Outpost fans: what other firewall would you choose?

Discussion in 'other firewalls' started by Caratacus, Mar 15, 2005.

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  1. Caratacus

    Caratacus Registered Member

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    Thanks, Hollywoodpc, thanks Diver - I'll definitely give CHX-1 a spin. Is 8Signs the same as Visnetic?
     
  2. hollywoodpc

    hollywoodpc Registered Member

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    8 signs is yes . I liked it but not strong enough for my liking but , DAMN good at what it DOES do .
     
  3. Kerodo

    Kerodo Registered Member

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    8Signs is identical to VisNetic, yes.. You can use the same rules in both, same features, and so on. I believe it is 8Signs who originally developed it.

    It's an excellent firewall, the only notable feature missing is app control, something that most people want however.
     
  4. Paranoid2000

    Paranoid2000 Registered Member

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    A similar problem did surface with ZoneAlarm's logging with NOD32 in this mega-long anonymity thread. Ultimately any program that produces logs (and this can include security software like Process Guard and System Safety Monitor as well as web filters like Privoxy) may need to have those logs excluded from background scanning (this should be safe for textfiles which cannot be used to hide executable code) to reduce CPU utilisation.

    A few log files may not be a problem but if you are running several items of software which log continuously (security software does tend to do this) and have multiple scanners checking each log file when it is updated, then the affect can be significant.

    My situation with Outpost is an extreme case though since I am using the Debug plugin (which creates 12 more log files) and am routing traffic through 3 local proxies (Proxomitron, Privoxy and Tor) resulting in triple the number of network connections when I access a website - I can easily get over 100 simultaneous connections if opening multiple webpages.
     
  5. Paranoid2000

    Paranoid2000 Registered Member

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    Caratacus,

    Apologies for not addressing your initial post. BSODs with Outpost are almost surely due to a conflict either with a device driver or other network-level software. If you have not already done so, try disabling any packet sniffers, network diagnostics, port monitors or VPN software (other firewalls should be removed completely of course).

    To check for device driver conflicts, try disabling all network adapters in the Device Manager - if things appear to work then re-enable them one by one to find the problem device. Checking for updated drivers is advisable also, especially for items like wireless network cards where driver updates can change functionality significantly.
     
  6. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

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    paranoid... i like the feature in kerio that will hide certain info such as bank account or credit card info, most say it doesnt work i tried it and in fact it does work very well. does outpost have anything like this or maybe a plugin for this type of thing norm it may not be usefull but with this running on my stores pc's it may be a really nice feature. thanks very mcuh
     
  7. Paranoid2000

    Paranoid2000 Registered Member

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    Outpost does not have this option and I would lobby hard to stop it from being added. Why? Because it is illusionary security. Many trojans encrypt their data so avoiding detection by such features. But if you feel more secure as a result, you may do things you would not have done otherwise, like storing more personal data. Of course, you have to store your credit card number for any program to be able to check for it - but not all such programs keep this information properly secure themselves.

    If you wish to store personal data, then the proper thing to do is to secure the data (via encryption - ideally using an open-source product) and secure your system (a firewall is only the first step here - software like Process Guard which can block software keyloggers and rootkit trojans from installing should be considered also).
     
  8. hollywoodpc

    hollywoodpc Registered Member

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    Outpost does not have this option and I would lobby hard to stop it from being added. Why? Because it is illusionary security

    Total agreement here . Not that it matters what I think . lol . P2K hit the nail and the head and I would help to stop it
     
  9. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

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    i understand i did not think about it that way, you guys are right. i was looking at it as kinda of a cool feature more thank anything. the one thing i really like about outpost over kerio is i actuall get alerts for things like intrusion attemps etc... with kerio i never got these always had to open the program to check to see what was going on.
     
  10. no13

    no13 Retired Major Resident Nutcase

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    Wouldn't YOU like to know?
    "Do not dismiss the power of a psychological symbol. Small securities destroy paranoia and free the warrior to battle!"
    ;) :D
     
  11. no13

    no13 Retired Major Resident Nutcase

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    Wouldn't YOU like to know?
    Also... wouldn't we look foolish if some kiddie script got launched and sent out data in PLAINTEXT!
     
  12. Caratacus

    Caratacus Registered Member

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    Thanks for your advice on how to track this down Paranoid2000. I wil give it a whirl after Kerio trial expires.

    But I must say the question springs to mind: why does this problem occur with Outpost but not Kerio or LnS, that have run as good as gold on my machine? It's not just me: others over at the Outpost forum report the same problem. I wonder why Outpost doesn't fix it.
     
  13. lynchknot

    lynchknot Registered Member

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    :eek: - I just read my post above and I seemed a bit harsh. Sorry, no offense.
     
  14. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

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    very big of you to admit, no problems
     
  15. lynchknot

    lynchknot Registered Member

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    yeah, sometimes i'm a big.....rhymes with genie - lol - usually when I take some statement personal when it was not even directed towards me - then adding outside pressures with life's trials and tribulations - just fuel the fire. I'm much more reserved and polite in person - but on the internet i'll.....

    http://img236.exs.cx/img236/6092/mm9fp.jpg
     
    Last edited: Mar 18, 2005
  16. Thanks...Lynchknot....

    P.S. I like and use your shells
     
  17. Diver

    Diver Registered Member

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    P2K-

    I had not really thought about what sort of attack the ZA personal information vault was really protecting against until I read your post. It would seem obvious that any keylogger trojan would use some means of encrypion to defeat the vault as ZA is one of the most widely used personal firewall products. All it would take would be the most trivial of encryption schemes to bypass the vault. Seems like it is no more than a marketing hype feature.
     
  18. Diver

    Diver Registered Member

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    Very well said. We should all keep this in mind when giving and interpreting advice.
     
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