Hi, I have installed windows 10 pro. Before I had windows 7 with Comodo Firewall and Avast free. Now many people say that the windows 10 firewall is good and there is no need to install other firewall. What do you recommend? Thanks
It depends what you want - Comodo is a lot more then just a firewall. Also, Windows firewall only filters inbound by default - if you want to add outbound it's easiest to use a controller like Binisoft's Windows Firewall Control or Tinywall
All firewalls do the same, the only difference is the GUI. That is why 3rd party firewall are becoming abandonware. There are not many to choose from, standalone: Comodo and Zone Alarm. Windows Firewall based: Glasswire (very nice GUI), Binisoft and Sphinx.
I have not used it so maybe others could comment that have, but based on my reading I trialed Tinywall & Binisoft over Sphinx & went with Binisoft because I want to be able to have notifications on block events
Sphinx has notifications of blocked connections and you can make rules from the alert and from their excellent log. It's deny by default and you make the rules to allow. The GUI is a bit goofy in that what's normaly SAVE or OK is called Apply and it's not at the bottom of the screen. For more information take a look here: http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/
I'm not absolutely sure about sphinx firewall, but my understanding has always been that it is not based on controlling the Windows firewall rules? And as such it should go in the same category as Comodo, ZA and other 3rd party firewalls. Using the given Windows platform filtering API. It being quite marginal also. Wanting to control outbound connections using Windows firewall there are TinyWall and Binisoft's firewall and maybe some third that is mentioned being quite buggy. And thats all. Unless someone wants to do it on their own and that is not as safe then as apps want to make and can do their own rules to outbound allowances to Windows firewall. TW blocks that weakening behaviour in my opinion. Nothing can in the long term connect to internet outside TinyWall's rules with windows firewall capablity of blocking things.
So do you think that TinyWall is better than sphinx? I tried Binisoft, but I had not notifications. Is this function in payment?
Sphinx uses Windows filtering platform, but does not use and does not modify Windows firewall rules. Rule management is independent. So your understanding seems correct. My impression is this: - If Windows firewall is off, then it's simple - just the Sphinx rules apply, default deny, and you change the rule if needed. - If Windows firewall is on, then the usual precedence is Windows firewall rule evaluates first and if it wants to allow out (windows fw default state), then if it's a new application that wants out, Sphinx will alert. And if Sphinx rule exists and is supposed to deny, it'll do so. It's a complicated interaction in my opinion. The nasty part is that installing, as admin, a new application may add new rules to Windows firewall and turn it on behind your back. Sphinx will still alert, but, for some reason, won't log it. Jarmo, have you used Tiny Wall on Windows 10, and if yes, have you a nice list of your settings, to share, similar to what you once showed for Windows 7 in the Tiny Wall thread? https://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/beta-testing-tinywall.309739/page-37
In that link page there are none of my settings, but in fact rules in pictures of posts #906, 907 are TinyWall Special Exceptions and then some and other firewall mode rules than the Normal one in the second pic. So they should work also in W10. Those none now working links in those neighbour posts contain nothing else that is not in those 2 pics. I lost that home page and that is why the links are dead. To Johnny Stecchino: I can't comment what is better. What you need to know is that TinyWall is free and also that it does not give new program popups. It is designed that way. It has other ways of whitelisting programs that the user wants to have internet access.
