hakin9 IT security magazine asks forComodo user's views

Hi all!
I’m an editor of hakin9 IT security magazine and I have a request for you guys.
We are going to publish personal firewalls test, including Comodo Firewall.
I would like to ask you for your opinions on CF (advantages, disadvantages, functionality etc.), all remarks will be helpful. We are also going to publish them on our site www.en.hakin9.org

Thank you in advance!
Marta& hakin9 team

Hi There,

Thank you for evaluating CFW too. I am looking forward to see the resuts.

Good luck,
Egemen

Hi Everyone

Can everyone please respond to Marta as they will be writing a review on CPF. :BNC

thank you for your help.

Melih

I kept getting an access denied trying the listed url. Did some more checking and it seems to be
a website originating in Poland.

Contact Info for hakin9.org:

Godlewski Adam
Ul. Konstruktorska 6
Warszawa 02-673,

POLAND
+48 022853602
adam [at] software.com.pl

The first impression II got was that they are trying to sell you something :slight_smile:
This url worked for me: http://en.hakin9.org/

Al

I have been emailing with Marta prior to this post.
Its all good :slight_smile:

They are genuinely looking forward to our users comments about CPF.

Melih

Strange, I can get there on either URL.

Marta: Whilst I am a Mod on there forums, I’m actually just a volunteer & I do not work for Comodo. I’m only biased in the sense that I applaud & fully support what Comodo are doing here.

Would a review from be OK?

Edit: Sorry, one more question. Will access to the article be free on your web site?

I am sure Marta wants to hear from everyone, including our Mods, as they are our super users of our products :slight_smile: So pls go ahead Kail…

thanks

Melih

The best firewall is…

C.O.M.O.D.O.

5/5 Stars.

Review Over.

I have to admit that this is one of the best if not simple the best software Firewall solution I’ve ever run. In no time at all(under 3 minutes from install) this package detected things going on that ZA, Outpost, and the old Sygate never had a clue about. Hats off to the Coders/Developers of this fine software package. People are always asking me what software do I recomend for security on a net connected machine. I’m glad to say I now have a simpler answer than before when I would rattle of a list of firewalls and anti-virus programs followed up by “But if you want … you’ll have to purchase the pro or what ever version.” Now I can simply say “Comodo Firewall and Anti-Virus they are 100% free.” Being able to make a statement like that gives me a nice warm and fuzzy feeling. Thank you once again and keep up the great work!

This package is loaded with features that you have to spend money on to get with other packages. The “Out of the box” configuration is well balanced for any internet user. Unlike many other packages I’ve tried in the past that either slowdown system preformence or lack in security and features.

I´ve been using Comodo Firewall two or three months. Prior to Comodo I have used the following Firewalls, latest first:

Tiny Firewall 2005
Look´n´stop
Outpost Pro
Mcafee
Zonealarm Pro
Kerio 2.15

They are all good in their own way, but either was a hassle to setup or they got bloated. And some where pretty advanced. Advanced with the wrong interface makes it hard to configure them. At least for me.

Then I stumbled on Comodo. First I noticed the “Free forever” pitch.
“Oh yeah” I was thinking to my self. "Free my ■■■■! " “There isnt such a thing as a free lunch!”.
I started to read on different forums about it. When I noticed that no one was actually attacking what Comodo claimed (passes all leaktests) they where attacking the company for offering something for free!? The “it must be a hoax” approach, without putting any evidence behind their words, just emotional opinions. Then I knew Comodo had something that made them scared :slight_smile: Then I read about why it was free and I saw the excellent support for a free product that doesnt try to sell me anything, so I decided to try it.
BTW I now read the same negative comments about Comodo Antivirus beta, which means there is another great product on the way :smiley:

Comodo was quite easy to setup. I understood it quickly. I ran all the leaktests. It took some time to train the firewall. For a while I got annoyed about some popups I didn’t understand (COM/OLE monitoring) but this comodo forum was very helpful explaining what it did and how I can decrease the popups. And now it is fully configured, with alot of help by the community and the “learning mode” Comodo just sits there and dont bother me unless something important happens. I have even ditched my HIPS and [computing] life is so much more peaceful nowadays. And I feel safe after beeing almost paranoid of all the dangers that lies out there (on the net), it is a fuzzy feeling :slight_smile:
I did run my HIPS along with Comodo FW a couple of months and noticed that Comodo does catch the things that are important. No need for overlapping software.

The only very minor, not even worth mentioning (but I have to mention something bad, dont I? :slight_smile: ) negaive aspect is that the FW gui doesn’t have a button for settings backup.

I recommend this firewall to all my not so computer savvy friends whenever I can. Even to my security nerd (I am on too) friends but they cant yet let go of their FW they have invested money and time on :slight_smile:

Hi Marta,

I will give my best and honest opinion all the way around as possible as a user and moderator. I was using Zone Alarm for a good 6 years if I recall correctly and would not use another firewall. I didn't even search for another firewall. After a while, ZA became bloated, took a long time to boot up, wasn't passing tests I would have liked it to, and lastly, wouldn't allow me to connect to the internet with my DSL connection at all. I recieved no answers. I stumbled upon Comodo while looking for a firewall and decided to give it a chance. I was very leary at first as you can imagine, a FREE , FULL version firewall. Ok, what's the catch? There wasn't any. I put it through tests of all sorts and it kept passing them. I checked for spyware, malware and other things thinking it was too good to be true but found nothing. 

This firewall was and is A+ in my opinion. Why? Well besides the fact it passes leak tests “on automatic configuration no less”, it boots up immediately on my system which is great. I can begin browsing and not finding a hobby to do while waiting like with ZA. It has not conflicted with anything on my computer, is blocking everything it should, is easy to configure in my opinion. As well, I have had no issues with anything getting blocked that shouldn’t. I would rate this firewall from 1-5 , a definate 5 and will accept no other.

I did say I would be honest and I intend to be. The only issue I have had is when an “untrusted” OLE gets blocked by the user, you have to restart to clear it. This is a hit and miss as many put the alert level on low, me I am a stickler for everything that goes in\out of my computer. I am certain this will be fixed in the next version, which brings me to another point that does, “in my opinion” have to do with WHY CPF is so good. The support here. The forum is a friendly place, they actually take user’s opinions\ideas into consideration and build from this. The CEO, Melih, interacts with users to see what they want and expect. Where else can you find this? Along with this, any bugs found are fixed as quickly as possible. When something is built for and by user’s ideas, it can only become a greater product. I recommend CPF to everyone and many have thanked me for it.

And to note: I don’t say this “because” i’m a moderator, I became a moderator due to the fact I liked CPF so much and was eager to help in any way I could and became a regular on here for quite a few months now and was asked\voted to become a moderator. I will always use CPF as long as it exists and is one program I look forward to seeing load on my computer when it starts.

Thank you,

  Paul

Hello Marta,

I would be happy to give you my views and opinions :D.

I have tried all of the popular free and paid firewalls out there and none of them have ever measured up to Comodo Personal Firewall. Norton, Sygate, Kerio, Filseclab, and ZoneAlarm Free and Pro are just a few of the ones I have tried out. Their support, and protection are nothing compared to Comodo’s and best of all Comodo not only offers superior protection, but Comodo is also 100% free, and passes all known leak tests! Also future versions of Comodo will protect against Buffer Overflow protection, making it even better then the competition, and once again all of this is free. Comodo not only features state of the art protection, but has an amazing support, whenever I have ever had a problem with Comodo Personal Firewall or any other Comodo product for that matter, I have either had the issue solved by the wonderful support provided on this forum from the users and Comdoo staff, or by submitting a support ticket at the Comodo support site. The Comodo Support team was always very helpful whenever I had a problem and submitted a support ticket. They usually replied to my ticket within an hour from when I had submitted it! I must say I am truly amazed, and their support is free of charge! Try submitting a support ticket by e-mail to any other company and I can guarantee that they will not reply to you within an hour. Overall Comodo is a truly amazing company who has the resources to make an amazing firewall free of charge for both business and home users.

Justin

I intended to write a review of Comodo’s firewall, but I can only agree with previous posts.
I just have one thing to say about using this firewall…
I have never felt so secure before!

Previously I’ve always used payware Firewalls. AtGuard (bought by Symantec), Symantec’s NIS (yuk), Zone Alarm Pro, Sygate’s SPF Pro - 3 “life-time” licenses (bought by Symantec). Since SPF Pro’s IDS was not being updated any more & it was, in effect, a dead product, I decided to go looking for another firewall. At this point I was looking at pay versions. I tested several, whilst avoiding certain brands. I’d almost picked Outpost before I accidentally ran into CFW. Despite, all the FREE banners, I didn’t initially realise is was free until a bit later. Anyway, I instantly knew this was the one (it was a bit like SPF Pro), there were a few things missing. But, it felt right. It also had good functionality & outperformed all over firewalls I had tested on my system. When I visited the forums… I was pleasantly surprised. It was not normal, that’s for sure. The CEO, the coders & support were all readily available on the forums. Things were open & transparent. And the users were providing knowledgeable support themselves. Comodo’s attitude to users if very refreshing. The up-take of user ideas/wishes/feedback happens. Here was a firewall that was being built by the coder in close consultation with its users. It was a community. And it was… FREE (I read it in a post by Melih, the CEO). The support on the forums was even better than any paid support that I had previously encountered. To cap it all, CFW has an impressive feature packed future road-map; Multilingual version & Buffer Overflow Protection beta due next week (16th Nov). Any maybe even the next generation of CFW (with HIPS) for Christmas.

In summary, CFW is an exceptional firewall, at an unbelievable price (completely free).

Hey Marta,

I won’t rehash what has already been stated about CPF - it really is that good!

One aspect I like is that the user interface, although a bit flashy, is easy to understand and presents a good amount of information. It does this in a non-intimidatory manner, and I’ve found that this makes it a very easy firewall to introduce to non-technical users. Half the problem with getting non-technical users comfortable with a new piece of software is the user interface, and with a complex system level application like a firewall, this is doubly so.

I applaud the effort the Comodo development team have put into the UI for CPF. It makes a complex app look easy for non-technical users, and these are generally the users that can gain the most benefit from security software.

Cheers,
Ewen :slight_smile:

Hi Marta,

Comodo firewall is the best I’ve ever used, and unlike the other firewalls I used, I’m not constantly looking round for something better.
When I first used Comodo firewall I did have some small problems with version 1, but another thing what distinguishes Comodo from the others is that they listen to all their user’s opinions (good or bad) and act upon them. With version 2 all my - and other user’s problems were solved and there were some nice new features added as well.

In any comparision test where you are testing the security of firewalls, Comodo will always come top with its unique ability to detect all leaktests on its default settings. Comodo firewall can also protect itself against termination, and reviews of this have reported that it is virtually impossible to terminate the firewall.

One of the best things about Comodo is it is suitable for the ‘technical minded’ and ‘noobs’ and with its ever expanding ‘safelist’ of applications it means you rarely get many alerts from the firewall and aren’t overwhelmed. There is a list of malware which the firewall can detect and alert the user to when it tries to connect to the internet.

Overall, Comodo firewall is the best I’ve used and can easily beat any other. And, to top all that, its FREE!

Mike

Marta,

I’d be happy to chime in on Comodo Firewall. Like many of the others who have responded, I have used a number of other firewalls, both commercial and free.

These include: Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro, Sygate, Jetico, Zone Alarm (Free and Pro), Sunbelt Kerio, Ashampoo, Black Ice.

Some were distinctly inferior not due to lack of protection, but because of complexity in configuration and use. Some were either reduced in functionality from the start or dropped features at the end of an initial period of use. Others had random issues, such as suddenly deciding that I didn’t need to be able to access the internet at all any more. In a number of cases, an internet lock feature would mysteriously be enabled and would have to be turned off to regain access; in one case, this would happen over and over and the only fixes available were to (1) turn off the firewall entirely and restart it, or (2) reboot the pc. As an avid online gamer, neither option was particularly appealing to me and tended to displease my fellow gamers. (:AGY)

I am a computer support technician and happened to be tasked with setting up a computer to be used outside our network’s protective firewall for an extended period (years, provided the machine runs that long) and immediately thought of Comodo Firewall to protect it. The user to whom the computer was assigned is extraordinarily non-technical and does not take to change very well at all, so it was critical that I be able to put a firewall on the machine which would (1) offer good solid protection, and (2) would protect without giving the user strange messages which would require a call to the helpdesk each time something happened.

Three weeks later, I’ve still only received one call and it was to tell me that the firewall was not activated - our email filter blocked the activation code from being delivered. I had another code sent to my personal mail and then forwarded it to her. She emailed me to tell me the code didn’t work, but after convincing her to copy and paste it from her email, it activated and has not given her a bit of trouble.

That, in itself, tells me that all the times I’ve recommended it to friends I haven’t asked them to try something that they can’t use. There are plenty of advanced features available, but you’re not bombarded with them.

I’ve only been using Comodo myself for maybe six months, if that long. I can’t say exactly, as I don’t generally leave a computer load alone for much over three or four months. (A freshly loaded computer runs better). So far, I have experienced only one problem and it was my fault. :o

I have to add that I did send one question in to support and had a response in an hour or less. I’ve waited days for responses from other companies, so that kind of service impressed me right away.

With positive experiences like these, I see no reason to look for another firewall and don’t hesitate to recommend Comodo to both friends and family. This has definitely been one of the best pieces of software I’ve ever stumbled onto.

Brad

Advantages: Powerfull Firewall (if not the best, one of them) and free!
Disadvantages: hum… That’s your job i guess, i’m a non-technical user. Maybe the reviews that didn’t use the current version. So i can’t say which if any.
Functionality: Smooth. When i first installed it, i had some issues with CPU usage, reported here on the forum. Either i did something wrong, or the update fixed it. With the current version i have NO issues.
Support: 1st class; plus open to user suggestions, bug reports, issues…

Upon publishing your review, i would like if you’d be open yourself to suggestions to re-review in case something was not right. Right now i can only think of not using the current version. But there could be something else. Not saying that you aren’t professional in what you do, nor requesting special treatment for Comodo. Be open regarding every product reviewed to get to a final and consensual result.
That way i would bookmark your site, surely.

Hi Marta,

although a mod I’m a simple user of comodo products and a big fan of the CF.

Things that I like about Comodo Firewall:

  1. It works like a router or a gateway. And that means none can access your pc if your pc does not initiates the connection. This is a big advantage especially for the users that are not behind a router.

  2. It is simple enough for the novice users and extremelly powerfull for the security maniacs like me that want to know and control every single packet that comes in or gets out from the pc.

  3. It is free for lifetime and the most important with free support through the customer service or through these forums.

  4. It passes succesfully all leaktests around without the need to be modified by the user. ;D
    And this makes it safer for the beginners.

5.It uses very few resources about (12-24 mb of ram; it depends from the net activity)

  1. It is in costant evolution since the support team listen at the users wishes and tries to implement them in the new updates or versions. (example: the “Buffer Overflow protection” that will be added on the new beta)

Things that I don’t like:

  1. During the updates it does not remember the settings that the user had modified at the previous version.

2.Sometimes it gives problems with wifi lans. The easiest way to bypass them is to give a static IP address at the pc through windows and not through the DCHP server of the wifi router.

  1. It is not accurate as outpost about the data exchanged by the various applications.

  2. The “OLE Bug”. (Although there is a way to bypass it, it can only be done with some tweaking of the settings and is not for the novice or the medium users)
    But all of them will be fixed in the new updates/upgrades. (I hope ;D)

I tested Comodo for numerous leaktests and also ShieldsUp (No Reverse DNS), and in my big surprise it did really good and made my computer more secure. (L)
Comparing with some good firewalls in terms of computer performance especially ZoneAlarm TERRIBLY slowed down the boot time a lot while comodo boots much more faster. And also I remember the firewall in sunbelt, it gives me blue screens while trying to run a program (For example Gunbound), Outpost sometimes block my net access on browsers even though I already placed them in the trusted zone thingy, comodo is easier to manage and full version is free but some are confusing like OLE stuffs ???
One of the biggest advantage in terms of help is the forums, you are guided by people with knowledge on the firewall and safe programs and even sometimes tips on how you fix this and that

What it lacks is the something that exports a back-up rule so when a computer is reformatted or the firewall is reinstalled the back-up rule on a storage device can easily be uploaded on the firewall to reduce time in clicking whether to accept or not :THNK

I greatly appreciate your good service and being open to users of this firewall