How do I UNBLOCK A WEBSITE in __VERSION 2.4__ *NOT* version 3! so don't ask me

Help for v2
1

I see that another poster has asked this, so let me be direct:

I am posting in the Version 2 forum (as I presume the other member is tsk) because I am using version 2.4 DUH. Don’t ask me to use features I can’t use. (:AGY) I’m on Windows 2000 and it isn’t my fault I can’t use version 3 – version 3 won’t work with Windows 2000.

So now that we’ve settled that it is useless to ask me to use a feature in a version of Comodo I cannot by definition use . . .

I accidentally instructed Comodo to DENY access to a site . . . and now the only way I can get back in is by turning off Comodo.

Where is this information buried? clearly not in the Help file.

Thank you.

MC

2

Hi,

A specific domain is a specific IP address I guess. So look for a rule, in the network monitor I think, blocking traffic to that site’s IP address. If it’s not in the network monitor look in the app monitor, in the rule for your browser.

3

CFP doesn’t keep a list of blocked sites as such. It will create a rule for an application that will block that application from using a particular IP address or Internet domain name. As Japo suggests, you’ll have to eyeball the lists for what you blocked. Open CFP, then click Security → Application Monitor, to see what rules got created for your applications. It’s possible in the Network Monitor, but unlikely as that takes more explicit steps to create a rule.

4

With all due respect to Comodo, this is ridiculous. (:AGY)

And I now know why I posted this thread: Because I examined every setting in the program and could not find any intelligible setting that told me that “www.abcdefg.com” has been blocked.

Surely you’re not going to suggest that I have to hunt down the IP address? Why can’t Comodo just show this data in a format recognizable to the user?

For all of you long-suffering with this issue, I have the one solution that doesn’t oblige you to hold a degree in IP Security: Uninstall the program. And then reinstall it.

And if that isn’t the most ridiculous method by which to edit what amounts to a one-line entry I don’t know what is!

So here is what this adventure in Comodo management can be summarized as:
Never, ever make even one human error in denying a website access through the Comodo settings, or you may just as well resign yourself to the draconean extreme of uninstalling the program and reinstalling it from scratch.

Stupid doesn’t begin to describe this workaround, but since no one else is willing to say it, I’ll post it here so no one else wastes their time trying to locate data that Comodo will never display in a form you will recognize as The Site You Just Accidentally Blocked.

MC

5

Miss,

As far as I know, and please correct me if I’m wrong, CFP 2 doesn’t include a site blocker. (You can block sites by their names in your browser anyway, maybe that’s what you did and not anything related with CFP.) In case that it was CFP that blocked the site, the only way that could happen (as far as I know) is because you for some reson tweaked the alert level from the default low (one alert for each app and for out- or in-bound) to the maximum very high (one alert for each app, for out/in, for each port, and for each IP).

So in short as far as I know, that’s the only way a site could have got blocked by CFP. People who set the alert level at the maximum level usually know very well what they’re doing, and if they don’t they immediately set it back to a more reasonable level after a too obvious deluge of popups. If you didn’t change this setting, and I lean towards thinking that you didn’t, I’m afraid your problem lies elsewhere and not with CFP.

6

Then please explain to me why I could open this site up in Internet Explorer 6, but not Firefox. :THNK

Incidentally (so we’re all on the same page here) the specific activity which occurs is the default “Firefox cannot display this page . . . site may be down etc.” page that you get when you’re not online (eg. your Dialup connection has either been terminated -or- you just haven’t logged on yet).

Now the only other thing I can think of in response to your comments Japo is the following, and if I am correct, then with all due respect it is Comodo that needs to do a bit of programming, not Firefox:

We all agree that everyone must define their “default” browser (mine is Firefox).
We all agree that we can both define (and edit) “Untrusted” applications in Comodo.

I opened a shareware application that I was trying out for the first time and it immediately began calling my browser (for whatever reason). I never allow my programs to do this, and this event was entirely unanticipated or I would have logged off before it began spying on me (which is what I presume was its motive).
Comodo asked me if I wanted to allow this application to call a website.
I clicked DENY.
I played with the app for awhile, then closed it.

When I next attempted to return to the main portal of the app’s website to research FAQ information about this little program, the Firefox “cannot display this webpage” appeared.

This site was never entered anywhere in my Firefox settings.

This site opened just fine in Internet Explorer 6.

So in summary, it appears that a site you need to visit – which you inadvertently blocked when an application was attempting to call (some address on) the site – renders the site unavailable to the default browser the application attempted to call . . . but not a different browser, for which you will be able to open the site without restriction.

Comodo appears to “take the baby out with the bathwater,” by being incapable of distinguishing between application-generated activity and user-generated activity.

I’m sorry, but I can reach no other logical conclusion.

MC

7

miss, it’s your prolonged speeches who are ridiculous. It’s clear as day - an app tried to use your browser (Firefox) to connect to it’s homepage, you denied it. Version 2.4 does NOT have proper HIPS functions so when you block something - you block only internet access. If the PROGRAM itself is trying to connect - you deny connection for the PROGRAM. If it tries to USE some OTHER PROGRAMS to connect (e. g. Firefox) - you block OTHER PROGRAM (e. g. Firefox) from accessing website, NOT that shareware program! This is what happened - you block the program’s homepage when it was trying to use Firefox to get there. The rule was created in Firefox rules (since the proggie was trying to connect using your default browser, which is Firefox), so look there. Yes, that’s right - you blocked FIREFOX from accessing that site, not your DEFAULT BROWSER. If you wish - you can check that by setting IE/Opera/whatever your default browser and connecting to the site. I can guarantee you WILL be able to access the site.

99% possibility that you should look for an IP.
If you want to know site’s IP - fine, it’s fairly easy.
Go to Start menu → Run… → cmd (this will launch command promt)
Type in “ping YouSiteName.com”. The firewall will first give an alert about ping.exe is trying to send ICMP packets, you should allow it and then you’ll see something like this:

C:\Documents and Settings\Burillo>ping ya.ru

Pinging ya.ru [213.180.204.8] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 213.180.204.8: bytes=32 time=1640ms TTL=59
Reply from 213.180.204.8: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=59
Reply from 213.180.204.8: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=59
Reply from 213.180.204.8: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=59

Ping statistics for 213.180.204.8:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 30ms, Maximum = 1640ms, Average = 433ms


as you can see, there is an IP (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) which you should look for in Firefox rules. Of course, this is not the only way to know IP but it’s the first one i thought of and the easiest one, though some users get scared with black console screen and the need of typing instead of clicking the mouse.

Remember - when you ban something with 2.4 (v3.0 is different) - you ban a CONNECTION ATTEMPT. not a single other thing can be blocked with CPF 2.4.

I'm sorry, but I can reach no other logical conclusion.
as you can see - there IS another logical conclusion. I don't have an IP security degree, however i tend to firstly educate myself and then blame "faulty" software which i misused.
Why can't Comodo just show this data in a format recognizable to the user?
sorry lady, internet does not operate with domain names. it's all about IP addresses. And the only reason you don't see a single IP address when you browse the web is the fact that some clever guys invented DNS (Domain Name Servers) which can resolve "human-readable" abcdef.com into proper address. You also must thank these clever guys for reverse naming of domains, which allows you to type "forums.comodo.com" and not "com.comodo.forums", which is how domain names are really organized on the DNS.
Never, ever make even one human error in denying a website access through the Comodo settings
this is a SECURITY piece of software. if you can't deny anything - what's the sense of installing it anyway?
8

With a Firefox problem, then it’s worth checking CFP rules to see what applies to Firefox. Click Security → Application Monitor. In the list that gets displayed, there will likely be several lines for Firefox. In the far right hand side is a “permission” column. If Firefox is blocked from a site, that permission will be marked as Blocked, and have a red icon. Otherwise, it’s Allowed, and green.

If you want to remove a Blocked entry, click on that line to highlight it. Then right-click, and select Remove. Press enter to delete the blocking rule.

9

If the website is blocked in the firewall, and not by the browser instead, and still you can see it in IE but not in Firefox, then it’s in the application monitor where you must look. If you can’t find the undesired rule yourself, you may want to post some screenshots so we can help you. But I’ll say again, the only way CFP 2 can block a specific website and not the whole browser, is as far as I know if its alert setting has been set to the maximum level, and that’s certainly not default. Also every popup has a “remember” box which can be enabled or disabled, if it’s enabled you create a rule when answering, if it’s disabled your answer applies only to the current session. So if you want to allow or deny but you don’t want to establish a rule for the future, check that the remember option is not enabled.

10

Wow. Bunghole. There was so much there I had to rip a PDF of it lol.

And everyone else, likewise. (:CLP)

I’ll go off into a corner and read this. No, really. I promise.

I’d only do this for Comodo. (L)

MC