MB's shareable and just over 4MB private.
Even if you add those together, that's not even 33MB's of useage. No big deal considering DWM is over 100MB just for commit, and that's only part of one of the many services Vista has made damn near mandatory.

SemperFi,
- Joey
 
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