Netveda Firewall

[hellie]

I am currently using NOD32 AV with the Netveda Firewall free for home use.

I am just wondering what everyone opinion is on this firewall and what the alternatives are?

I also use Prevx free, syware terminator, Syboot Search snd Destroy, Spyguard and Spyware Blaster.

Over kill probably but I recently had a spyware problem.

I can't find many opinions about the the Netveda Firewall?

I have windows XP. ATHLON 3700, 2000ddram, 300 SATA Hard disk.

Helen

[sukarof]

I used to use Netveda (a year ago though) but got a bit dissapointed about their support forum, not much happend there and the program didnt seem to be updated. It was quite a good program, but a bit hassle to configure (atleast for me) I switched to Looknstop (paid*), and then Tiny Personal Firewall (paid*), but ditched those too because they were hassle to configure. And the fact that Tiny PF 6 is abandoned by the owners. Now I have migrated to Comodo firewall wich I find easy to configure (ie I understand what I am doing ;) and it offer powerful features and yet it is free without any strings. Ah well you have to register to get the lifetime key and some seems to have problems with that (but you can always use a trash email account like jetable if you´re really paranoid) And the authors are very active in updating the program and giving support.

http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

*yes I have alot of money to spend :D

[hellie]

Did you try the Jetico firewall. Netveda has just failed the Combo firewall tests.

Helen

[egghead]

-{ Quote: "

I can't find many opinions about the the Netveda Firewall?

Helen" }-

http://www.firewallleaktester.com/tests.php

oei, oei :ouch: :ouch: :ouch:

[djg05]

Have you also tried running Winsonar

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsonar.html

alongside your firewall. I have found that I blocks the holes left by Kerio 2.

[ccsito]

I haven't seen too many comments on the Netveda program either. If you read the company's website forums, they appear to have stopped responding to questions from users since the end of 2005. Also one user went so far as to call the corporate HQ phone number and was told to refer any questions to the help forum (which was not replying anyhow). I also read several posts on those forums that several users are all of a sudden getting prompts for a license key after having used the program for about a year. There is a possibility that the program has a one year "trial period" set so that you need to unlock the program with another key to continue using it. I personally don't like software that is supposedly free, but requires you to renew every year just to continue to use it. Since tech support seems to have vanished and some issues with a one year time limit using the program have surfaced, I decided against trying out the program. It does have some unique features not found in other firewall programs, but the hassle of a license key and possible abandonment by the software authors tells me it may not be worth the trouble to use it.

[pcalvert]

NetVeda Safety.Net probably wouldn't be my first choice for computers running Windows 2000/XP. However, I think it's worth considering for computers running Win 9x/ME since there aren't as many options available for those older operating systems.

Phil

[jumpshot]

ccsito..... hear, hear, me too.
I even downloaded a fresh copy without success, so I've now abandoned Netveda altogether.
Just today I installed the new Beta Comodo.
It seems significantly improved on the last firm version.
(Fingers crossed).

[ccsito]

Jumpshot,
Good luck with the Comodo firewall. I have read some good reviews from other users, but the large size and system resource usage of the program makes me hesitant to try it out. They addressed the system resource usage with the latest update. Since that is a beta version, it might still have issues. Also, I thought I read somewhere that you have to re-register every year to continue to use that program and if so, that would be another condition for me to consider before trying it out.:-\

[pcalvert]

-{ Quote: "ccsito..... hear, hear, me too.
I even downloaded a fresh copy without success, so I've now abandoned Netveda altogether.
" }-

"Without success"? That's rather vague. What does that mean?

Phil

[Stem]

It as been a while since I installed/used this firewall, I see from the official forum that questions are still asked, but go un-answered,.. so, if this wants to develop into an "how to with Netvida" thread, that o.k. with me,... I can re-install to try and help.

[ccsito]

Originally Posted by pcalvert
"Without success"? That's rather vague. What does that mean?

I cannot say for sure, but I think the program did not install when after he downloaded it. Or the license key issue may have came up and then blocked the installation process?

[jumpshot]

.'without success'..
OK... I had no real complaints with the firewall, other than its confusing interface, so when I got the "your licence has expired" note, I un-installed then re-installed it.. no joy there.
So, I un-installed it again, carefully removed and deleted all traces that remained (well those I could find) then downloaded and installed a new copy. Its setup looked good for all of 30 seconds until "your licence has expired" appeared!
Now if it doesn't want to play I can always take my bat and ball and go home.
Which I did.

ccsito... so far the Comodo beta just purrs.
And their forum gets responses.
My firewall displays "Subscription Validity: Lifetime; Licence Type: Full".
We'll see....
:P
Don

[mercurie]

I had to drop it because the memory useage for me was high. It appeared to be unique to my system. Others were getting much better readings at the time. I don't recall the useage amount. :-\

[Melih-Comodo]

-{ Quote: ".'without success'..
OK... I had no real complaints with the firewall, other than its confusing interface, so when I got the "your licence has expired" note, I un-installed then re-installed it.. no joy there.
So, I un-installed it again, carefully removed and deleted all traces that remained (well those I could find) then downloaded and installed a new copy. Its setup looked good for all of 30 seconds until "your licence has expired" appeared!
Now if it doesn't want to play I can always take my bat and ball and go home.
Which I did.

ccsito... so far the Comodo beta just purrs.
And their forum gets responses.
My firewall displays "Subscription Validity: Lifetime; Licence Type: Full".
We'll see....
:P
Don" }-

Comodo firewall licenses are for lifetime. There is no re-registartion!
memory usage issue has been addressed.

Melih

[xtm11]

Hi there,

I will add some useful resources:

******
http://www.sysopt.com/features/network/article.php/3533031
http://www.all-internet-security.com/top_10_firewall_software.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,115939-page,2/article.html
******

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Jennifer

[ccsito]

This is from the Comodo website regarding the firewall program

After downloading and installing the firewall, just register with us and you will be sent a free license. After activation, this license will never expire.


So it looks like you don't have to keep renewing every year (unlike Netveda apparently).

[pcalvert]

-{ Quote: ".'without success'..
OK... I had no real complaints with the firewall, other than its confusing interface, so when I got the "your licence has expired" note, I un-installed then re-installed it.. no joy there.
So, I un-installed it again, carefully removed and deleted all traces that remained (well those I could find) then downloaded and installed a new copy. Its setup looked good for all of 30 seconds until "your licence has expired" appeared!
Now if it doesn't want to play I can always take my bat and ball and go home.
Which I did.
" }-

I don't know, maybe you downloaded the professional version by mistake? If you check this page, you will see that there is a professional version and a non-commercial version:

http://www.netveda.com/downloads/index.htm

Phil

[jumpshot]

.. maybe you downloaded the professional version by mistake?

No Phil. I know the difference.
And I'm not the first to have this hassle with SafetyNet.

Don

[ccsito]

If you read through the help forum messages, some users are getting a prompt for a license key after having used the program for a while. Since tech support seems to have vanished and no one has adequately provided a response to this problem, I would personally stay away from the program because I don't want to install something that will say "time's up" after a period of time. :thumbd: There are other firewalls for older systems still available to consider.

[pcalvert]

-{ Quote: "If you read through the help forum messages, some users are getting a prompt for a license key after having used the program for a while. Since tech support seems to have vanished and no one has adequately provided a response to this problem, I would personally stay away from the program because I don't want to install something that will say "time's up" after a period of time. :thumbd: There are other firewalls for older systems still available to consider." }-

I appreciate the "heads up," and I tend to agree with you. Having said that, I haven't experienced that particular problem with NetVeda Safety.Net. I have had it working on a Win98 SE system, without problems, since the beginning of the year.

Phil

[ccsito]

I am not sure about the license key problem. But I think the best gauge to determine if there is hidden key is to find a user who has used the program for over a year.

[hellie]

I have never had any problems or encounter any license keys. I still like the firewall even though it is no longer being developed.

Helen

[pcalvert]

-{ Quote: "I am not sure about the license key problem. But I think the best gauge to determine if there is hidden key is to find a user who has used the program for over a year." }-

I checked the user forum to see what people were saying about this. One person said that the problem popped up after only a few weeks of use. That would seem to indicate that there's probably something else going on.

Phil

[pcalvert]

-{ Quote: "If you read through the help forum messages, some users are getting a prompt for a license key after having used the program for a while. Since tech support seems to have vanished and no one has adequately provided a response to this problem, I would personally stay away from the program because I don't want to install something that will say "time's up" after a period of time. :thumbd: There are other firewalls for older systems still available to consider." }-

Since I was feeling impatient, and didn't want to wait until 2007 to know the answer, I decided to do a little experiment. I powered up my time machine and set the controls for 2008. I figured that ought to be far enough into the future to know if NetVeda is time-limited software. Then I booted the old PC and tried to tried to access the Administration part of NetVeda Safety.Net. BAM! I got a pop-up dialog box with the message "Your license has expired!" blah, blah, blah.

I will probably catch hell from the Time Lords for using time travel for such a trivial purpose, but I think it was worth the risk in order to prove that NetVeda Safety.Net is time-limited software. Oh, and in case you were wondering, my time machine has a name. It's called "BIOS." ;)

Phil

[ccsito]

Originally posted by pcalvert
-{ Quote: "Since I was feeling impatient, and didn't want to wait until 2007 to know the answer, I decided to do a little experiment. I powered up my time machine and set the controls for 2008. I figured that ought to be far enough into the future to know if NetVeda is time-limited software. Then I booted the old PC and tried to tried to access the Administration part of NetVeda Safety.Net. BAM! I got a pop-up dialog box with the message "Your license has expired!" blah, blah, blah." }-

That is interesting when some users get the license prompt after about a year and some get it after a few weeks. Maybe there is a random number generator involved in determining the expiration period of the software? :-\ The expiration prompt must be an inducement for you to purchase the program. Not surprised at that tactic. :dry: The program does have its good points such as small footprint and not too complex to use. But the bad points include non-existent tech support and no updates for over a year (plus the potential of an expired message prompt). The bad points far outweigh the good points for me. But for those who don't have any problems with it, it might work for a long time and there are many other old firewalls that many users are still using.

P.S. BIOS? That reminds me. I have to back up the CMOS info on my old PC because the battery on the motherboard is over 7 years old. :o

[pcalvert]

-{ Quote: "
That is interesting when some users get the license prompt after about a year and some get it after a few weeks. Maybe there is a random number generator involved in determining the expiration period of the software? :-\ The expiration prompt must be an inducement for you to purchase the program. Not surprised at that tactic. :dry: The program does have its good points such as small footprint and not too complex to use. But the bad points include non-existent tech support and no updates for over a year (plus the potential of an expired message prompt). The bad points far outweigh the good points for me. But for those who don't have any problems with it, it might work for a long time and there are many other old firewalls that many users are still using.
" }-

It is probably set to expire after a year. As for those cases where it expired after only a few weeks, it is easy to trigger the expiration by messing with the computer's clock. And many people have messed up clocks on their computers due to dying CMOS batteries and whatnot. Also, suppose someone installs it to try it, uses it for a few days, and then uninstalls it. Eleven months later, he/she decides to start using it on a more permanent basis. What happens then? I'll tell you what. That person will get, at most, one month of use before uninstalling it because the license will expire. That's because the timer starts when the program is first installed, and uninstalling the program has no effect on it. That's not true for all time-limited demo programs, but it is true for the "smart" ones.

-{ Quote: "
P.S. BIOS? That reminds me. I have to back up the CMOS info on my old PC because the battery on the motherboard is over 7 years old. :o
" }-

I have an Macintosh SE whose CMOS battery is about 18 years old. I haven't turned it on in three or four years, but the last time I did it was still working fine. I really need to turn it on again sometime soon. Hopefully the battery is still working and I can back up the CMOS data. I should probably buy a new battery for it, too-- if they still make that kind. I no longer use that Mac, but I was thinking of setting it up to use as an emergency "backup" machine in case my main computer breaks down. Although that Mac is very slow, I can still use it to check and send email if I put an old version of Eudora on it. And it's fine as a word processor.

Anyway, back to NetVeda Safety.Net. My opinion about it has changed; I now think that it's best avoided. The only people who will be able to use it are those who use Ghost, or a similar program, to periodically return Windows to a pristine state, and do so at least once a year.

Phil

[ccsito]

Originally posted by pcalvert

-{ Quote: "The only people who will be able to use it are those who use Ghost, or a similar program, to periodically return Windows to a pristine state, and do so at least once a year" }-

You mean the user will have to keep restoring the whole system back to point A about every year just to continue to use the software? :blink: That will require a whole bunch of saving and reloading of files and that definitely will be a real big annoyance. :thumbd: No program is worth that much trouble in my opinion.

My 486 machine has the battery soldered into the motherboard. Needless to say to replace it means that you will need a new battery plus a solder gun. ;D I just retype back the CMOS information if I need to power on the system.

[pcalvert]

-{ Quote: "
You mean the user will have to keep restoring the whole system back to point A about every year just to continue to use the software? :blink: That will require a whole bunch of saving and reloading of files and that definitely will be a real big annoyance. :thumbd: No program is worth that much trouble in my opinion.
" }-

Some people do that regularly just to keep their systems in tip-top shape and free of accumulated crud. It's actually a pretty good security practice, too. That's because you rid the system of any hidden malware every time you wipe the slate clean and start over. If you plan things well, it can be accomplished without too much bother.

Phil

[jumpshot]

thanks Phil... I have been stressing about how/who/why/what/when.
Now I know it's not something I did (my usual cause of software stuffup) I can rest with a clear conscience on this one.
Don

[ccsito]

pcalvert,
That may be true regarding restoring your PC back to an earlier point to avoid the crud that builds up like soap scum. ;D But I want to minimize the bookkeeping aspects of my computer. My paper files are already too much to manage and I don't need another thing to worry about. :wacko:

jumpshot,
Looks like you got the hidden time bomb message with Netveda. It looks like Comodo came out with a new version today. I guess I will wait and see how it works from the other users.

[pcalvert]

-{ Quote: "pcalvert,
That may be true regarding restoring your PC back to an earlier point to avoid the crud that builds up like soap scum. ;D But I want to minimize the bookkeeping aspects of my computer. My paper files are already too much to manage and I don't need another thing to worry about. :wacko:
" }-

Think of it as part of disaster recovery. When some malware or misbehaving software totally screws up your computer, you can say "Okay, it's time to wipe the slate clean and start over." But instead of it taking days to reinstall Windows and all of your software, and configure it all to get your system back to where it was before, you'll be able to accomplish almost all of that in a few hours.

Phil

[ccsito]

pcalvert,
Disaster recovery is a big issue with my IT company, but in the case of my PC, it is not that big of a deal. Even should I lose everything on the machine, I don't store anything that I really need on the hard drive. The system is a bit old so going back to what it was like in 1999 (or an earlier point) may or may not be worth the trouble. But it always is good to have some recovery point in case something does mess up your system and you need to do something on the PC in a short time period.

[Seishin]

-{ Quote: "Since that is a beta version, it might still have issues. Also, I thought I read somewhere that you have to re-register every year to continue to use that program and if so, that would be another condition for me to consider before trying it out.:-\" }-

Is the final version going to be released this year?

Cheers.

[Edwin024]

You may doubt that. There were no updates whatsoever in a whole year. And technical support on their forums is zip also for quite some time.

[Seishin]

-{ Quote: "You may doubt that. There were no updates whatsoever in a whole year. And technical support on their forums is zip also for quite some time." }-

No, I was referring to Comodo.

[ccsito]

Originally posted by gesc

-{ Quote: "Is the final version going to be released this year?" }-

The most recent version of Comodo was released last Friday (version 2.3). You can download it from their website.
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/whycomodofirewall.html?currency=USD&region=North%20America&country=US