hi guys im what you call a average/moderate user * looked at the recent thread Best firewall with avast " and im at a cross roads Comodo privitefirewall or Online armor now from what i can tell some firewalls have been having conflicts mainly comodo from what i can see have trouble operating alongside avast due to a flaw on the part of some firewalls not willing to adapt to windows 7 code is that correct?
anyway what i need is a maximum security possible with minimal alerts also advice on which of the 3 firewalls can co-exist the best with avast and the needed exclusions to make that happen thanks guys i love avast free
All three I gave links to play well with avast and Win7.
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=98423.msg784711#msg784711
yeah I saw that and its what help me narrow the choices down but this thread worries me
http://forums.comodo.com/firewall-help-cis/comodo-firewall-and-avast-7-t82382.0.html
and so does here
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=93953.0
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=317663
also im not a advanced user so i don’t know what rules and exclusions and such should be made for each firewall to work effectively
i think comodo seems to be the best firewall but im worred about the things i have read in the links above has anyone found a successful fix to the comodo issue
i do alot of online shopping and such so really need the best solution i dont have a nat so i need this firewall
Yes Comodo does not have control on outbound traffic under Windows 7. Niether Windows firewall. A pity.
So better to try other firewall because Comodo has a steep learning curve. Try to learn using a simpler firewall and when you feel ready, and if everything has been worked out between Comodo and Avast!, switch to Comodo later on.
A good place to read about free firewalls:
This might help http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-firewall.htm
i see from that limk that zonealarm isnt that great whats the learning curve on OA?and if i choose OA what settings do i need to modify so they can coexist well also how good is outpost these days for reference on my home pc I amused to the autmatic like nature of kap kasperky pure
Outpost free 6.51 ( the standalone firewall ) is still available from sites like Filehippo http://www.filehippo.com/download_outpost_firewall/ but the program is no longer updated, you can download the free Outpost suite 7.1.1 http://free.agnitum.com/ and disable during install all other features bar the firewall. Outpost and Online Armor http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/oa/ are very similar in there usability, set them to auto learn for the first week exclude the firewall program in the File System Shield exclusions and set all instances of your AV to allow all in the applications list.
exclude the firewall program in the File System Shield exclusions and set all instances of your AV to allow all in the applications list.can you explain this part ? thanks
Not much else to explain really, add the firewall program file to the exclusions in the avast file system shield and the avast processes such as AVAST.SETUP, AVASTSVC.EXE, AVASTUI.EXE you would set to allow all in the applications list of the firewall ( not sure if applications is the correct name in OA, might be processes ).
alright thanks but im a little concerned OA doesn’t? allow auto updates something like that’s ok for MBAM but for a firewall?
Rarely a firewall needs updates. The updates done, at most, is to add programs to its white list so that the firewall let the program thru. Now if the firewall has some kind of malware detection or heuristic capability you may recive updates once in a while, but not always. I use Comodo Firewall with D+ and only update the program when there is a new version. Asyn, an Avast! Über, still uses Comodo 3.14 which is at least a couple of years old, but one of its best stable firewall.
hmm alright then
i really want so based on what we have discussed online armor free is a good choice?
really wanted to go with comodo but the no outbound worried me
can anyone do a little step by step guide for me id be so greatful
After the install set your exclusions in avast before letting OA reboot the system, once you have restarted the system set your security programs to allow all in OA then reboot again.
OA has always required two boots to fully install and uninstall.
Anymore info will have to given by one off the members that are still using OA as many things have probably changed since i used it
Online Armor has issues with Flash Player updates. That’s why I switched to Private Firewall.
Before installing OA Free do complete scans with avast, MBAM and SAS. If this is not done OA Free will
“think” everything on your machine is “safe”. Also Online Armor is currently beta testing a new version.
No word as to when it will be a full release.
im nit worried about the flash issue i can always diable it well it updates but will the beta fix that?
also your member safe surf gave a great post on OA recently on how to exclude avast found it yesteday ill be damned if i can find it again tho
and im pretty sure my system is clean as ive been running a trial of kasperky pure and using cc cleaner and mbam weekly
Well not that recently, but I think this is what you were looking for. Thanks SafeSurf:
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=91696.msg729839#msg729839
exclude OA in Avast:· Settings > Exclusions > Add > search for Online Armor and click on the box to the left of it and add it, then click OK.
· Real Time Shields > Expert Settings > Trusted Processes > Add > search for Online Armor and click on the box to the left of it and add it, then click OK.
· Behavior Shield > Expert Settings > Trusted Processes > Add > search for Online Armor and click on the box to the left of it and add it, then click OK. Also change action to take in Behavior Shield to “Ask.”To exclude Avast in OA:
· Open the OA GUI > Options > Exclusions > Add > click on the pop-up window and find C:\Program Files\Avast Software.
· When you reboot OA (to go into Learning Mode), make sure ALL Avast shields are left on.
· Reboot your machine again; OA requires two boots. After this second reboot, you may get a pop-up asking you if you trust Avast. Answer the pop-up as “Trust Always” and “Remember My Decision” and you should not get any more pop-ups.
· Open the OA GUI > Programs > untick “Hide Trusted” so that you can see everything > look to make sure everything from Avast is not “blocked” (red) or “ask” (yellow). If it is, right-click the item and change it to “Trust.” Reboot.· Open the OA GUI > Options > Backup/Restore > Save your settings once you have everything the way you want it.
Let us know if this fixes your problem. Thank you.
this great and has almost everything but as im not very advanced id like to know the exact process and things to set up
Online Armor Free will walk you through the set-up. OA is pretty simple to set-up. After set-up is completed dig into the GUI to get as comfortable as you want. OA Free is an excellent choice it will serve you well. OA Free now has auto-updates, which is a plus.
I found PF to be fairly simple to set-up. Either way you have to dig around the GUI to find out what each has to offer. I found OA Free to do the job just fine. It’s the flash player thing that got me, so I switched to PF and found I prefer Private Firewall. The downside of PF is everytime there is an update the user has to uninstall and re-install and export/import settings. But the user also has the option to “not” update. Do some research then decide which firewall is best suited for you.
Don’t be afraid to try them all. You can always uninstall the one(s) you don’t like.
Ok so after reading everything i have decided on using OA i also recently read that flash update block will be corrected in a coming update/ next version thank you guys for all your help what im after is for someone to put a guide here like safe surf did above but be very specific about each file process and folders to exclude where something i can follow and put in a text document im a perfectionist and want everything eith this to go exactly as it should
then maybe we could sticky it or something
To give you a step by step guide will be difficult since every system is different. The main thing is to make mutual exclusions in both OA and avast. Just make sure your computer is virus/infection/malware/spyware free before installing OA Free. Don’t get too nervous as OA will lead through the set-up. It really is that simple. If you have problems feel free to visit OA forums. Or you always welcome here. We are more then happy to help when needed. Since you have made your decision rest assured OA will serve you well. I wish you the best.