upgrading sygate 5.5 2710 pro

I have been using sygate pro 5.5 build 2710 for 2 weeks.I think this is the best firewall for my win XP.But I would be happier if it was recognized by the windows security center.So I am thinking to upgrade it to another pro build.Which build would you recommend for an upgrade, and is it possible to install the new firewall over the old one.And if I upgrade does it recognize the pro version ? I do not want to lose the pro features while updating.

 

I thought Sygate was discontinued

 

I am really not sure if the last Pro versions supported the win security center or not, but it seems to me that perhaps they did. You might give one of the last 5.6 Pro beta's a try and see.

http://www.savefile.com/projects/1045215

Back up all your .DAT files in the Sygate directory first before installing, and then copy them back, if you want to preserve all your config settings and app rules etc.

 

I have 5.6 Backed up on my other HD if you cant find it let me know.. Ill get it uploaded somewhere and drop you a PM.

 

Thank you.I downloaded the latest program which is 5.6 build 3408.It asked me if I wanted to keep the settings.Installed smoothly.Recognized by the security center.No problems so far.

 

I'm pretty sure all 3 of the 5.6 versions are recognized by security center.

I've been trying a lot of the newer firewalls, but keep running into compatibility issues, slowdowns, lockups, etc. I keep going back to Sygate.

 

Sygate was a great firewall, actually my first many years ago. Nice features, runs light, no real problems other than the proxy issue. Was a good one and still serves many well.

 

Me too! Love Sygate.

 

Hi,

Sygate is TEH firewall.

As to the security center:

1. Why do you care what it reports? Disable its warnings.
2. I can't say about 5.5, but 5.6 is recognized.

Mrk

 

Sygate is still being updated?

Hi, I'm new here, but have been reading a lot of the forums and also have been using Sygate for a few years. I was using 5.5 build 2525 (pro) and then just installed 5.5 build 2710 (pro).

Sygate is still updating their signatures even though they were bought out by Symantec 3 years ago?

I clicked the "Signature Updates" button and it downloaded signature file version 5.5.4073. That appears to be newer than the one recently uploaded on 18 Nov 2008 to this site:

http://www.savefile.com/files/267654

I really like Sygate and I hope it is still good even though it is no longer supported.

I don't want to use any of that 3-in-1 bloatware "security suite" software from Norton or any other company.

Apart from that I use Avast Antivirus and Spybot Search and Destroy, but honestly, I haven't had a virus on my computer in years.. at least I was clean according to Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition (god does that ever slow down a machine...lol.. that's why I switched to Avast.) and also Trend Micro's HouseCall online scan. I mostly just read wikipedia and check email. I'm not much of a "power user" anymore. I use Windows XP SP3 and have all critical updates installed from Windows Update.

Is Sygate still good enough for me with my "conservative" web browsing?

Thanks.

Paul

 

Re: Sygate is still being updated?

Wow, that's news to me about the signature updates, I thought that was long gone. Sygate is still perfectly fine as long as you don't have a problem with the "proxy issue", but seeing you use Avast, then yes, it does affect you. This means that any browser you use, if you have the web scanner turned on, will not generate an alert from Sygate. Sygate will prompt you for Avast's web scanner access to the internet, but after that, any browser or other program can get out on port 80 without a word from Sygate. In other words, there will be a hole in your firewall outbound. Not a particularly good situation.

Other than that, also remember to toggle off the "act as server" box in each app, unless you specifically need inbound open on that app (p2p for example).

Sygate is fine and a great app, but I'm thinking it's a problem for you since you're running Avast. If you turn off the web scanner, then the port 80 traffic will get picked up by Sygate ok, just the email scanner is left. That uses a proxy approach also.

 

Re: Sygate is still being updated?

Hi Kerodo. Thanks for the advice about Avast. Is the Avast Web Scanner acting as a firewall? Is that why there is a conflict? I've always wondered what the purpose of the Web Scanner is. I don't need the email scanner as I just use Yahoo web-based email, so I will turn that off too.

 

Re: Sygate is still being updated?

No, the Avast web scanner uses a proxy type method for scanning port 80 traffic, and Sygate doesn't handle proxy properly. Beyond that I don't know much about the details, just that it's a problem for Sygate users. You should pick which app you want most, Sygate or Avast, and use something else for the other. I'd recommend keeping Avast, and finding a firewall that does things properly, just about all the others do as far as I know.

 

Re: Sygate is still being updated?

Thanks for the heads up, updated too.

 

from where do you download sygate pro?
will it work on vista?

 

Re: Sygate is still being updated?

Thanks I would have never tried. The update server has not been active for years. This makes me wonder if they are reviving Sygate, or maybe they have a current firewall that uses the same IPS technology?

Yes! imo

Aside from the above mentioned proxy issue it is one of the best firewalls ever. Web scanners tend to really slow browsers, to the point of sluggishness on many systems.

 

Hello everyone. I just registered to ask this one question i have. I also noticed this "new" sig. update today and installed it. But now i have noticed very high CPU usage on smc.exe (can be over 50%), when watching flash videos, like YouTube videos. Playback is very jerky because of this high CPU. I really don't know is it this new sig. update causing this problem or not?? But i can't think of anything else right now. I defragged my system drive and rebooted, but no joy - CPU is still high. This all happened so suddenly. I use Opera, but i tried with IE7 too, and with it was the same problem.

 

Sorry, but i really need some answers.

Is there a way to restore earlier signature files to see if that new sig. is causing the problem? The problem is not just with flash files, it's with all net streaming videos. High CPU on Smc.exe.

 

I don't know the filename for the sig file, but check all the .DAT files, it is probably one of those, in your Sygate folder. Sygate always did run a bit high on cpu usage, even at an idle it would eat 3-5%. Could be you just never noticed this high usage before?

If you can't find an older sig file, you'll have to reinstall Sygate. Just save all your .DAT files (except any signature files of course), and remove/reinstall Sygate, then copy the .DAT files back, and you won't lose your config settings and apps and so on.

 

Well, i justed turned on the Windows build-in firewall and turned off Sygate one, at least for now.

No, that change in CPU usage was very noticeable. It wasn't like that before.

 

See if this makes a difference for you.

tools > options > security tab > uncheck 'enable intrusion prevention system'

this turns off the part of Sygate that uses the sig file.

 

Thank you! That option really makes the difference! When disabled, everything works fine again. So that new sig update wasn't good for me, for some reason. I tried Avast AV and SpywareBlaster disabled, but that didn't make any difference. So i go with that IPS disabled now.

It would be nice to be able to restore that earlier sig. file, to get at least protection it offered.

 

Well, i guess Avast's Network Shield module does pretty much same job as this Sygate IPS.

"A new resident protection module was added to avast! 4.5: the Network Shield. This provides protection against known Internet worms/attacks. It analyses all network traffic and scans it for malicious contents. It can be also taken as a lightweight firewall (or more precisely, an IDS (Intrusion Detection System))."

Nowadays it even blocks malware sites.

 

I use Fort Knox Firewall which is basically Sygate with the latest signature updates.