My laptop connects to my wireless LAN when at home. I have Comodo 2.3.5.62 configured for that environment.
When I travel, I have no idea how to configure Comodo to protect connections for various ethernet and wi-fi hotspots in hotels, etc.
How should I do this?
Today, I connected the ethernet cable and booted the laptop at a hotel. Comodo came up with a couple of alerts that 2 services weren’t running and that I should reinstall the app to fix it. I was unable to select the button to turn on the services. So I disconnected the ethernet cable and rebooted. All was well after that, but I used wireless instead of ethernet.
I don’t know that I’m properly protected with Comodo when I’m outside my home LAN. I searched for a couple of hours on the forums here about laptops but didn’t find anything to fix my problem.
I have a couple of network zones (for the wireless adapter and for my WLAN) but not for my ethernet adapter. I don’t know how to set that up. Also, ShieldsUp say that I am not properly protected using a hotel wi-fi hotspot with at least one port open (https).
And what’s up with the Application Monitor and other components failing when I start the computer with the hotel ethernet cable attached?
I have a couple of network zones (for the wireless adapter and for my WLAN) but not for my ethernet adapter. I don't know how to set that up. Also, ShieldsUp say that I am not properly protected using a hotel wi-fi hotspot with at least one port open (https).
Basically wi-fi hotspots may have open or close (non-stealth) ports. However those ports are open only to the router, not to your Laptop. Even if someone was able to gain access to the router, he/she won’t be able to gain access to your Laptop if you have a software firewall enable.
In other words: Relax, Comodo Firewall will always protect you if you leave the default settings. No matter what wi-fi hotspots you use; your personal firewall (Comodo) should always protect you. I personally use Comodo Firewall on my laptop and use many public wi-fi hotspots as well.
And what's up with the Application Monitor and other components failing when I start the computer with the hotel ethernet cable attached?
Don’t be too stress on that. Comodo Firewall will always protect you from inbound attacks during boot-up.
In control panel, network connections, righ click the connection to the “Untrusted Wireless LAN” and click propertires, deselect File and printer sharing for microsoft networks.
Also you can set rules in COMODO revolving around the IP address that the “Untrusted Wireless LAN” is using, and you can just allow certain protocols.
It really depends on how much security you want. (I am not sure COMODO by itself is smart enough to take care of Untrusted Wireless LAN’s), these sorts of connections are almost as hostile as the internet, COMODO treating it as a LAN (Trusted network) is very worrying, as COMODO does not know if it is a “trusted” or “hostile” LAN ???
Thank you for the replies. For the record, I always turn off F&P sharing when I’m on the road.
REgarding Comodo components failing, today I tried starting the laptop with the hotel ethernet cable attached and did NOT get the failing modules today. This makes me question the stability of Comodo.
I have had 2 instances of multiple module failure with Comodo thus far. One on my original version (before 2.3.5.62) and another with the current version. In both cases, the error msgs suggested I should reinstall the software to fix the problem.
In the first case, upon reinstallation, it also d/l and installed the latest version (2.3.5.62). In the second case, it has not duplicated the error… yet.
But this detracts from my main focus about this thread… and that is traveling protection for the laptop.
Why do we set up protected components and zones (the wireless adapter and home LAN) and yet don’t need to do the same for the ethernet NIC and non-home LANs? Perhaps I’m still mired in ZoneAlarm mentality, but if default settings suffice for Comodo, then why bother to tweak them at all?
On my home LAN, ShieldsUp tests good. On the road, it doesn’t pass on the common ports scan.
While I can set rules for untrusted LANs, (which I’m not even sure I know how to do yet) I can’t know the LAN details until I connect, right? Which sorta defeats the purpose of the protection, at least, initially. Or so it appears to me.
My comfort level is still not high enough yet on this firewall. I do admit that my Comodo knowledge level is not high either… thus ignorance is not bliss in this case.
I think you were missing a point made earlier and someone can correct me if I am wrong
At home, testing site such as ShieldsUp is hitting the firewall of your router, not your laptop. Same thing when on the road. The only way you can properly test your software firewall is if you plug your laptop directly into the Internet with is a highly unlikely scenario. What software firewalls can do for you is to protect you from malicious outbound traffic such as a Trojan Horse.
To illustrate my point run ShieldsUp with the following combinations:
Comodo On and Off
Windows XP firewall On and Off
I suspect you will get similar results. Also it is possible your ISP may also be filtering these attacks.
So what tweaks I have done to Comodo just allows my home LAN to operate properly with my laptop. On the road, all I’m interested in is protection and not file sharing within a LAN so I don’t need to provide any other rules for the ethernet connection. The blocking rules are already there. Do I understand correctly?
And to make my point even further, I found this quote in the FAQ of this forum
“In a phone sense, a personal firewall is sort of like call screening, but automatically disconnecting the people you’ve already told the phone you don’t want to talk to. A hardware firewall is like the switchboard operator.”
