I have been using Comodo Firewall Pro for a few months now and I think it’s a great firewall. However, the way in which major updates are currently implemented is unacceptable. There have been two major updates since I have been using Firewall Pro and each one has dumped all of my settings and/or changed the layout completely, and that’s not something I can stand behind as a user of your product.
I began using Firewall Pro with version 2.4 and I thought it was a great firewall with a good layout. Then version 3 came along and changed everything, which was distressing, but after re-tweaking everything and learning the new layout I was content with the firewall again. Now this new update has been released and it too wants to change everything again. Can we nip this problem in the bud, please? All I ask for are less drastic updates and some improvements to streamline the updating process so that users don’t have to restart multiple times or lose their settings.
I want to be clear that I’m not posting this thread with the sole intent of complaining, I genuinely enjoy using Firewall Pro and I wish the best for the team at Comodo and their projects. That is exactly why I want to bring the only concern I’ve ever had with their product to their attention: the inconvenient updating process. Please try to improve it to be more user friendly, Comodo.
I’ve got to agree that the last two updates have been lumpy, to say the least. The developers are well aware of the misgivings the last updates has caused. In their defence, they did try to warn users that updating would kill their current config, but the explanation was nowhere near clear enough, nor did they clearly outline what the effects of each possible action would be.
We can only hope that the development team lift their game, not in terms of coding, but in terms of their developed code being released into the big wide world that exists outside of a clean development environment.
Fingers crossed.
Again, thanks for your clear and reasoned posting.
Thank you for the warm welcome, panic. I agree with you that changes caused by the recent updates were not clearly stated to users before, during, or after the update process. A prime example of that problem is when you download and apply the update, then restart, and come back into Windows only to be greeted by a mysterious alert box that says nothing at all about Comodo or even a firewall and is vaguely titled “Configuration Migration”.
It would be a great help to users if the Comodo team could implement comprehensive and properly labeled explanations in Firewall Pro’s update boxes. Small improvements like that can make users feel more confident about updating.
On the other hand, a “big” improvement like leaving the GUI alone and only applying small updates that don’t require a system restart or a settings dump would be the ideal future, and would undoubtedly skyrocket user confidence.
For the transition 2.4 → 3.0
This was a major (if not complete) rewrite and security concept has dramatically evolved (Defense+ instead of Parent Check). Keeping the configuration in that case is basically impossible.
