PrivateFirewall now freeware

[acr1965]

I had not checked their homepage in a while but remembered a rumor going around that Privacyware.com was going to offer PrivateFirewall as freeware in the near future. And now it is. Sorry if this post is a repeat-

http://www.privacyware.com/personal_firewall.html

[webster]

Thanks :thumb:. Another great free firewall 8)

[the Tester]

I've never tried PrivateFirewall.
Is it any good?

[cqpreson]

This is good news.How is this firewall?

[Zev0]

-{ Quote: "This is good news.How is this firewall?" }-


TopTenREVIEW

~Contents removed. Site is not recommended by Wilders.~

[acr1965]

I am not sure if PrivateFirewall has the same memory leak issues in Vista as the OEM'd Webroot version. But if so there is supposed to be a hotfix here -

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949700

[StevieO]

It's very good, according to the tests on here http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive-security-challenge/results.php

[the Tester]

-{ Quote: "It's very good, according to the tests on here http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive-security-challenge/results.php" }-



Slightly better rating than PCTools Firewall Plus.
That's pretty good.

[firzen771]

i was interested in privatefirewall a while back, but now that its freeware i can give it a shot.

[webster]

Nice`n light on XP 8)

[thathagat]

well i tested it in vm its exactly like webroot desktop in appearance and features but yet it scores higher in matousec why:-\

[firzen771]

-{ Quote: "well i tested it in vm its exactly like webroot desktop in appearance and features but yet it scores higher in matousec why:-\" }-

actually, its webroot firewall that looks like privatefirewall. since im pretty sure webroot just uses its tech, so its probably using an older version of it in its software.

[thathagat]

-{ Quote: "actually, its webroot firewall that looks like privatefirewall. since im pretty sure webroot just uses its tech, so its probably using an older version of it in its software." }-
well to be honest i had tried webroot sometime back and today's test of private firewall reminded me of it...but it seems good for its process guard caught the rouge "xpdeluxe" on execution and blocked it....

[cqpreson]

It seems there are many this firewall's functions.And form matousec,it is very good.Maybe it is worthy being used.

[cqpreson]

If Webroot used privatefirewall's tech,does it mean Webroot is worse than privatefirewall?

[Follower]

Interesting.
I never heard of this firewall.
Anyone tried it out and tested it?

[firzen771]

another good thing ive noticed is it seems to be free for commercial use as well :thumb:

[andyman35]

I remember liking Dynamic Security Agent some years ago and I believe that technology is in this firewall ?

[firzen771]

-{ Quote: "I remember liking Dynamic Security Agent some years ago and I believe that technology is in this firewall ?" }-

pretty sure it is and its expanded on.

[andyman35]

-{ Quote: "pretty sure it is and its expanded on." }-
Definitely worth a serious look at in that case,it'll be a powerful product. :thumb:

[firzen771]

-{ Quote: "Definitely worth a serious look at in that case,it'll be a powerful product. :thumb:" }-

yep, its a very light firewall which is nice and it scores pretty well in tests it seems.

[andyman35]

-{ Quote: "yep, its a very light firewall which is nice and it scores pretty well in tests it seems." }-
i'm going to chuck this on a VM tonight and go and visit some dodgy Russian porn sites,all in the cause of research of course. ;)

[webster]

Stem takes a look at the old version here http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=143605&highlight=privatefirewall

[firzen771]

-{ Quote: "i'm going to chuck this on a VM tonight and go and visit some dodgy Russian porn sites,all in the cause of research of course. ;)" }-

ive done lots of "research" then :P jk

[andyman35]

-{ Quote: "ive done lots of "research" then :P jk" }-
LOL ;D

[arjunned]

Thanks for the info.

Just installed it on a home laptop. Woking perfectly.

[Victek123]

-{ Quote: "I had not checked their homepage in a while but remembered a rumor going around that Privacyware.com was going to offer PrivateFirewall as freeware in the near future. And now it is. Sorry if this post is a repeat-

http://www.privacyware.com/personal_firewall.html" }-
.
Thanks for the link. They state that PrivateFirewall is Windows 7 compatible and I can confirm that it installs fine on Windows 7 RC1 (x86). It's nice having another choice since the field is pretty small at the moment for Win7. I will use it for a while and see how it goes.

[deadmeat]

Ive used Privatefirewall for nearly two years without so much as a single issue.
Our own website was actually the first to carry the official announcement from Privacyware this morning.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/

Whilst the firewall doesn't have all of the granular settings possible with some others, for many these are not necessary. The new version contains more automation for those not wishing to answer too many popups or you can choose to respond to all alerts if you wish. The training period has been reduced to just 10 minutes by default but changing this setting to one day is probably a better option. I installed mine today using the "manual control" option with everything set to "high" and the alert numbers are easily manageable.

Privacyware do license this technology to Webroot who use it in various desktop security applications including the firewall, but the component mix is not exactly the same. Hence the differences some users will notice between the two.

It's just a shame that DSA now has to leave us as a free standalone HIPS but at least it's retention in Privatefirewall now brings all of this ability to the masses for free.

Note that this is also compatible with Windows 7 RC1

[acr1965]

I had to apply the MS hotfix, def memory leak exists in Vista 32 bit. Will see how things go.

[tonyf1971]

-{ Quote: ".
Thanks for the link. They state that PrivateFirewall is Windows 7 compatible and I can confirm that it installs fine on Windows 7 RC1 (x86). It's nice having another choice since the field is pretty small at the moment for Win7. I will use it for a while and see how it goes." }-

also install's and works fine so far so good under Win 7 RC1 x64.

[Durad]

Will wait for Stem :)

[act8192]

Is it free or just free download?
At the end of the manual .pdf file is a long blurb about having to buy and register.

[firzen771]

-{ Quote: "Is it free or just free download?
At the end of the manual .pdf file is a long blurb about having to buy and register." }-

its free to use, completely free for personal and commercial use.

[the Tester]

It's free.
They probably haven't changed the manual yet.

[act8192]

Thanks.
Few more questions.
On p.13 of the manual is about Application rules. Nice grid.
What can be modified? Just some checkmarks or, for instance, the port range? On that page is an example where many would be changing the range to 1024-5000. Can that be done?

Can some things be disabled, for instance mail checking (which NOD does for me).

What about LocalHost - does that work with localhost proxy and can the proxy tunnel be limited to only few applications, blocked for others?

[firzen771]

-{ Quote: "Thanks.
Few more questions.
On p.13 of the manual is about Application rules. Nice grid.
What can be modified? Just some checkmarks or, for instance, the port range? On that page is an example where many would be changing the range to 1024-5000. Can that be done?

Can some things be disabled, for instance mail checking (which NOD does for me).

What about LocalHost - does that work with localhost proxy and can the proxy tunnel be limited to only few applications, blocked for others?" }-

yes the email anomaly can be disabled, and pretty sure other ones can as well.

[acr1965]

Hotfix did not help the memory on Vista Home Premium 32 bit. Now running at 204,152 k. Will have to try this again later if the memory issue is resolved.

[overangry]

After reading through some of the posts, I thought I would give Privatefirewall a try.
It slowed my pc down a little and it wasn't what I was personally looking for:-\

The install was good, but uninstalling it proved to be a nightmare>:(
After the first uninstall(Add/Remove programs), I noticed that the firewall was still visible in the task bar??? This left me a little confused, so I pressed on the icon and up comes the GUI... Hmmmm
I had never uninstalled a program where that was the case.

So I reinstalled and got errors with a missing driver, I was then prompted to reboot which I did, then commenced reinstalling PrivateFirewall (successfully).
Then I uninstalled PrivateFirewall, this time turning it off before commencing.
Then I had the following error (see screenshot)
After 6 installs/uninstalls I downloaded REVO, and successfully removed PrivateFirewall;D Nightmare over!
Was it my setup or are others experiencing similar issues???

[firzen771]

-{ Quote: "After reading through some of the posts, I thought I would give Privatefirewall a try.
It slowed my pc down a little and it wasn't what I was personally looking for:-\

The install was good, but uninstalling it proved to be a nightmare>:(
After the first uninstall(Add/Remove programs), I noticed that the firewall was still visible in the task bar??? This left me a little confused, so I pressed on the icon and up comes the GUI... Hmmmm
I had never uninstalled a program where that was the case.

So I reinstalled and got errors with a missing driver, I was then prompted to reboot which I did, then commenced reinstalling PrivateFirewall (successfully).
Then I uninstalled PrivateFirewall, this time turning it off before commencing.
Then I had the following error (see screenshot)
After 6 installs/uninstalls I downloaded REVO, and successfully removed PrivateFirewall;D Nightmare over!
Was it my setup or are others experiencing similar issues???" }-

i had a similar issue uninstalling software and such with Zemana Antilogger a while back, i had to uninstall it to solve the problem, but mine wasnt an error, it just wuldnt let, me, said like rights restriction or something. so it might have been some other security software getting in the way (possibly)

[acr1965]

My uninstall was fairly clean and uneventful. It's kinda odd how security apps can sometimes cause more problems than pretty much any malware a person will ever see.

[Victek123]

-{ Quote: "After reading through some of the posts, I thought I would give Privatefirewall a try.
It slowed my pc down a little and it wasn't what I was personally looking for:-\

The install was good, but uninstalling it proved to be a nightmare>:(
After the first uninstall(Add/Remove programs), I noticed that the firewall was still visible in the task bar??? This left me a little confused, so I pressed on the icon and up comes the GUI... Hmmmm
I had never uninstalled a program where that was the case.

So I reinstalled and got errors with a missing driver, I was then prompted to reboot which I did, then commenced reinstalling PrivateFirewall (successfully).
Then I uninstalled PrivateFirewall, this time turning it off before commencing.
Then I had the following error (see screenshot)
After 6 installs/uninstalls I downloaded REVO, and successfully removed PrivateFirewall;D Nightmare over!
Was it my setup or are others experiencing similar issues???" }-
.
Glad you remembered Revo Uninstaller. I just use it automatically since more often then not it finds things after the application uninstaller finishes. Even if the uninstall goes smoothly it's rare that an app fully removes itself. I think security applications are more prone to issues since they are designed to resist being disabled (or should be).

[overangry]

-{ Quote: ".
Glad you remembered Revo Uninstaller. I just use it automatically since more often then not it finds things after the application uninstaller finishes. Even if the uninstall goes smoothly it's rare that an app fully removes itself. I think security applications are more prone to issues since they are designed to resist being disabled (or should be)." }-
I haven't used REVO for quite some time but it has been added to my regular apps.
Usually I delete the registry left overs manually, only this time it was not possible.
I just hate it when I have trouble uninstalling a program>:(

[bonedriven]

In the process monitor,why doesn't it list all my processes but only a few??

How can I edit the rules of applications not in the list?

[johncage]

-{ Quote: "In the process monitor,why doesn't it list all my processes but only a few??

How can I edit the rules of applications not in the list?" }-
Did you set the setting to 'high'? The 'high' setting will monitor all processes running on your computer.

[PaulBB]

-{ Quote: "After reading through some of the posts, I thought I would give Privatefirewall a try.
It slowed my pc down a little and it wasn't what I was personally looking for:-\

The install was good, but uninstalling it proved to be a nightmare>:(
After the first uninstall(Add/Remove programs), I noticed that the firewall was still visible in the task bar??? This left me a little confused, so I pressed on the icon and up comes the GUI... Hmmmm
I had never uninstalled a program where that was the case.

So I reinstalled and got errors with a missing driver, I was then prompted to reboot which I did, then commenced reinstalling PrivateFirewall (successfully).
Then I uninstalled PrivateFirewall, this time turning it off before commencing.
Then I had the following error (see screenshot)
After 6 installs/uninstalls I downloaded REVO, and successfully removed PrivateFirewall;D Nightmare over!
Was it my setup or are others experiencing similar issues???" }-

Privatefirewall Removal Tool
http://www.freewaregeeks.com/index.php?page=detail&get_id=2294&category=59

[bonedriven]

-{ Quote: "Did you set the setting to 'high'? The 'high' setting will monitor all processes running on your computer." }-

It makes no difference to set the setting to high. >:(

[thathagat]

-{ Quote: "In the process monitor,why doesn't it list all my processes but only a few??" }-
well bonedriven this from their site
-{ Quote: "Process Detection - Prevents viruses, trojans, worms and other malware by tracking all trusted processes and providing alerts when any potentially malicious process attempts to run." }-
and
-{ Quote: "The Process Monitor adds an important layer of defense to conventional firewall protection by identifying process-level behavior characteristics of intrusion techniques and malware activity" }-
so i guess it covers well regardless of what it shows

[tipstir]

So the verdict is? It's a keeper or it's a dud? Sounds like a dud by the feedback here. Has to be a reason why they have it for free?

[bonedriven]

-{ Quote: "well bonedriven this from their site

and

so i guess it covers well regardless of what it shows" }-

OK. So I think I'll try to manually add rules to the applications not listed.

[firzen771]

-{ Quote: "So the verdict is? It's a keeper or it's a dud? Sounds like a dud by the feedback here. Has to be a reason why they have it for free?" }-

its far from a "dud", its still a decent firewall thats free. plus its full featured and not crippled in anyway like other free firewalls because it was a paid product that they just converted into a free one.

[firzen771]

-{ Quote: "It looks promising. I wonder how they are getting their income now? Does anyone know how good their support is?

Anyway, good to see more free options out there!" }-

they have other products and they focus more on the corporate side of things.

[firzen771]

-{ Quote: "So PrivateFirewall is a Firewall and a classical HIPS right?" }-

yes. i havent really tested the HIPS too much myself though.

[firzen771]

-{ Quote: "I may have to give it a go one day. I can't see it being much better than Comodo's Firewall and Defense+ though. I wonder how light it runs on the system?" }-

from my experience its lighter than comodo, but idk if its HIPS is better than comodo's

[firzen771]

-{ Quote: "That's good to hear, because Comodo is extremely light on my system (I'd struggle to see how it can be lighter haha).

Anyway, I've got one of my mates to test it out." }-

results change from system to system :-\

[bonedriven]

Sorry to ask it again.

So what are your guys' process monitors like? Can you see almost all processes running listed out?

[Perman]

Hi,

Not an expert, I am testing it in one of the FD-ISR snapshots, so far so good.
No problems yet.

I am also using other firewalls, such as online armor free, PC Tools firewall plus
on other snapshots. All are going well.

Give it a good try. Perhaps it is THE find of the day for you.

[afrodaesia]

Hi, I just found out about Comodo...never heard of it before and I'm curious to know about it.What's your experience with it?Is it any better than other free software?What about the paid ones, is there a possible comparation between Comodo and, let's say, Norton or Kaspersky?

PS: Why bother in using a firewall when it's easier to have the complete solution?(antivirus, firewall, anti-spyware, etc)

[thathagat]

-{ Quote: "Hi, I just found out about Comodo...never heard of it before and I'm curious to know about it.
" }-
hi check here.......http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive-security-challenge/results.php

-{ Quote: "is there a possible comparation between Comodo and, let's say, Norton or Kaspersky?" }-

comparision possible yes but on wilders ummm.... i don't think its possible

[tipstir]

Well BitDefender Total Internet Security 2009 was a dud for me. Got this up morning to find the 3 systems I had installed it on won't load Windows XP Professional SP3 after you login. Good thing I had Acronis Image Backups. So now I said let me give this freeware firewall a try. I had loaded it, reboot and said wait where is it? Okay there is.. But boy this looks old school GUI. Right away when I had launched my internal web site (web server) It won't load. I did notice that PF didn't see my computer IP address it had shown the wrong one. Okay fixed that still the internal site didn't load. Revo this PF software and reboot and back to normal. Running out of options? So I decided let's give CIS 2009 3.10x another shot since it's light on system and can run on Server and Client OS.

[overangry]

-{ Quote: "Privatefirewall Removal Tool
http://www.freewaregeeks.com/index.php?page=detail&get_id=2294&category=59" }-
Thank you very much;D ;D

[Espresso]

-{ Quote: "I had to apply the MS hotfix, def memory leak exists in Vista 32 bit. Will see how things go." }-

The hotfix isn't required if you have SP2 installed.

[overangry]

-{ Quote: "The hotfix isn't required if you have SP2 installed." }-
Thanks for the additional info:thumb:

[acr1965]

Anyone else have the leaked memory issue after applying the hotfix?

[JohnnyDollar]

-{ Quote: "Anyone else have the leaked memory issue after applying the hotfix?" }-

Do you have Vista sp2 installed?

[acr1965]

-{ Quote: "Do you have Vista sp2 installed?" }-

I don't even have SP1 installed- just the monthly updates and the hotfix.

[JohnnyDollar]

-{ Quote: "I don't even have SP1 installed- just the monthly updates and the hotfix." }-

According to expresso, having sp2 installed solves the leak issue. This is off topic, but just out of curiosity, why don't you have any of the service packs installed? I got Vista right after sp1 was released, but from what I understood there was quite a few bugs that were fixed by sp1.

[acr1965]

-{ Quote: "According to expresso, having sp2 installed solves the leak issue. This is off topic, but just out of curiosity, why don't you have any of the service packs installed? I got Vista right after sp1 was released, but from what I understood there was quite a few bugs that were fixed by sp1." }-

I don't notice any bugs (minus the memory leak issue with this firewall) so I just decided to not add the service packs.

[entropism]

"My car hasn't burst into flames yet, so I didn't bother with that recall notice..."

Seriously, put the service packs in. They're there for a reason. What's the ONE thing we all preach about security? Patch your OS.

[Victek123]

-{ Quote: "I don't notice any bugs (minus the memory leak issue with this firewall) so I just decided to not add the service packs." }-
.
OT - note that SP1 for Vista noticeably improved performance in my experience. From what I've read SP2 apparently does not affect performance (not using it so can't comment from personal experience). If you decide to try SP1 take the usual precautions, such as making a disk image, etc.

[jmonge]

man i just noticed they disconued the wonderfull D.S.A>:( WELL anyway they replce it with their new free product private firewall:)

[acr1965]

OK. I'll download Vista SP1 and see what happens. Think I'll stick with my PC Tools firewall though.

[entropism]

Anyone having stability issues? I'm on Win7 RC x64, and every time I try to allow a new application's request, it crashes on me. Using this in conjunction with NOD32, SAS Pro and Keyscrambler personal.

[dmenace]

WOW !!! May I ask why it is now free? (I have a feeling the answer begins with C and is six letters long)

Privacyware :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

Edit: And all those people who took advantage of Outpost's expensive lifetime offer - heh!

[JohnnyDollar]

Anyone else out there tried PF on Vistax64 sp2? If so what do you think?

[weeNym]

One thing to be aware of is that the Process Monitor component is disabled in 64 bit environments.

weeNym

[JohnnyDollar]

-{ Quote: "One thing to be aware of is that the Process Monitor component is disabled in 64 bit environments.

weeNym" }-

Well that is a large part of it's protection isn't it? That basically turns it into more like a pure firewall right? That may not be so bad for my personal preference.

Edit: I guess it would still have an application control engine (application modification) after skimming though the PDF.

[Toby75]

-{ Quote: "
Edit: And all those people who took advantage of Outpost's expensive lifetime offer - heh!" }-

I'll take Outpost over this any day of the week.

[Woody777]

Outpost is better, Online Armor is better, Comodo is better, PC Toolis better. This thing is nice with all kinds of log info etc but I tried it & someone got into my computer.

[Victek123]

-{ Quote: "Outpost is better, Online Armor is better, Comodo is better, PC Tool is better. This thing is nice with all kinds of log info etc but I tried it & someone got into my computer." }-
.
Worth noting that Online Armor does not support Windows 7 yet, and although PC Tools Firewall has a Win7 compatible beta it was not stable on my system. I have PrivateFirewall 6.1 installed on two PCs running Win7 x86 and it has been very stable.

[JohnnyDollar]

-{ Quote: "Outpost is better, Online Armor is better, Comodo is better, PC Toolis better. This thing is nice with all kinds of log info etc but I tried it & someone got into my computer." }-

What happened? I am curious, could you be more specific?

[JohnnyDollar]

Well I got it installed and running on vistax64. Its a lot lighter than comodo on my system. But it is not working right. I have the security alert and threat management options set to: Manual control require user input for all levels with disable auto response selected.

I am not getting any alerts for anything. I have opened several programs that are not listed in applications and have been able to access the internet with them without any response from PF. What is the deal?

Even when I add an app to the application list, and set it to block it, it doesn't. WTF!

[niteghost]

Sorry about NOT knowing to much about Configuring Firewalls, how do I make PrivateFirewall, to popup a screen to ask me whether to ALLOW or Dent an application access to the Internet or call home for that matter?.....Thanks

[JohnnyDollar]

-{ Quote: " I have the security alert and threat management options set to: Manual control require user input for all levels with disable auto response selected." }-

Go into settings and do the above. Unfortunately it didn't work for my x64 vista.

[Victek123]

-{ Quote: "Sorry about NOT knowing to much about Configuring Firewalls, how do I make PrivateFirewall, to popup a screen to ask me whether to ALLOW or Dent an application access to the Internet or call home for that matter?.....Thanks" }-
.
What OS are you using? I have PF6.1 installed on two systems running Windows 7 RC1 x86 and it provides interactive pop-ups. I have it set to "Standard Control, alert and auto-respond". I also have an applications list where individual apps can be allowed, blocked or filtered by rules.

[niteghost]

-{ Quote: ".
What OS are you using? I have PF6.1 installed on two systems running Windows 7 RC1 x86 and it provides interactive pop-ups. I have it set to "Standard Control, alert and auto-respond". I also have an applications list where individual apps can be allowed, blocked or filtered by rules." }-


Sr'y I did NOT mentioned the OS, XP Pro.....Thanks
Also, there is NO way to "Disable" the monitoring of processes, I guess is an added layer of security, if a Trojan r Nasty S%#&T, was to get install or execute, it helps to monitor what is activated...

[Espresso]

-{ Quote: "I am not getting any alerts for anything. I have opened several programs that are not listed in applications and have been able to access the internet with them without any response from PF. What is the deal?" }-

Check to see that learning mode isn't enabled.


-{ Quote: "What happened? I am curious, could you be more specific?" }-

I wouldn't expect much. ::)

[JohnnyDollar]

-{ Quote: "Check to see that learning mode isn't enabled." }-

I had learning mode disabled. I think Privacyware may not have had this quite ready for x64. Then on the other hand it could just be my system.:-\

[Victek123]

-{ Quote: "I had learning mode disabled. I think Privacyware may not have had this quite ready for x64. Then on the other hand it could just be my system.:-\" }-
.
Here is some info from the website:

Privatefirewall 6.1 (Windows 7 RC1, Vista 32/64* bit compatible) - VERSION 6.1.20.24, posted 07/27/2009 - Click here to download
(Select Main Menu/Help/About Privatefirewall 6.1 to find the version number)

*Process Monitor component is disabled in 64 bit environments.

[JohnnyDollar]

-{ Quote: ".
Here is some info from the website:

Privatefirewall 6.1 (Windows 7 RC1, Vista 32/64* bit compatible) - VERSION 6.1.20.24, posted 07/27/2009 - Click here to download
(Select Main Menu/Help/About Privatefirewall 6.1 to find the version number)

*Process Monitor component is disabled in 64 bit environments." }-

Yeah the process monitor is not even in the gui on x64, which was fine with me, I could do without it. It may have been training mode not learning mode I had disabled. Either way I had it setup for me to have manual control over inbound and outbound and no auto respond, that way it would popup when a program tried to access and would just sit there until I gave it a answer. In applications I disabled programs from in and out access on all ports and they were still able to connect, and I did not see any pop ups.

[Espresso]

Anyone seeing any weirdness with parent application rules? I came back to my computer tonight to find Flashget had stopped downloading and this alert had popped up:

211422

Now, regardless if I remove Flashget and neroaacenc.exe from all the program lists, I get the above popup from neroaacenc.exe (which isn't running) every time I run Flashget from Explorer and try to download.

[gery]

is it normal for PF to consume 40 mb on a VISTA HOME PREMIUM machine?

[JohnnyDollar]

-{ Quote: "is it normal for PF to consume 40 mb on a VISTA HOME PREMIUM machine?" }-

Not if you have sp2 installed. If you don't it is normal. It has a memory leak with vista that doesn't exist in sp2 as far as I am aware.