OA v3 : Free or Paid for

Discussion in 'other firewalls' started by Gren, Oct 12, 2008.

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  1. Gren

    Gren Registered Member

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    Have been watching for the launch of OA v3 for a while now - its finally here. Have read much that's good about this firewall but having been a Vista user for 18 months or so have not had the chance to try it.

    Am currently using Comodo with D+ turned off (far to talkative even after months) with ThreatFire. But am looking for something that I don't have to disable parts of am also hoping that, as described often, its a little easier to use.

    My question is, would OA Free plus Threatfire give me similar protection to the paid for version? I've looked at the comparison table on the TallEmu website (still from version 2?) and one main difference is keyloggers. I use keyscrambler, is this enough? Am also using NOD32 (2.7) and FF3 with NoScript.

    I know I could try both but one disappointing thing about OA is you have to uninstall the free version before you install the paid for version. I'm already anticipating fun uninstalling Comodo fully without having to do it again.

    Happy to pay if it really is that much better, especially with the $15 off promotion until the end of the month

    Thanks all!
     
  2. Fuzzfas

    Fuzzfas Registered Member

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    Yes, OA *is* more easygoing than Comodo, i agree.

    It all comes down on how much paranoid you are and how risky user you are. IMHO OA Free gives very good protection, which you can further enhance with other programs. If it is enough or not, this is something up to you to decide.

    OA Paid, gives a higher degree of security compared to the free. Not just because it has the keylogging protection, but also banking mode (if you do online banking this is quite interesting feature), web and mail shield (should you often happen to get infected from such sources) and importantly, more granularity in the firewall control (the so called advanced mode). The paid version allows even to specify single IPs to a connection. The OA free is somewhat "generic" in that. You give permission and all required ports are automatically allowed. Also if i remember correctly in the free you can't change ICMP settings. The paid version can be set to have a much more restricted ruleset. I think you should read Escalader's learning thread to see if this interests you. Last but not least, the paid version can be upgraded without new installation and is supported much better. Also the paid has advanced autostrart protection.

    So, it's your call. If the "extra" strength of OA paid is useless for you, then stay with OA free... If you want to cover *every* possible threat, then nothing is "enough". There is always a way to defeat any defence. The question is, what do you consider as acceptable risk.

    Well, if you can't try both, then try the paid 30 day trial and i suppose, you can disable the web, mail shield and antiphising and advanced mode. Then turn them on and see the difference in options and see what's best for you.
     
  3. Gren

    Gren Registered Member

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    That may be worth trying. Thanks
     
  4. Escalader

    Escalader Registered Member

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    OA is easy to use. You can un-tick features you don't use on main screen

    With OA Free I wouldn't use Threatfire anyway. Double coverage not a good idea. Threatfire has it's own difficulties anyway but I'm biased by call homes.


    It's not really disappointing at all but good practise. If you have the paid version, users should NOT try to keep the free version in reserve at the same time. Do full un-install and clean up before installing either version. You MUST be sure to properly remove any other FW's you have had in the past and of course any remnants of McAfee , Norton or ZA by using their specialized removal utilities or procedures in the case of ZA.

    Yes, take the $ and run before they change their mind!:cool: My bias is showing since I'm a beta tester for OA!
     
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