Is Frederic still missing?

[whitedragon551]

Originally Posted by Cutting_Edgetech

I hope that is not the case Whitedragon

As do I, but apparently real life things cant happen to programers. Instead its ok to just sit around and bash them for not updating in over a year.

[Phant0m]

I have not been in touch with Frederic in a long while, I've been very busy ... and the Look 'n' Stop product is working wonderfully under Windows 7 x64.

[Phant0m]

Call me old fashioned, but I actually like a lot the current GUI. It is clean, swift and I-friendly. :p

Originally Posted by Cutting_Edgetech

Is Frederic still missing? Im wondering if LnS is ever going to be updated, or keep working on improvements. I believe the GUI is crude, and LnS is like having a supped up sports car engine in a Junker cars body. Has anyone tried LnS on Windows 8? If Frederic has abandoned the project then it would be nice to see someone like Webroot acquire LnS.

[Phant0m]

I would normally agree with you, having security software installed that hasn't been maintained in awhile is risky. But Look 'n' Stop works great and the Windows TCP/IP stack hasn't changed that merits the need for a security update.

Originally Posted by Osaban

Another reason for having uninstalled LnS from my computer. The thought of having an application that has been abandoned adds to a sense of insecurity. I hope he is fine, but I'm beginning to think that 'they' disappear so that they can effectively stop providing support for their programs.

[Phant0m]

The DLL authentication mechanism is maintained by someone other-than Frederic, and at the time and for several months after the x64 release, there was no x64 support. But Fred kept checking, and nothing new was available.

Originally Posted by n8chavez

That's not the only thing in need of updating. When LnS went from a strictly 32-bit application to a 64-bit one the transition was ~ Snipped as per TOS ~. There are things, such as component authentication that really needs to be added to the 64-bit version so that it reflects the capabilities of the 32-bit one.

[Phant0m]

If Look 'n' Stop wasn't saving ruleset changes it sounds like when shutting down or on re-starting Windows, Look 'n' Stop application was being terminated before it completed a normal application shutdown procedure (which saves changes). One could have manually initiated the save via 'Internet Filtering' – 'Save'

Originally Posted by Cutting_Edgetech

* I tried creating rules for my VPN, but the firewall did not want to remember my rules. *

[Cutting_Edgetech]

Originally Posted by Phant0m

If Look 'n' Stop wasn't saving ruleset changes it sounds like when shutting down or on re-starting Windows, Look 'n' Stop application was being terminated before it completed a normal application shutdown procedure (which saves changes). One could have manually initiated the save via 'Internet Filtering' – 'Save'

Thanks for the advice Phant0m, but that was the first thing I tried. I tried it several times, but it did not work. I tried it over, and over again with no success. I rebooted several times with no success. Maybe if I would have uninstalled LnS, and reinstalled it would have fixed the problem. I do not know. I do know I have used LnS in the past with a different VPN with no problem. I believe some of LnS's files became corrupt somehow. I decided to use Online Armor on all my machines for now except for my laptop which I use Eset Smart Security. I was only using LnS on 2 XP Pro x32 machines. I may switch them back to LnS in the future.

[MrGump]

So what's the verdict then? I dusted my copy of LookNStop and my copy of Phant0m's rule-set. Should I still use them? Are they at least as secure if not better than Windows firewall?

[Cutting_Edgetech]

IMO LnS is a much better Firewall than Windows FW. If all you want to do is stealth all your ports then use Windows FW. If you want great packet filtering, and outbound protection then use LnS.

[Mongol]

Originally Posted by MrGump

So what's the verdict then? I dusted my copy of LookNStop and my copy of Phant0m's rule-set. Should I still use them? Are they at least as secure if not better than Windows firewall?

I've been running it for several years now and find it to be as solid a pure firewall as you can get. It's rules based so there is little to worry about for updates. Then again I also run WSA Essentials which provides excellent keylogger protection and good web filtering and also has a very good behavior blocker.

[blasev]

LnS and Phant0m ruleset are still the best solution for me

[kerykeion]

It's actually fine that the product doesn't get updated -- if it ain't broke, don't fix it -- as the saying goes. But it'd be great if he could drop by every once in a while.