There seems to be very few posts about Comodo on here lately. A couple of months back on the basis of earlier posts I installed it to replace the Windows firewall - just the firewall, not the AV which it seems is pretty average as far as AV goes. It seems to work fine, though had to soon turn off HIPS as that got very annoying with some of my day to day programs. So has Comodo gone out of favour nowadays to be replaced with better ones, or is it that it just works so nobody ever has anything to say about it?
COMODO is not the most popular software. Those that use COMODO regularly do not mention anything much... only chime-in when someone asks. You should not need to disabled HIPS in any mode except Paranoid (not meant for daily use); just create HIPS allow rule for any safe Unrecognized files.
CFW is a very strong security program that need to be tweak. Default run by itself is not really that effective.
That's the problem with Comodo, it needs way too much tweaking. I have installed it numerous of times, and every time it was a huge disappointment.
I used the Comodo firewall for a long time and it worked fine. I kept HIPS on and turned the auto-sandboxing off. It didn't take very long to initially configure it and afterward the pop-ups were only occasional. The only reason I stopped using it was it wasn't ready for Windows 10 when I upgraded last July and since then I've just used the Windows firewall. Edit: Just wanted to mention that Comodo Firewall does indeed support Windows 10 now. In fact they recently released an update for 1511 build 10586.
PC Mag rated it excellent: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2475138,00.asp. Rube definitely liked the auto-sandboxing feature. Main complaint was HIPS alerts were to unspecific for his liking. There are guides available in Comodo forum to configure it for max protection with minimum HIPS alerts.
The lack of posts about Comodo probably reflects the mixed opinions the program engenders. These are likely to vary from one extreme to another depending on what one wants\expects and the setup configured. Some, (like me) may use the firewall and Defence+ while others might use CIS (the entire suite). Comodo, used as full on HIPS > Paranoid mode is a very different proposition to Comodo in it's default setup. Others simply find Comodo's alerts too much to put up with! I've used Comodo since V5+ in Windows 7 and currently use V7+ configured as per Chirons 'guide' with HIPS disabled and found it just right for my usage (and knowledge) In this configuration, Comodo only gets chatty when new stuff is installed, yet HIPS still works in the background. I think V7+ is probably the most reliable version I've used, yet, I've certainly had my criticisms of Comodo – and have considered ditching it on a number of occasions. Regarding alternatives – what other free HIPS type programs (still supported) are out there which do the same?
Comodo firewall and HIPS are very strong, and quite granular. Definitely true that Comodo HIPS needs to be configured, the default settings are imagined for newbie or very normal users that don't want or know to set an HIPS, and they - the default settings - are week and not much secure. If one sets the HIPS personally, and in Paranoid Mode, it's very powerful. Here Comodo products haven't many sympathizers mainly, I believe, for the producer style, that is triumphalist and self-congratulation, and similar reasons. Sure, sometimes are discovered bugs in the HIPS, but do you know an HIPS invulnerable and completely safe ? Please, tell me ! And generally the bugs depend on the sandbox ( that I don't use ). I also believe that Comodo fw and HIPS - not necessary here ! - dislike to HIPS selling producers, because they are strong and freeware.
Wow don't set comodo to paranoid mode. I tried and clicked through all alerts quickly and had to do a hard reset because it froze win 8.1. Does anyone know what percentage of Matousec tests the firewall alone passes with high settings without paranoid mode?
Thanks for the comments chaps - currently on v8.2. It seems opinions vary, I will leave it chugging away in the background with HIPS disabled as I don't have the time or knowledge to configure HIPS properly. Keep the comments coming.
COMODO is good protection. If you use widely-distributed softs from well-known vendors you can turn on HIPS since you will get few - if any - HIPS alerts. NOTE: For best results it is important to install COMODO after a clean install of Windows. Just a suggestion. It avoids some problems. Some basic things to remember about HIPS alerts: You create a permanent rule by selecting "Remember my answer" at bottom of alert If you do not like a rule, you can always delete it If you do not want to create a permanent rule, just don't tick "Remember my answer" The HIPS rule created will apply to the item on the left side of the HIPS alert (A => => B); rule applies\created for A Do NOT use "Treat as" options at bottom of HIPS alert until you know what that all entails (once again you can always delete the rule) It takes some practice, but you will get the hang of it if you decide to play with HIPS.
Which version did you use ? Last version for win 8 should work. Anyway, I never had problems with Paranoid Mode using 7 and 10.
The key word here is ''quickly''...maybe you didn't pay enough atention at the alerts and you screwed up you OS...if that's the case,it's not Comodo's fault,you realise that it's yours,right?
Look I used Comodo firewall on XP when it was version 2.4. It has grown into a totally different beast now, although I could use it on paranoid if I wanted. But the fact that it breaks things makes me not want to bother with it. If you have Sandboxie already installed, its a no go plain and simple.
Not to be rude, but you do realize that an application sandbox does not substitute or replace a firewall for your system? Probably the worse decision in security is allowing users to make security decisions. We see this in a lot of places including: UAC alerts in windows, hyperlinks or executable attachments in e-mail, and of course alerts form security software like Comodo. In general everyone is going to have a different experience no matter what software they install on their systems. Comodo gets a bad wrap because despite efforts to be "ready out-of-the-box" so to speak, it really has the potential for things to turn ugly very quickly. It's like shopping around or an automotive vehicle. Sure you could buy the relatively safe, polish family van that has a very simple, but intuitive controls and practical design layout. Or you could pick a Porsche Carrera GT with three times the average horse power of your normal vehicle, perhaps even second hand. The vehicle might be a little rough looking around the edges, but under the hood it packs a wallop, but is unforgiving with mistakes. And just because you are confident in your technical know-how to operate said Porsche, doesn't mean you can't still make mistakes, including some that might not be recoverable.
Sure, this is a plausible scenario, true for common users ( that indeed find the HIPSs boring ); but then which is your advice for security ?? And you forget that in the world there are many people that know drive a Porsche.
I never did this with Comodo, but I did accidentally render a few machines unbootable with other similar HIPS software. In each case, I was able to boot into safe mode and disable the HIPS, and resume normal operation. Whenever I hear these "bricked machine" stories about Comodo, I always wonder if people were properly troubleshooting the issue.
New COMODO Firewall Version is out 2015 8.2.0.4792 Code: https://cdn.download.comodo.com/cis/download/installs/2000/partners/cfw_installer_6106_53.exe 210 ~ MB Maybe some#1 can report how good or bad this new puppy works on Win 10 x64 because I'm thinking to test it (last time was with Version 5 and it had strange problems especially under x64). I'm especially interested in: * How good the new DDP works * How good the Sandbox works compared to other solutions * Is the Game-Mode aka fullscreen-detection finally fixed * Is the certificate manager included or does this needs internet security, because I still hate the page it's not showing (for me) the information I'm looking for ... no comparison chart or detailed guide ?! I'm blind...
Can't answer any of your questions but I am running 8.2.0.4792 on Windows 10 Home and have no issues. The only issue seems to be that when I upgraded from W7 to W10 I had to reboot before Comodo initialised properly.
Thanks for the little feedback. Maybe someone or I can give it a try and test it objective, last I've heard COMODO isn't loved in the community anymore because negative press, with there Chrome based browser, certificate things and such, but I could forget that if the products now working without bigger compromises. From what I can read here HIPS is the thing we should take a closer look at.
Negative press is negative press. Besides, there is such a thing as anti-COMODO mania. Anyhow, COMODO HIPS is best HIPS (I could find) for 64 bit systems. The only problem with COMODO is that, for some users, there is a long-standing bug whereby HIPS, Firewall and other built-in or user-created users will disappear. If COMODO could fix that one bug, it would make CIS much more solid protection.
I think comodo is pretty good though some thing annoy me like the way they try to get you to install extras like i think their broswer and geek buddy if i am remembering correct. It is very well hidden and you have to be very alert to avoid it. It could be made much clearer. it annoys me the roundabout way one has to go to remove a program from the sand box. I have v 7 maybe different. One reason for not updating is avoiding that hassle installing
David- Clicking on Custom Installation will allow one to uncheck the browser and Geek Buddy. As far as clearing the sandbox is concerned, there is a Reset Sandbox function which you can add to the Ribbon of the GUI. Then it would be a single click to clear the box.
Yes even after checking custom you still have to go back to untick something. I cannot remember now. As for reset sand box I don't think that works if a program is blocked by sandbox as distinct from being run in Sandbox on purpose. I think you have to go digging and add to safe file. Do not remember i disabled the auto sandbox because of this. There should be a right click remove from auto sandbox. Maybe there is now. Do you have to uninstall v7 to install v 8?. I expect auto update would add some things i don't want. Is ther anyway to see where the program auto update is downloaded to and what it contains?
