As a Zone Alarm user with about 190 days left on my subscription, I am looking for greener pastures when my subscription gets near the end. I have never used another firewall, and ZA is pretty simple to use. I would like to possibly switch to Comodo based on what I have read, but I have some concerns about my lack of knowledge. Reading some of the posts in the forum I can’t understand most of what is being discussed. I understand most of the terminology and about ports etc. but as I said, ZA is basically a set it and forget it firewall. It looks like I would have to do some of the settings myself in Comodo. I see there is a wizard for people like me, but how simple does the wizard make it. Thanks in advance for your heads up. :-\
twl845
CPF is easy enough to install and to operate! It also allows more advanced features, but you probably don’t need them all.
you can simply install and forget, unless CPF reminds you thru alerts about things that require attention.
Plus, you always have the Comodo community who will help you all the way.
Melih
twl845,
Welcome to the forums and Comodo community!
It has been a while since I’ve installed the “official version” as I have grabbed every Beta CPF version that has been released… so my install memory for the “official version” is failing a bit.
What I can tell you is that the main issue people have had “out of the box” was that they had missed defining the “Trusted Zone” which I am sure is a familiar name to you. Where ZA prompted for this right away, I can only recall the newer Beta CPF versions giving a similar prompt. There is a Wizard located in the “official version” to take care of setting it up, but people had to use it manually.
IMHO, If you are looking to replace ZA today (I uninstalled the ZA Internet Security Suite for Comodo myself, so I highly recommend it) I would suggest using the latest Beta. Not just for the Autorun of the Trusted Zone wizard, but for all the other fixes and improvements that have made their way inside it. Even thoughit is a Beta, it is extremely stable, I have not had an issue at all.
The only limit on the Beta version is that it does not look for or install updates. So If you decide to go that route, you would need to check the Beta Forum for new beta versions untill the new “official version” is released. In any case, with a beta installed, you would need to uninstall/reinstall if you wanted to move to any other new verison (beta or not).
The post that contains the link to the most recent Beta version of CPF (5 days ago) is here…
Hopefully I have given you some good information to help with your decision.
(CNY)
Melih and Mongod - Thanks for the quick response. I see that you have to uninstall before installing an updated version. How easy is it to uninstall the old version. I’m sure you have read the horror stories on the ZA forum of people trying to do a clean uninstall. You had better know what you’re doing. How involved is a CPF uninstall?
Hi,
Well usually in an update, the Firewall will download an update and install it then ask for a restart. However in the Beta version the firewall update option is disabled. So this means you have to download the updated version yourself then install it during installation you will be asked if you want to uninstall the older version, then you click OK and the old one is uninstalled automaticaly. Then the installer for the new version starts, after installation you restart and your done.
Just to be clear, the uninstall is only required for the Beta’s when wanting to move to a newer verison.
The first CPF version (official) I installed was 2.1.1.1, which was automatically updated to 2.2.0.11, if memory serves me correctly.
It was only when I started wanting the beta version(s) that I committed myself to uninstalling.
I have had no problems uninstalling CPF. The advantage that the Beta’s have is that they are using Comodo’s own installer tool (instead of Install Sheild) which was a great improvement.
The only issue with uninstalling is that your configuration is not remembered; there is also no easy way, without registry export/import to backup/restore the CPF config. I did not see this as a negative in the end however (originally I did), as the Network rules are taken care of by the Wizard, and I launch all my major apps that need internet access right away, answer the popups, and I’m off to the races once again.
OK thanks again! ;D
Please be sure to actually test the Personal Firewall, and be sure to come back and visit 
Quite right.
And don’t wait until day 189 
I’d hate for you to miss out on all that CPF has to offer you today, tomorrow, and down the road. Put it this way… my ISP gave me 3 “free” licenses of ZA ISS that expire in like 30 years… and I uninstalled it in a heart beat ;D
(CNY)