I currently have Sygate Pro firewall 5.5 build 2577. Have read that this firewall (or perhaps just certain versions of it) set every approved app to allow them to also act as servers, unless you then change those permissions? That in general, doesn't sound good, as one may not be aware of it til reading about it as I did recently. Then, too, I read that there is a "loopback" with this firewall? Loopback means nothing to me (just now), which is why I ask about it. This is also not good, security-wise, I gather? Someone here said that old, unsupported apps may not be wise to use, and there's some truth to that. From what I can tell, the firewall does at least pass the leaktest at GRC; I have hardware router, and use 8-9 security apps while on net. So, I think all is well, but I'm somewhat tempted to try either Comodo or latest OutPost Pro (as both are supposed to be pretty fair firewalls). Jetico is tops, I think, re one test site/their findings but I guess one has to be a patient gearhead to get that running smoothly. I do sometimes run DCS Port Explorer, to keep an eye on traffic, and have seen nothing out of line thus far (as near as I can tell, tho' I'm no rocket scientist on the matter). So, overall, would you say it's perhaps time to switch firewalls if only to beef things up a bit more? *** Please - no cult like fevered replies about Comodo; I'm aware of it as a firewall & may yet still try it. But I would like to know about the two possible problems with Sygate, as mentioned above, if nothing else.
Loopback is just your own computer. Some programs communicate back to your own computer for various reason: builing up an error log etc. See this previous thread about loopback: https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=143242 Therefore loopback is not bad, security-wise. It will be more trouble if you don't set it into a trusted zone since some programs won't run properly.
