ok reckless fool that i am and still smarting from my last attempt at installing a well known firewall i decide to try again (doh) this time netveda steps up to bat. it gets good reviews from people and seems simple and straight forward. download netveda 3.61 onto my xp2 machine. install ok starts up ok - windows firewall off - netveda on start dialup connection asks if i want to allow - reply always dialup connects successfully now to try my various browsers select firefox asks if i want to allow - reply always MACHINE REBOOTS??!!!! after reboot get message - windows has recovered from a serious error remove netveda from startup list switch netveda off uninstall reboot switch windows firewall on dialup connects ok firefox works ok back online working fine GOOD RIDDANCE NETVEDA - another pile of crap! what is it with firewalls? are all firewall programmers on crack? it's not rocket science - why is it so hard to code a firewall that doesn't behave like a drunk in a china shop? even Microsoft firewall works! (which is more than can be said for their cd burner) NO MORE FIREWALLS!!!!
i'm sure kerio is wonderful FG but twice bitten means i will stick with what works - XP2 Firewall I LOVE YOU (even if you are only 50% effective) - half a loaf is better than none.
i care about my computer too much to let these rough firewalls maul her any more - i'm sending her to a convent.
you can see the install process for netveda can you point out exactly where i screwed up? or do you just enjoy jerkin chains?
Just asked a simple question. You`re choices of firewalls keep going down so maybe you could start by reading the setup instructions..etc. It`s your computer...keep`at`er and good luck.
OK folks, no personal invective, if you please. It doesn't add to the discussion, it only detracts from your points. Blue
Hi toploader, Seems like you're having a hard time finding the right firewall. I never tried NetVada, so I don't know how it works. Had some problems with OutPost disabling my internet connection after some time, but in the meantime I've found the culprit, so I'll install it again on the next update. Unfortunately I bought ZoneAlarm Pro which seemed to work fine, but on a certain day it locked me completely out of my system. I couldn't open any program. Don't know if I was the one who made a mistake on the configuration or if it's ZA's fault! Anyhow I uninstalled it following the uninstall procedures on their website, so everything got removed before installing another. Well guess what, I installed a free one, namely FilseClab Pro and it works right out of the box. Perfect stealth at GRC, PC-Flank. It works like a charm here and I'm impressed by that firewall, of course OutPost remains my favourite. Maybe one more you should try out.
thanks bj - there is next to nothing to set up in netveda - even if there is a setup option i missed it shouldn't cause the machine to reboot. i'm happy with xp firewall it does it's job, it doesn't lock me out - it doesn't crash - it needs no setup - it works like a basic firewall should - quietly and efficiently - i checked with grc shields up - says all ports stealthed - good enough for me.
thanks Eldar - i think i will stick with xp firewall for now - the thing is if you are locked out and you are wondering is it me or the firewall then that firewall is not doing it's job - it should be written in such a way as to inform you what is going on and why - you should be able to interrogate it simply - it should reply coherently - there should be a big red button that unlocks everything if there is any doubt - you should have control of the system - not it - it's your servant - not your master - it should be telling you what it's doing not leaving you to guess - it's BAD PROGRAMMING! Anything that claims to be a basic firewall should be idiot proof - even i should be able to use it! sure there should be fancy dancy all singing all dancing ones for experts but a basic firewall should be simple, crash proof and NOT LOCK US OUT!! i feel better for that cheers Eldar and thanks for the recommendation - i'm glad you finally found one that works. the thing is i don't like playing russian roulette with my machine - wondering if i'm going to lose my operating system - i don't want to beta test the worlds software - i just want it to work out of the box. thanks again
i installed kerio 2.1.5 and so far it is the best of the 3 - IE and firefox work with it but opera doesn't like it - is not responding very well at moment. kerio fired hundreds of prompts at me to begin with - in the end just created blanket rule for each prompt. at the moment it's asking me to permit or deny incoming from adsl-251-219.kymp.net ([213.130.251.219) port 3249 - it wants to connect to 'system' port 445 - here in lies a problem who or what is this address how can i permit or deny it if i don't know what it is? any ideas? clicking on the IP address just times out. tried http://www.kymp.net it's a foreign website in a language i don't know. why does it want to contact me? the other problem is windows is not recognising kerio as active - so on boot windows firewall is automatically activated (even though i've switched it off) and i have to switch it off again manually. there doesn't seem to be any way to tell windows kerio is there? decided to deny. no help file - so no documentation well it's got further than zone alarm or netveda so i have to give it credit for that but it does not seem to be glitch free? may keep it in for a while but unless i find a way of getting windows to recognise it will probably uninstall and stick with XP2 marks so far zone alarm....zero out of ten netveda.......zero out of ten kerio............six.. out of ten (does have a pretty little window displaying ins/outs)
You can get help here: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/kerio and a very good basic ruleset. I use Opera and have no problems with kerio 2.1.5.
many thanks Honkyak - opera seems to be running a bit slow with it - i've got a lot of tabs open but was never a problem before - hopefully it will settle down - i will give kerio a fair chance - keep it in for a while - it does have "cute" value.
netveda is a bit stiff, but it's used to work for me i guess. It's rumored to be the best app-firewall out there. I dont know... I'm using Kerio 4.1.3 and it's fine. And it isnt bloated for me as it is for some some people. As long as whatever's convenient for you and whatever gets decent results security wise is advisable.
thanks for your reply probprince, one thing i've learned so far is we all have different experiences with the same software - what works for one doesn't work for another. i do have high standards even for freeware - if i condescend to download it - i expect it to work - i expect if it fails - to fail safe - your average pc owner is not a software expert - software should be written with that in mind - too often it's not - it just sits there saying you're screwed - now find out what happened! oh and btw i hope you took a backup cos your system is about to crash. that's why we have forums like this - cos all over the world there are people tearing their hair out wondering what the heck the software they have just installed has done to their machine. they are looking to share their anger and bewilderment - hoping someone out there can help them and not just make fun of them. if i have a bad experience with a free version of a commercial product then i'm hardly likely to buy the commerical version - it's bad enough being screwed by a freeware product but it adds insult to injury if you have had to pay for it too. if i think a products crap i will say so - it's high time software developers were held to account for a lot of the rubbish they foist on an unsuspecting public. one of the reasons i installed kerio 2 is because many version 4 users think it is bloatware - even here people have different experiences, it obviously works for you - you have a different experience - maybe we should gather some stats on astrological signs.
ok on boot up windows firewall stayed off - good - there is a little red shield on the toolbar saying - there is no firewall active but there is a little icon for kerio - and every so often kerio throws up a prompt asking to permit activity so it's working ok. i would like to congratulate kerio on so far not crashing my machine - and actually appearing to work - that in itself is a major achievement for a firewall in my limited experience.
one of the reasons i get so twitchy about downloading new software onto my machine is i've only got one machine to run all my applications and security - having realised that things often don't go smoothly when using new software - for whatever reason - i've decided to buy a cheapo second machine just for testing new software before i load it onto my main machine - that way if the test machine crashes i can just reload the operating system and not have to worry about losing personal data or other applications. should be fun - i will be able to download all sorts of malware and visit the filthiest sites on the net to test out the free and trial versions of the latest security software and see just how good they are. please note - i will be downloading from hard core porn sites PURELY FOR SECURITY TESTING AND RESEARCH PURPOSES.
