Comodo Firewall Version 3.0 WARNING!! READ THIS BEFORE INSTALLING

[truthseeker]

Today I downloaded and installed Comodo Firewall Version 3.0 on my Vista PC.

After it installed it said it needs to reboot and it rebooted.

Then as Vista was loading it said "OOOPS YOU HAVE A BUG! REPORT TO COMODO TEAM"

A error box popped up to send the error to COMODO. But when I pressed SEND, it gave me another error that message cannot be sent to COMODO :P haha. Go figure :P

But then things got worse. COMODO loaded but FROZE up. And then it wouldn't let me stop it running using ctrl+Alt+Del. So I had no choice but to a forced reboot of the Vista.

Then it loaded and COMODO again was freezing up and now saying that some file is missing!!

I then tried to REMOVE COMODO from my Vista, but it wouldn't let me to cleanly remove it.

Anyway, suffice to say, I had to resinstall Vista.

BE CAREFUL BEFORE INSTALLING COMODO! MAKE A BACKUP IMAGE OF VISTA USING ACRONIS TRUEIMAGE, GHOST OR PARAGON DRIVE BACKUP.

I learned my lesson and now using Paragon Drive Backup.

I will not try to install COMODO again, it was a nightmare and doesn't work properly on my Vista PC.

You get what you pay for, and seeing COMODO is free, need I say more? :P What can I expect, haha :P

I will stick with Vista Firewall for now. It gives me a stealth report anyway at grc.com.

BE CAREFUL OF COMODO FIREWALL 3.0

[LowWaterMark]

Your results are not necessarily typical of all users of CPF. Almost any software that works as deep in the OS as a software firewall or HIPS can cause problems on installation and removal. You can find people posting examples of corrupting their Windows installation by getting a bad install of almost any of the larger firewalls and suites. This is currently even more likely on Vista as the various products struggle to achieve total (and I do mean really 100%) Vista compability.

A good backup, imaging or boot to restore solution is always a good thing to have regardless of how a person uses their system or what products they install. There's no freedom like a good backup and restore solution.

[AKAJohnDoe]

Read the early reports on Comodo V3 here (http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=190230), mine included.

[Ed_H]

I also had a problem upgrading to the latest version of Comodo PF3. It left me without internet access and I could not uninstall or re-install/repair CPF. Thankfully, I had another FD-ISR snapshot to boot to. I do have it running in one of my snapshots now and it is running OK. However, the uninstall problems experienced by others does have me looking at alternatives. Too bad OA is not available for Vista yet!

[Carver]

I didn't have any problems installing Comodo firewalls 2.4, or any of the 3.0s.

[Dieselman]

LowWater is right. This could have happened with any install of any program. Seems to be a Vista problem more so. I have XP and install was fine.

[AKAJohnDoe]

Why would this be a Vista problem?

[Ed_H]

I agree with LowWaterMark that install problems can and do happen with software like firewalls. That is why I always make sure I have other snapshots to boot to and images to restore from. This is not my major concern. If you look on the comodo forum you will see a sticky that describes the comodo removal procedure. Other than uninstall issues with Norton SystemWorks many years ago, I have never seen anything this difficult to get rid of. It seems to me that Comodo needs to develop a removal tool ASAP.

I don't see any evidence of it being a Vista issue.

[Dieselman]

-{ Quote: "I agree with LowWaterMark that install problems can and do happen with software like firewalls. That is why I always make sure I have other snapshots to boot to and images to restore from. This is not my major concern. If you look on the comodo forum you will see a sticky that describes the comodo removal procedure. Other than uninstall issues with Norton SystemWorks many years ago, I have never seen anything this difficult to get rid of. It seems to me that Comodo needs to develop a removal tool ASAP.

I don't see any evidence of it being a Vista issue." }-
No actually not. I use Revo Uninstaller in advanced mode and it works just fine. CCleaner registry cleaner also cleans up anything left over. No need to go through all that.

[Ed_H]

-{ Quote: "No actually not. I use Revo Uninstaller in advanced mode and it works just fine. CCleaner registry cleaner also cleans up anything left over. No need to go through all that." }-

So, the uninstall sticky on the Comodo forum is only for unusual problems and not typical? If so, I'll stick with Comodo for a while.

[Dieselman]

-{ Quote: "So, the uninstall sticky on the Comodo forum is only for unusual problems and not typical? If so, I'll stick with Comodo for a while." }-
Yes...............exactly. I have never had a problem uninstalling anything actually.

[Diver]

It really said "oops"?

Backup images are a good idea always. Too bad Vista backup images are usually 5 gigs and up, compared to XP with 1.5 gigs and up.

[truthseeker]

-{ Quote: "I agree with LowWaterMark that install problems can and do happen with software like firewalls. That is why I always make sure I have other snapshots to boot to and images to restore from. This is not my major concern. If you look on the comodo forum you will see a sticky that describes the comodo removal procedure. Other than uninstall issues with Norton SystemWorks many years ago, I have never seen anything this difficult to get rid of. It seems to me that Comodo needs to develop a removal tool ASAP.

I don't see any evidence of it being a Vista issue." }-

I bought Acronis TrueImage Home 11 and I love it :-) It creates a image so then if any firewall or anything else stuffs of my Vista, I simply restore image and in 15 minutes I am up and running again :)

VOTE FOR Acronis TrueImage Home 11 FOR PROGRAM OF THE DECADE :)

[truthseeker]

-{ Quote: "It really said "oops"?

Backup images are a good idea always. Too bad Vista backup images are usually 5 gigs and up, compared to XP with 1.5 gigs and up." }-

Yes, no joke. It said "OOPS!"

I should email COMODO and ask them why they make the firewall say OOPS! when it doesnt install properly :P hahah.

But yeah, it really said "oops!"

[Bunkhouse Buck]

-{ Quote: "I bought Acronis TrueImage Home 11 and I love it :-) It creates a image so then if any firewall or anything else stuffs of my Vista, I simply restore image and in 15 minutes I am up and running again :)

VOTE FOR Acronis TrueImage Home 11 FOR PROGRAM OF THE DECADE :)" }-

I have ATI 11 but use ATI 10 as it is problem free and I do not need the new features in Acronis TI 11. I make a full image each day, and have had to use it twice to restore. Once when a hard drive failed, and once when an installation of a security program trashed WindowsXP. Each time the restore brought me back exactly to the point I needed.

Yes, it is one of the best programs of the decade or any other time. :thumb:

[SystemJunkie]

I agree too regarding to LowWaterMark statement.

-{ Quote: "COMODO loaded but FROZE up. And then it wouldn't let me stop it running using ctrl+Alt+Del. So I had no choice but to a forced reboot" }-
This also can happen if you have malware on your system that makes or try to attempt a full range kernel level unhook in order to fully bypass comodo hip+firewall.
This is a typical symptom for new malware type. So consider this too as possibility.

[sukarof]

I just tried it. Got a post traumatic stress syndrom-flashback from my old HIPS days so I uninstalled it after a couple of days. :)
And as I suspected there where no problems uninstalling Comodo from Vista.

[david banner]

-{ Quote: "Yes, no joke. It said "OOPS!"

I should email COMODO and ask them why they make the firewall say OOPS! when it doesnt install properly :P hahah.

But yeah, it really said "oops!"" }- Ask if it says SPOO! when it does install! I came here to ask if Comodo free would be better than ZA free for a friend I am trying to help secure her PC. Not sure what to think now

[Dieselman]

-{ Quote: "Ask if it says SPOO! when it does install! I came here to ask if Comodo free would be better than ZA free for a friend I am trying to help secure her PC. Not sure what to think now" }-
Dont let that bother you. Comodo is far better then ZA free. Read this.

http://www.matousec.com/projects/windows-personal-firewall-analysis/leak-tests-results.php

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2240712,00.asp

[SystemJunkie]

Comodo still rules. No way to leave comodo we have to stay with comodo. ;D

[truthseeker]

-{ Quote: "Dont let that bother you. Comodo is far better then ZA free. Read this.

http://www.matousec.com/projects/windows-personal-firewall-analysis/leak-tests-results.php

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2240712,00.asp" }-

COMODO may be better, but it crashes as I install it on Vista and gives "oops!" errors. Then it wont let me properly uninstall it.

From a FRESH install, it doesn't install itself properly without giving errors.

However, I tried to install the version of COMODO before the latest one, and it installed perfectly and ran perfectly.

So what is causing the new version to give errors installing when the older version doesnt?

[david banner]

-{ Quote: "COMODO may be better, but it crashes as I install it on Vista and gives "oops!" errors. Then it wont let me properly uninstall it.

From a FRESH install, it doesn't install itself properly without giving errors.

However, I tried to install the version of COMODO before the latest one, and it installed perfectly and ran perfectly.

So what is causing the new version to give errors installing when the older version doesnt?" }-maybe a bug in the new one/

[truthseeker]

-{ Quote: "maybe a bug in the new one/" }-

I found the problem.... When it was giving errors installing is where I chose not to allow COMODO to handle safe programs. I instead chose to select what programs are let through the firewall.

BUT WHEN I INSTALLED COMODO 3.0 USING THE DEFAULT SETTINGS, IT INSTALLED WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS.

So there you have it :P. Just don't install it and change any install selections.

[david banner]

-{ Quote: "I found the problem.... When it was giving errors installing is where I chose not to allow COMODO to handle safe programs. I instead chose to select what programs are let through the firewall.

BUT WHEN I INSTALLED COMODO 3.0 USING THE DEFAULT SETTINGS, IT INSTALLED WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS.

So there you have it :P. Just don't install it and change any install selections." }-Thanks for telling us might try it myself, looks good

[Ed_H]

-{ Quote: "I found the problem.... When it was giving errors installing is where I chose not to allow COMODO to handle safe programs. I instead chose to select what programs are let through the firewall.

BUT WHEN I INSTALLED COMODO 3.0 USING THE DEFAULT SETTINGS, IT INSTALLED WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS.

So there you have it :P. Just don't install it and change any install selections." }-

Glad you found what was causing the problem on your PC. Unfortunately, I had install problems using the default settings. My issues were resolved by doing a clean install rather than an upgrade. As always, lots of variables so our PC's react differently.