PC Tools Firewall?

Discussion in 'other firewalls' started by noway, Jan 8, 2007.

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  1. noway

    noway Registered Member

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    http://www.pctools.com/firewall/

    Released today and apparently free but not really supported, although they have a community-based forum you can ask others questions. Not familiar with the company but they also make Spyware Doctor, etc.
     
  2. Legendkiller

    Legendkiller Registered Member

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    even i saw it now and wanna ask what d hell is this...pc tools in the last 10-12 days have launched free AV/AS and now a firewall..
     
  3. btman

    btman Registered Member

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    Free anti-spyware from PC Tools? Link please? All i see is Spyware Doctor and they don't remove without having the paid version.
     
  4. Stem

    Stem Firewall Expert

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  5. timcan

    timcan Registered Member

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    Hi Stem, click overview tab then bottom of page.
    Would you mind testing this firewall and tell your opinion of it? thanks
     
  6. Hipgnosis

    Hipgnosis Registered Member

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    I installed it a little while ago on a test box. Here are some screen captures.
     

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  7. Hipgnosis

    Hipgnosis Registered Member

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    These are the default "out of the box" settings.
     

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    Last edited: Jan 8, 2007
  8. Hipgnosis

    Hipgnosis Registered Member

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    application filtering
     

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    Last edited: Jan 8, 2007
  9. Hipgnosis

    Hipgnosis Registered Member

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    a picture of the pop-up...
     

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  10. cheater87

    cheater87 Registered Member

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    Can you do a leak test on this firewall?
     
  11. cheater87

    cheater87 Registered Member

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    Umm on the application pic I saw a register button. I thought this was a FREE firewall. Why would it have a register button? Or is this one of those register key things and it is free? I'm confusedo_O o_O o_O
     
  12. Hipgnosis

    Hipgnosis Registered Member

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    I'm certainly no expert on testing of firewalls and freely admit as much so I'm sure someone else can elaborate on this more but in regards to my test I performed two leaktests and these are the results.

    The first test was done by downloading Leaktest to my desktop and renaming to "Opera.exe". When I ran it I got a pop-up asking if I wanted to allow or deny access. I selected deny and it was stopped.

    For the second test I renamed the original "Opera.exe" in the /Program Files/Opera folder and then put the Leaktest which had been renamed to "Opera.exe in that folder and it was passed without asking.

    So my point is this; it would appear that if a malicious program wanted to hijack an existing and trusted file it would have to be in the original directory where the "trusted" file lived. This may very well be what a malicous program does, I don't know. I know I have read many times about where "file such and such should be, and if not it may be a malicious program, etc. etc.". So my thinking, right or wrong, is that in my first test, if it had been a malicious file it would not have gotten access because I would have noticed it was in a different location than the real Opera.exe file.
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2007
  13. Hipgnosis

    Hipgnosis Registered Member

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    Registration is optional. Here is what is said on their web site about it.
     

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  14. Hipgnosis

    Hipgnosis Registered Member

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    The tray icon is animated to show activity. It changes from the one on the left to the one on the right and shows vertical bar activity.
     

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  15. Hipgnosis

    Hipgnosis Registered Member

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    from the "logs" screen
     

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  16. Hipgnosis

    Hipgnosis Registered Member

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    and "settings" screen
     

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  17. cheater87

    cheater87 Registered Member

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    Judging by Spyware Doctor I'm a bit fishy about this
     
  18. Hipgnosis

    Hipgnosis Registered Member

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    I've never used it or any of their products prior to today so I don't know if they're any good or not.

    By the way, I updated my reply to you about the leaktest with a little more info.
     
  19. WSFuser

    WSFuser Registered Member

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    do not ask me why, but the application filtering, packet filtering, logs, and simple pop-up all remind me of LooknStop.

    just a coincidence or im imagining things maybe.
     
  20. NAMOR

    NAMOR Registered Member

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    Last edited: Jan 9, 2007
  21. PaulBB

    PaulBB Registered Member

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  22. Hipgnosis

    Hipgnosis Registered Member

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    I agree that it most definitely looks like a rebranded LnS. That in itself is not a bad thing, considering the popularity of LnS and the fact that this is free.
     
  23. Legendkiller

    Legendkiller Registered Member

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    i hope it is not tough to use like jetico and co....
     
  24. Stem

    Stem Firewall Expert

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    Hi Hipgnosis.
    Nice to see you ran that leaktest correctly. From your result, it does show that an application is only checked by location, and not by checksum/hash. It can be a problem, as you mention, if that application is compromised or replaced.

    I also noted, from the short time I had this firewall installed, that the default rules are very open, and that, even though a direction can be placed within a rule, that inbound needs to be set/allowed, or reply`s from outbound connections are blocked.
     
  25. Hipgnosis

    Hipgnosis Registered Member

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    Hello again Stem, and thanks. :)

    Yes I agree, the default rules are very open; they mirror the default LnS rules I believe.

    In regards to the inbound rules needing to be set to allowed to receive a reply from the outbound connection...wouldn't that be the case with other firewalls also? I mean, if you send out a request/packet wouldn't you expect a reply and therefore need to have that inbound connection allowed?

    Like I said before, I'm certainly no firewall expert so I'm just trying to understand and learn here. :)
     
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