Issue the firewall and anti-virus programs separately

A significant number of people have posted notices about a no-entry sign appearing on the Comodo task bar icon. it seems as though a response was not swift in coming. now i too have seen the same problem appear on a brand new installation of Comodo in a laptop using Win-XP-SP3.

I am using SP2 in our desktop and don’t have the problem at home under SP2. So it is possible that M$ has caused the problem. However, I am also very suspicious that, since the No-Entry sign comes from within CIS signifying that Comodo was unable to load one of its OWN components, I must also consider the probability that Comodo has caused the problem by bundling Anti virus and firewall together. I believe this is a very bad idea for several reasons.

  1. By bundling the two together, it might seem to the management that this might encourage people to use both. However, I think it might have the opposite effect and make it difficult to evaluate the Comodo AV satisfactorily.

  2. Consider this. Suppose a user decides to use only the firewall routine and not the AV. however, let’s say, that the user fails to disable all the AV calls somehow. So when Comodo CIS runs, it can’t fins or load some AV .dll. Would this not bring up the No-Entry sign that everyone is complaining about? And potentially leave the user computer unprotected and vulnerable to attack?

So please consider breaking up CIS into its Firewall and AV components and re-issuing it. The no-entry sign problem is potentially very serious and several people have already bailed out.

That’s a shame. Let’s get this problem solved.

Sincerely,

Swamiji at swameejee at shenwisdom dot com

I completely agree.

Another important reason to separate the two is that the firewall is acclaimed as one of the best in the world while the antivirus component is not top level yet.

The antivirus component has not been submitted to top tests like Virus Bulletin and AV test. The tests done that I am aware of indicate that there is more to be done to reach excellence. The absence of Comodo in leading independent tests, like VirusBulletin and AV-test arouses the suspicion that Comodo’s strategy is to avoid submiting the program until it has reached a satisfactory level. This is not very unusual in this business and I think many are aware of that.

People have high demands today on AV programs, so I am sure many will hesitate to use one that is not on the list of tested programs. And there are free alternatives that have done well on these tests, like Avira and AVG free versions, (though they dont give a complete protection).

BOTTOM LINE: The popularity of Comodo is no doubt negatively affected by the Antivirus component, because it has not yet achieved the same top level as the firewall. So separate the two until the Antivirus component equals the firewall in excellence.

G’day,

Separating the AV from the rest of CIS removes the inter-operability of the various components within CIS, thereby reducing its overall efficiency. The AV component of CIS was designed, from the ground up, to leverage capabilities from the other components.

While I agree that the AV in CIS is not yet up with the best, I don’t agree that submitting CIS to VB and AVTest necessarily proves anything other than “My numbers are bigger than yours! :P”.

Both VB and AVTest operate on the traditional 2 pronged approach - detection and removal. The AV component in CIS is designed to operate with three functions - prevention, detection and removal, and it does this by co-operation between the different components of CIS - the firewall, the HIPS and the AV. Testing just the detection and removal functions (while still valid for traditional, 2 pronged AVs), while ignoring the prevention capabilities is not testing CIS fully, as it is restricting CIS’s (not just the AV component) ability to stop malware getting into a system in the first place.

VB and AVTest start their testing process on the premise that the system IS infected. What if they started their test with a clean system and included the part where the infection arrived on the PC or attempted to inject itself into the PC?

Please understand that I think detection and removal are important (and VB and AVTest are valid comparisons for traditional two pronged AVs), but so is prevention. I don’t want to rely on just a 4X2, I want locks on my doors as well. :slight_smile:

Which is better - cripple a product to make it fit the test or change the test so all products are tested equally?

Ewen :slight_smile:

Your reasoning does not convince me yet. Everybody knows that you must have both a firewall and an an antivirus program.

I believe that using a top-rated Antivirus program along with your top level firewall would be safer. That was my strategy but now I am very sad to find that this option is not avialable any more.

Even if there is some synergistic (?) “interoperabilility” between Comodo antivirus and firewall, what is the use of it if the antivirus component cannot detect the threats well enough?

Estonijaan, I don’t see the issue, it’s very easy to uncheck the AV upon installation of CIS. Then you’ll only have the Firewall.

There is no indication at your homepage that the firewall and antivirus programs can be used separately. Swamijii (intiator of the thread) believed like me that they are inseparable and I am sure most people expect you to offer the firewall and AV separately, if separate use is an option. This is the case for many of your competitors.

Consequently those who want only your firewall will be repelled because it is easy to find out on the internet that your antivirus is not top level.

So you are losing perhaps thousands or tens of thousands of customers by not indicating that the two can be used separately.

This I agree with you on. I have pointed out the issue for Comodo long ago, and it was forwarded to the marketing (?) department… it should be much more clear that the CIS installer also provides CF & CAV separately (speaking from a point of view where I haven’t visited the website in a few weeks).

Thank your for a quick reply. I suggest you forward my comment to marketing.

Cheers,
Jaan

Thank you, I will. :slight_smile: