anyway to reset firewall rules without a reinstall

had a issue where no matter what i did i would delete a firewall rule over and over because is was linking to the incorrect location to a .exe. and every time the program would open the firewall entry would be once again listed in the wrong directory. i deleted the rule 5 times with the same result. finally a reinstall fixed it.

my main issue is if i find im reinstalling over and over very often i dont want them to block my lic key for something like this. i know it was said i should be okay but i want to be 100% sure my key will not get blocked.

is there another way to fully reset the rules or programs in a case like this or is a reinstall what is recc. for something like this.

 

If it's on the same computer you can reinstall as much as you want as is tied to Hardware the problem is if it's being installed on many different PC's is to prevent abuse but Joe can explain more.

TH

 

Linking to the "wrong place" is completely normal and not wrong. Joe said before that it triggers based on the hash of the process and it only remembers the first hash location it sees. So if the firefox.exe is in \temp\mozupdate17028.tmp first and is scanned, then that will be the first location of the hash. Any other copy of the same exact file will show up in the firewall from that location and is completely normal.

 

ahh okay not sure i like that but okay at least i know how it works now, i wish it would show the correct path though.

 

It just chooses "a" path because of what Techfox1976 said. Short of showing every path with that hash, there really isn't any way of displaying the path that the user wants at any given point (i.e. perhaps they want to see the temp filename because that's the prompt they just received, but it would then show the installed filename). Showing all filenames also leads to the possibility of confusion as the user might think they need to allow each or would have different determinations for a file running from %temp% versus c:\program files\ when in fact they are the same file.

So, we've designed it the way it is now to try to at least be consistent

 

but if a user actually deletes a firewall rule why then on the new path would it not show the correct one after a new scan? would it not then detect the exe in the correct path after a new full scan?

 

It always remembers the first time ever it saw the hash. ^.^

 

so then a quick reinstall would be the only way which fixed it for me, well as long as my key doesnt get blocked i guess this is what ill have to do. i really dont like that it doesnt show the correct directory imo

 

When you uninstall, it "checks out", and installing on the same computer counts as the same computer now matter how many times.

I don't think it shows the "wrong" directory at all. If you have two installs of Firefox, for example, it's not going to show both places, since it goes by hash. So how does it decide which one to show?

 

okay i had a file i downloaded which was a .exe file type. i then went ahead and ran it and told it when extracted to place the the directory for it in programs x86. in the firewall it shows the .exe as being in the user downloads folder still no matter what i do. this is my issue. and the file in downloads IS NOT the file the program runs from now. it is the file in the directory on the programs folder. that is what i mean is happening

 

I mean, think like a program. Make rules. How do you define what to show?

WSA is more interested in where it was first, not where it is now, since that makes a difference in deciding whether it might be a threat. What if it's in both places still? What if it's in two places now intentionally? Do you record every place a file is and was and make the local data huge?

 

i get it. its just not conventional from a firewall which is why i was surprised and wondering if something was wrong when i saw this. for myself i would prefer it to show the current path so when i look at it i know where the file is. my reason for saying this is because when i went and deleted the file in downloads thinking it work correct itself after a full scan it didnt. so in the firewall it shows the path from downloads but that file doesnt even exist anymore. which is my point so when a user opens wsa and checks the firewall they might be looking for a file that no longer exists in that location. again i still really like the program this is just one minor thing. but not sure if you see my point.

 

And why do you have to reinstall WSA over and over very often

 

because i do a lot of testing of software. no other reason wsa is working just fine. seriously man no offense but stop trying to bash wsa....

 

I was just asking, do not get offended, even though you have a lot of posts about WSA not doing this or not doing that....

For testing purpose creating an image and restore it is the way to go, rather than "reinstalling over and over very often "

But if you prefer, keep reinstalling .

Thanks,
Claudiu

 

i do create images. this is for when i want to install say three or four apps to test without restoring between each one. you dont have to restore a image between installing every app. but then when im done with that i do go ahead and restore the image from prior to that. its my method and it works so im sticking to it.

and in regard to the questions i was new to webroot. honestly the last time i used it was years ago, so im still even now learning what it does and does not do such as was this question about the firewall.

 

I really don't like WSA's Firewall, and wish they would beef it up with both inbound and outbound, and allow more customization. Having virtually no method to delete rules, and a hideous scrolling method to view them really starts to get on my nerves.

 

i do agree with you there. the firewall as i have said is the one area i dont like. i wish it had both in and out and a more simple application list then the scroll down method. really like it other than that this is really about my only issue with wsa is the firewall.

 

Don't try to use it or think of it as a full firewall.

Recognize it as a "I will stop network traffic from bad things I see and use the network traffic information from unknown things to see if they are bad" firewall and you'll be a lot better off. Then observe that you can run any network firewall you want, free or not, along with it, and you're set. The WSA firewall is -not- meant to be a full firewall or anything, so if you avoid trying to use it as such, you're fine.

Think of it as what it is: A firewall extender, which simply means that it is NOT a firewall but does some useful firewall-like things from an antivirus standpoint that a firewall itself cannot do because firewalls are not malware-aware.