New version of Sunbelt Personal Firewall now in public beta

Snort, isn't that for servers ?

 

It can be yes, however we use SNORT rules/IDS rules...they work in the same manner.

 

Hi All !!

Sunbelt Personal Firewall 4.6.1820 beta 5 is out

http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/rd/?id=080602BL-SPF_BETA5

Changelog:

4.6.1820.0 - Add Beta warning text on InstallWelcome dialog

4.6.1819.0 - Installation error when the installed sbfwim.sys driver is read only

4.6.1817.0 - Commented a call to config.sendCfgToDriver() when a UI disconnects. Inside this call a synchronized method was called and the lock was already hold in the same thread, thus causing a deadlock in the service.

4.6.1816.0 - Add .cat file to installer so security alert no longer is shown

4.6.1813.0 - Increased font size in tabs texts.
Display protocol number and name in Network alerts.

4.6.1810 - Correctly update "Apply" button when the user saves a change in "Advanced Packet Filter" and "Behavior Blocking" dialogs.
Fixed a bug that prevented to display the registration dialog from the context menu of the systray icon.
Added a capability to tab through the items in a dialog (the tab sequence was broken due to the controls used).
Fix problem with Simple vs. Advanced setting detected on Upgrade.

4.6.1807 - New set of INF files. These files pass the signability test of WLK.
Copy of miniport INF file manually.
Roll back: the change made to delete remote files when the upload was cancelled was causing completed uploads to get corrupted.

Greetings

 

This and their VIPRE AV/AS must be nearing completion soon. Looking forward to installing both together and seeing how they run. Sunbelt would be run off their feet at the moment.

 

Software developers traumä

Two projects which are complementary. They start with architectural compatibility and synergy. Along the way decisions are made, stress increases due to target dates. After implementation incompatibility is found. Company is shamed in public, bad press makes marketing/sales furious, development and test team are blamed internally.

Have some empathy for the developers and do not blame the company, it is bound to happen, when they (Sunbelt) do not confrontate the combi to a large beta audience. Marketing/sales could know, but push forward to generate income.

 

It would be a stressful time for them, but at the same time, they'll be proud of their efforts once it is completed.

Delays aren't a problem as they are a reputable company and the delays would be of benefit to the user (enhancing the product). So Sunbelt, take as long as you need. Target dates passed, no big deal, keep working away till you're happy.

I tested their AV/AS VIPRE recently on another computer and it detected and removed a serious trojan. And they're developing their products and technology from scratch. So I'm full of compliments for this team.

Their VIPRE program has a diagnostic tool built in, so any problems expereinced, the diagnostics can be run, and details can be sent to the team. Encourage others to give their new products a go.

 

BD 2008 Antivirus(without the firewall) with Sunbelt 4.6.1820 beta 5 ,when a Deep Scan is executed at the time when the antivirus reaches the Scan for Rootkits,the rootkit scan takes forever(yes i know how much time would be necessary to scan my drives),it seems to scan but doesnt finishes(i waited hours and nothing).This did not ocurred while using Jetico so it must be related to BD 2008Antivirus and Sunbelt beta 5.Operating system XP SP2 up to date,hardware VIA KT 333(VIA Hyperion 5.10) + AMD 2600 (Barton) + D-link 528T+ Audigy 2 Value.
Disableing the firewall from the task bar has no effect.
Is it a network driver problem or self protection of the firewall?
I m not able to register on the beta forum so i posted here.

 

SPF functions as a network driver. If you can, uncheck SPF from the "Local Area Connection" window. Reboot the machine and attempt to reproduce the issue.

Thanks.

 

Thanks for your suggestion.
I unchecked SPF from Local Area Conection and i rerunned the scans.Same thing happened .I can run scans on every partition without problems but when i run the deep scan that checks for rootkits it happens.
In the first post i forgot to mention that along with the BD scaning unfihishing after aborting the scan and closing the BD interface the computer would hang totally every single time.I also have to mention that Sunbelt folder was added to the exceptions(path was not scanned neither at acces nether on demand) in BD 2008.
After uninstallation of SFP everything got back to normal.
At this moment i also adressed on BD forums the issue.
SFP looks good until now ,except the little issue,so keep up the good work.

 

How i wish it would give us a choice at the install time which could produce a "clean" firewall setup, I mean, without any HIPS components.
A custom setup is all I wanted to make the Sunbelt work like a Kerio 2.

 

Speaking of Kerio 2.1.5, Can the Spashscreen be disabled when Windows Boots Up

 

You can get somewhat close to a Kerio 2 setup by just disabling the predefined rules, and all the HIPS and similar related options. Then import something like BZ's Kerio 2 rules and modify to suit your needs. That's about as close as you can get. You still won't get the logging that Kerio 2 had though, there are some design flaws in Kerio 4's logging as a result of the way they tacked on logging after the fact during 4.x development. For the most part it doesn't matter, but just don't expect all your rules to log properly, some won't.

 

http://www.brightnova.com/kpf/

 

Is it the predefined rules that you guys don't like about SPF 4.5/4.6? What features would you like to see that are in 2.x of Kerio that are not in 4.6 of SPF? Please do send in feature requests to beta at sunbelt-software dot com.
I am actively monitoring that address and will take any and all requests into consideration.

 

Well now you've opened the floodgates
How about reintroducing kerio 2.15 with upgraded engine for running on vista .I guess its not the features , but the lack of features that is so appealing about kerio 2,15.
ellison

 

LOL, let the ideas pour in
The problem with that is how the drivers function for Vista vs. XP, 2000, etc. The drivers had to be recreated so that they will install properly with Vista.

 

I guess in reality its almost impossible to bring back back such a firewall as kerio 2.15 because of marketing propaganda that seems to instill "bigger is better" mentality.Kerio was the grace kelly of firewalls ...little makeup but beautiful in its simplicity.I always remember the first time i used that firewall ....i swear my network connection was faster with the firewall than without,and im sure many will confirm that experience.If you really want to be a leader in the firewall dept ,then ditch the hips (or make it a choice installation)and spyware etc etc,go back to the simplicity of kerio 2,15 and add a nice logging feature such as sygates.Practically every other firewall and his dog has the same bloated outlook.You wont get many points at matousec .com but you sure will sell a lot.
ellison

 

Kerio 2.1.5 was one of those one of a kind classics. I think had they put a bit of work into fixing a few of it's issues and updating it, it would still have a great following. There is no other firewall with such a great interface for rule making and so on. I used it for years till I got the router here. But as mentioned, there is probably no going back, certainly not from the current Kerio 4. I think perhaps the best thing that could be done with Kerio 4 would be to just make it as configurable as possible, so that people can easily choose how to use it. And don't try to turn it into the leak-test king, Comodo is already wasting all it's time doing that.

 

Where do I find new build 4.6.1823, 1825, 1827?

I have the beta flag checked and nothing happen

 

Artur, those builds are private builds for select testers. We should be posting build 1829 (or above) today or tomorrow.

Thank you all for the suggestions with SPF 4.

 

Thanks Kerodo.
But disabling the function doesn't mean that the component which you do not wanted hasn't been installed in system. Files remain, registry value keeps,drives may still be loaded by the system, and even components which have been disabled by the user may still be loaded by the program.(Take ZoneAlarms for instance,even though the user disables the antispyware function, the program would keep loading the antispyware components before the user has deleted scan.zap,scan.zmx,srescan.dll,srescan.sys,spyware.dat----better add some registry deleting. After doing that,the user has then got a really disabling.)

To dodig,
Personally I hope a firewall will keep stable at first.A custom setup which give us the choice that could install the firewall without some components also give us the reduction of the chance which could cause confilct with other programs especially some HIPS.
The Kerio 2.1.5 also has predefined rules, but you can easily disable or delete them.The Kerio 2.1.5 keeps low CPU usage even while P2P which don't like many "modern" firewalls.

 

This might sound like a silly question, but does anyone have a copy or a link to get 2.1.5 of Kerio?

 

Something about that question -.-
Here:
http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=keriopf

 

Well, I must say Kerio 2.x looks naked compared to 4.x Thanks for the links.