How would you rate Comodo Personal Firewall? and what to improve?

[Guest]

[axl]

I wish Comodo would fix all bugs FIRST before going ahead and adding new features, such as this "Fixit" service.
I don't understand why many software vendors nowadays think it is ok to leave a product at less than 100% before moving on.
Very annoying, and definitely does not inspire TRUST.
 

[Melih]

Good Day,


I have been using Comodo 3.x since 1 week after it was released to the public....
..& I like it.....
But, the last 2 releases of Comodo 3.x have been the Poorest/Worst since I started using Comodo 3.x....


Could Melih Please answer the following questions:

(1). Will this situation be rectified for all future releases?....,
..or will all "final" releases continue to be betas?....

(2). Will More pre-release testing be done (both alpha & beta)?

(3). Will the update installs be improved?

(4). Will configuration migration tools be provided when configuration changes occur?
When install 3.0.17.304, & then load previously saved configuration (from previous version 3.0.16.295) it does it without any Error messages.....
..But the it does NOT work......
So loading a previous config is BROKEN / FAULTY......


Could we Please have Melih answer the above questions?.....


Thank You Very Much,

Roberta

Thanks for that Roberta

You must appreciate, it is our upmost desire to make sure everything goes smoothly. At no stage do we cut corners as this is either pay or pay later kind of situation where you pay one way or the other if you cut corners. So everything we do we make sure, as much as we can, that everything will go smoothly.

HOWEVER

V3 is a very powerful beast! And we will have some compatibility issues or some unforseen issues. One of the important things is that we are here to address these issues as quickly as possible.

thanks

melih

[RobWiller]

How do you do it?
How do you make a free software of this quality? 

PS: Please speed up the CAVS and backup software to Firewall's quality.
Yes, I realize I am being greedy but COMODO raised up the expectation.

Thank you.

[MIDNIGHTCOWBOY]

Hi
Just when I was coming back to the "Comodo" way of thinking, yesterday I downloaded the 'update' for my CFP3.  I know it's not Comodo's fault that I am at the moment stuck in a part of Brazil with only a dial-up option but it took one hour to load then I had to almost repeat the instalation process and in so doing lost many of my previous configs.  I'm not doubting the integrity of the firewall which I think is excellent but the value of the scanner is in doubt as it found none of the three problems I knew to be on my PC having already been identified (but left in situ) by other programs.  I am keeping faith with BO Clean and the CMF and will also wait to evaluate CAVS3 (if I live long enough), but sorry to say at the moment I have reverted back to Online Armor for my firewall. 
Regards,
Glyn

[kaweka]

Hi,

I going to migrate from Sunbelt Kerio to Comodo.
It seems to be nice firewall, significantly nicer and professional in contrast to Sunbelt's one.

Currently I am in the research and becoming familirized with Comodo.

However, I don't like Comodo's password protection.
In my opinion the the password checking should be made while entering range of  firewall tasks or defense tasks or misc  tasks.
With current solution one is being borred with steady password checks. Hard handling.
Similar, I don't think the "Event" dialogs, firewall and defense, don't need to be protected by password. I have used, to let the FW to protocol all network packets.
Based on the protocol I can exactly observe the traffic and in case of adaptation needs to deploy appropriate rule. If protocol is password protected the switching from it to filter rule editor lasts longer is dismotivating.
Generally I think each good firewall should enable fast switching between traffic protocol and the rule filter editor. Better would be to be able to have both open in the same time.

[roberta]

Thanks for that Roberta

You must appreciate, it is our upmost desire to make sure everything goes smoothly. At no stage do we cut corners as this is either pay or pay later kind of situation where you pay one way or the other if you cut corners. So everything we do we make sure, as much as we can, that everything will go smoothly.

HOWEVER

V3 is a very powerful beast! And we will have some compatibility issues or some unforseen issues. One of the important things is that we are here to address these issues as quickly as possible.

thanks

melih

Good Day Melih,

Greatly Appreciate your response.....

Thank You Very Much,

Roberta

[valldemossa]

[/quote][/quote]

Good Day,


I have been using Comodo 3.x since 1 week after it was released to the public....
..& I like it.....
But, the last 2 releases of Comodo 3.x have been the Poorest/Worst since I started using Comodo 3.x....


Could Melih Please answer the following questions:

(1). Will this situation be rectified for all future releases?....,
..or will all "final" releases continue to be betas?....

(2). Will More pre-release testing be done (both alpha & beta)?

(3). Will the update installs be improved?

(4). Will configuration migration tools be provided when configuration changes occur?
When install 3.0.17.304, & then load previously saved configuration (from previous version 3.0.16.295) it does it without any Error messages.....
..But the it does NOT work......
So loading a previous config is BROKEN / FAULTY......


Could we Please have Melih answer the above questions?.....


Thank You Very Much,

Roberta

Thanks for that Roberta

You must appreciate, it is our upmost desire to make sure everything goes smoothly. At no stage do we cut corners as this is either pay or pay later kind of situation where you pay one way or the other if you cut corners. So everything we do we make sure, as much as we can, that everything will go smoothly.

HOWEVER

V3 is a very powerful beast! And we will have some compatibility issues or some unforseen issues. One of the important things is that we are here to address these issues as quickly as possible.

thanks

melih

I have only voted for a 4 because I concur fully with Roberta on all the issues raised.

When asked if you wish to Migrate to the new configuration, one would expect (and rightly so!) the migration to involve a conversion from the old format to the new. The previously saved rules cannot be restored although the Import Utility indicates success.

Having previously spent an enormous amount of time getting the Rules as I would like them, I've just spent another three solid days priming the Defense+ Rules and re-entering the Firewall rules. It's a bit like Michelangelo having to repaint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel after it had been whitewashed by the Pope.

I'm would be far from happy if I were using my PC in a commercial environment.

Melih, in his reply, does not address the issues raised by Roberta, especially the issue regarding the migration/conversion of rules. Indeed, has the update worked as expected or was there a conversion tool that failed?

Could Melih give some answers to the actual points raised as I believe it would boost confidence not only in the Update procedures but for the product as a whole. The potential of this product is tremendous but it appears to be let down by lack of visibility in testing/quality assurance and lack of control in delivery.

Also It would be nice to be able to Export and Import discrete sections of the Configuration such as Network Security and Computer Security, even to the level of My Network Zones etc, so that the workload may be reduced for any future structure changes. Of course, any major structure change may negate the value of this.


Regards, Dave

[panic]

Also It would be nice to be able to Export and Import discrete sections of the Configuration such as Network Security and Computer Security, even to the level of My Network Zones etc, so that the workload may be reduced for any future structure changes. Of course, any major structure change may negate the value of this.

This is quite a good idea Dave! The export configuration is simple a registry hive and can be parsed relatively simply and would allow for restoration of just one section of the config, if desired.

Can you please add this to the firewall wishlist.

Cheers,
Ewen :-)

[AnotherOne]

Ideas:

1.  Make it possible to import a rule or policy saved by CFP from an outside source.  We could then have rules posted that you could select from for app's that have odd needs.

2.  Make it possible to select the text for copying via ctrl+c from pop-up alerts, logs, event viewers and so on.  This would save a lot of paper when you need to write a rule.

3.  Improve the password implementation for the firewall.  There could be a real vulnerability from hackers mimicking keystrokes/mouse clicks to shut the firewall down.  A password could prevent that - if it did not create too much hassle.  IE require it once for any open CFP session and make logs and Active Connections (but not Active Processes) not password protected and available from the tray icon.  Anyone who has a program like Autohotkeys or a similar scripting program is vulnerable to this kind of attack.

4.  Remove the Firewall Security Level and the Defense+ Security Level from the tray icon dialog - it is a security hole:  See above.

EDIT:  Forgot the reason I started this post!!  There is no configuration for the new virus scanner part of CFP.  It needs some options.  It also needs to be available for scanning the programs that cause alerts - from the pop-up dialog - or it should automatically scan those programs like CBOClean.

[jfd15]

Comodo Firewall is excellent, thanks Comodo....


the only thing i can think to improve, and apologies if it has been mentioned before is,

i often get the dialog box that asks me to submit a suspicious file to Comodo, i then have to
find the file thru the "Miscellaneous--->>Submit Suspicious File" section....
is it possible to just add an option on the
initial pop-up dialog box to agree to submit that file then, instead of having to dig for the
location...

[user999]

Please change the system tray/animation icon (that shows red/green arrows) back to the old one that comes in CPF 2.4.   Can't stand the one in CPF 3.0 (it's not clear/the arrows aren't defined clearly enough; the arrows look like they're vibrating not moving up/down).

PLease add the option in CPF 3 to use the old system animation from CPF 2.4

[dave]

I  :-TUgave it a 4. On the Summary Screen it would be nice to be able to just click on the 'Blocked' in the Network and Proactive Defense and be moved to the appropriate screen to be able to view and/or adjust the rating of the items blocked.
Being an old fellow, I would like to be able to increase the font size on all screens.

Dave.

[Githyanki]

I came across this firewall on a website about freeware quite by accident (Will give you the URL if interested-it's on my other comp. Basically this website reviews genuine freeware and has a blog. Needless to say I am now a subscriber

The first thing that happened is that I downloaded, no probs, and ran the Virus scan. "Not necessary", I thought. I regularly run Spyware doctor and Norton AV complete scans. Well, Comodo first of all ran through my 1+TB data quite quickly, and proceeded to find 3 viruses and 5 Trojans, Keyloggers and whatnot that 2 Top of the Line Anti Spyware Providers missed!!!

Fortunately all of these were in a data backup I made for a friend a long time ago, and never touched. One virus in particular dated back to 1995 or so (3y). These malwares were NOT found by the most up to date, paid for Spyware doctor subscription. Unfortunately I am still locked into that contract, and currently cannot use my debit card online due to bank issues, but expect me to subscribe to your service soon as I can.

The Firewall itself:
Powerful, all the features I wanted including rules processing and SPI, ease of use and quite understandable. You do not really need to create rules yourself at all, in general I will be fine with just allowing an application. I cannot suggest improvements, as I am very new to the Firewall

Just one question: I will be using European Air War on the Net. (Yes, some people still play it!). Do I need to create a rule opening the Directx 7 Ports, or will I be fine with just allowing the app? If this seems dumb, I can tell you that the XP Firewall will not allow me to do that, I speak from experience. (Of course I also have a REALLY stupid ADSL modem w/Firewall that was almost impossible to configure for online play)

[colin.p]

I gave it a 4, not quite yet a 5, but close. I must say I really like this FW. I started with BlackIce, then moved onto AtGuard, ZA 2 then several flavours of that then onto Tiny then Kerio... etc. However, CFP3 has once again re-introduced my interest in all things security driven.
I have this baby running just the way I want it, I can't wait till another update, so I can tinker some more.
Just funnin ya, it really does work good, keep up the good work.

Colin

[Morpheous416]

Overall.. Comodo Firewall is a 5.  Since I started using with version 2.

However, version 3 I gave a 4 for the total overall experience.


The Good:

1.  The new UI is a lot easier to navigate thru to find things... set up Ports (love how easy it is to open a specific port and leave the others closed) and rules and such.  Very nice!

2.  Notification Tool with Selections pull down menu, really nice!!  Good to have options when teaching a firewall new tricks.. or how to properly identify programs it's not familiar with.  Unlike others that just have a Yes or No option.

3.  Built in "Process Explorer" (aka Active Processes) ... very useful when tracking rogue programs that have been installed.. as well as any services they might have hijacked!  Helped me track down an installation of SmitFraud on one of our kids' computers.

4.  Common and Advanced options for categories..

5.  A few more... but not necessary to list.


The Bad:

1.  Waiting for Review..  not all of Comodo's users will know about, or may even use the section where Comodo lists programs or setting changes that are 'waiting for review'.  Kinda makes ya think you're a teacher after the students have handed in their homework.

2.  Defense+ notifications even after you have chosen NOT to install with Defense+.  I can verify that you do indeed get D+ popups and clarification questions after choosing to install "Basic Firewall".  Though this might have to do with the firewall's install mentioning that you should use the extra protection method? ?  Which I did choose.. (the option that pops up during install when you choose Basic)

3.  Overlapping "learning" notifications with popup notifications asking you to choose if you'd like to allow the application to continue.


The Ugly:

1.  This firewall is the pitbull of all firewalls I've ever used!!  It's extremely aggressive... in fact, I believe WAY too aggressive for my tastes.

2.  In XP or Vista (SP1).. it can bring a installation to a grinding halt.. stopping each step of the install asking for permission (even if) you've chosen to switch to Install Mode.  UAC is bad enough in Vista.. this particular function makes UAC seem irrelevant.  I now just choose to exit the firewall completely when installing a program.

3.  If Defense+ is "learning"... how the heck do we shut it up??  Notification popups that need our attention are one thing... having screen space taken up because the program is learning every single step, mouse click, key stroke.. very irritating.  Have the firewall learn these steps as if it were in a library.. do it quietly!

4.  When switching from Install mode to Normal mode... we shouldn't need to have to tell it too, and maybe.. if we choose to use Install mode.. let us set the timer for how long we believe we'll need the firewall to stand back and let us work because the firewall will ask if you want to switch back in the middle of an installation.



With all that said.. it's still the primary choice for a firewall here.. and will be my recommendation when anyone asks.

 

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