vistafirewallcontrol.freeforums.org

[VistaFirewallControl]

> More importantly, the same symptoms still occur: "...new blocked events [in fact, new detections after being deleted from the Programs List as you recommended] (which [DO] produce [new] balloons, [new] entries in blocked.log, and [new] entries in the Program List) are not even getting listed in the Blocked Events tab!

In the current version the detection blocks are NOT listed in the Blocked Events tab.
You asked about that previously. (our reply to your direct support request on Feb 01)
The reason is simple. The Blocked events tab is intended to subtly patch the existing permissions. The detection block happens only once (on the application listing), so there is no need in patching a zone persistently

[jclarkw]

>>In the current version the detection blocks are NOT listed in the Blocked Events tab... The Blocked events tab is intended to subtly patch the existing permissions.<<



Thanks. That helps me a lot! (Perhaps it also explains most of my other apparent problems as well...) Sorry I misunderstood your earlier reply.

I take it that you think my installation is working properly?

It does seem odd, however, that clicking on such a blocked balloon (as apparently instructed by yurr documentation) takes you to a BLANK Blocked Events tab. In that case I don't see any way to access the potentially convenient list of simple options (e.g., "Permit the service on the remote PC") that is offered when you right-click an application listing in that tab. I see now, however, that this right-click-on-a-Blocked-Event-entry is also intended to fine-tune an existing zone by adding a specific rule to the bottom of its rule list. Correct? I guess I'll have to read through your very compressed documentation yet again...

Perhaps you can answer one more question that this experiment brought up: Once a pre-defined zone has been COPIED (if I understand correctly) to an application (e.g., by applying it from the pop-up Edit Application window but WITHOUT renaming it there), and then that copy has been further edited (e.g., with the right-click method just described after a second blocked event), how do you review and/or further edit that copy, which apparently now belongs only to the specific application?

Are you recommending that such a copied zone ALWAYS be renamed immediately? Will it then appear in the Zones List where it's clear how to review and edit it?

[VistaFirewallControl]

>I take it that you think my installation is working properly?

We can’t find any the installation related issues.

>It does seem odd, however, that clicking on such a blocked balloon (as apparently instructed by yurr documentation) takes you to a BLANK Blocked Events tab.

After reboot (or clicking to clear the event list) the event list is empty and will be populated automatically by the incoming events.


>Perhaps you can answer one more question that this experiment brought up: Once a pre-defined zone has been COPIED (if I understand correctly) to an application (e.g., by applying it from the pop-up Edit Application window but WITHOUT renaming it there), and then that copy has been further edited (e.g., with the right-click method just described after a second blocked event), how do you review and/or further edit that copy, which apparently now belongs only to the specific application?

The applied copy is persistent, you can continue editing the copy anytime.
And every time you edited the copy W7FC will offer to save the zone back to the repository to the reusability.
Every time you try to apply a new zone copy to an application, W7FC compares the zones (choosing the correspondent zone by name) against the repository, if the application’s zone copy differs from the repository’s one, W7FC warns “you can lose the changes”

>Are you recommending that such a copied zone ALWAYS be renamed immediately?

Only if you have made persistent modifications and for the only purpose – helping you to recall “what is the specific for” later.
A file name (say so) should correspond the file content/purpose, it’s not a must, but having a lot of ABC and QWE at once it would be hard to find a required file. The zone names are for the same.

>Will it then appear in the Zones List where it's clear how to review and edit it?

A zone applied to application and a zone from repository can be edited equally, you should just realize the copies are independent. Though W7FC tries to compare the applied (to application) copy against the repository (by the zone name) and remind you accordingly (if the zone are different)

[jclarkw]

>>The applied copy is persistent, you can continue editing the copy anytime.<<


A) OK, I finally stumbled on a way to do this: Right-click on the entry in the Programs List, and instead of selecting Edit (which seems natural but just brings back the Edit Application window -- unhelpful in this case), select Zone. This is the trick I was missing. Is there also another way?

I think I'm also BEGINNING to understand the operation of the right-click menu on an entry in the Blocked Event tab. Please check me on this:

Each time one of the choices (e.g., "Permit the service on the remote PC") is selected, another rule is added in the resulting [Copy-of-Zone-Name] edit window. This new rule also appears in the Zone selection for the correspoinding entry in the Programs List.
If a second (or third) tweek is made to this application by the Blocked-Event route outlined above, another new line appears in the corresponding zone edit window -- now there are TWO different new rules there regarding the same remote address range.
BUT back in the corresponding window for the Programs List entry (and presumably in the actual zone copy), ONLY THE SINGLE LEAST RESTRICTIVE VERSION of these new rule appears. This seems to be a deliberate (and very clever!) way of facilitating the tweeking process, which I missed in reading the documentaiton.
Further, this behavior SUGGESTS that the [Copy-of-Zone-Name] edit window that is reached through right-clicking the Blocked Evnets entry is not a fully functional zone-zdit window. The only way to achieve full edit capabilities for the rule copy MIGHT be through the Program-List-entry/right-click/zone selelction.

Is the above description correct, or am I still missing something?


B) And here's another detail question related to this thread, regarding the naming of zones: Suppose I have a user-created zone already in the Zone List with a funky name. (Not sure how I managed to get it listed there in the first place, since it grew out of "tweeking" (as described above) a pre-existing rule copied into a new application, but that's another problem...) How do I change the name of that Zone-List entry permanently? (I was planning to get the name changed, delete the zone with the old name if necessary, and then apply the renamed zone to the application, thus reconciling everything for clarity.) Clearly it doesn't work to just Edit/[Enter a new name in the name field]/OK.

So I guess there are really two questions in (B):
1) How do you rename a zone?
2) How do you get a newly edited zone listed from its application into the Zone List? -- jclarkw

[VistaFirewallControl]

>I think I'm also BEGINNING to understand the operation of the right-click menu on an entry in the Blocked Event tab. Please check me on this:

>Each time one of the choices (e.g., "Permit the service on the remote PC") is selected, another rule is added in the resulting [Copy-of-Zone-Name] edit window. This new rule also appears in the Zone selection for the correspoinding entry in the Programs List.

Right

>If a second (or third) tweek is made to this application by the Blocked-Event route outlined above, another new line appears in the corresponding zone edit window -- now there are TWO different new rules there regarding the same remote address range.

Right

>BUT back in the corresponding window for the Programs List entry (and presumably in the actual zone copy), ONLY THE SINGLE LEAST RESTRICTIVE VERSION of these new rule appears. This seems to be a deliberate (and very clever!) way of facilitating the tweeking process, which I missed in reading the documentaiton.

Yes, we tried to predict the expectations.

>Further, this behavior SUGGESTS that the [Copy-of-Zone-Name] edit window that is reached through right-clicking the Blocked Evnets entry is not a fully functional zone-zdit window. The only way to achieve full edit capabilities for the rule copy MIGHT be through the Program-List-entry/right-click/zone selelction.

No, you are shown with the complete rules set (will be) applied to the application and can edit the zone in full.


>B) And here's another detail question related to this thread, regarding the naming of zones: Suppose I have a user-created zone already in the Zone List with a funky name. (Not sure how I managed to get it listed there in the first place,

The list is sorted alphabetically (ascending or descending).

>since it grew out of "tweeking" (as described above) a pre-existing rule copied into a new application, but that's another problem...) How do I change the name of that Zone-List entry permanently?

By editing the zone (by double clicking).

>(I was planning to get the name changed, delete the zone with the old name if necessary, and then apply the renamed zone to the application, thus reconciling everything for clarity.) Clearly it doesn't work to just Edit/[Enter a new name in the name field]/OK.

Just tried once more. It works. Could you please specify step-by-step.
Probably there is just a misunderstanding.





>So I guess there are really two questions in (B):
1) How do you rename a zone?

No direct way. 2 steps are required.
1 Settings a new zone name to a new (or existing) zone – that creates the new zone in the list.
2 Deleting the previous one if any/required


>2) How do you get a newly edited zone listed from its application into the Zone List?

It happens automatically.
The common logic is the zone names must be unique.
So if you are about to save (pressing OK to) a zone with new name (regardless new zone or existing one).
W7FC analyses the other existing zone in the list and
If new name matches an existing one, W7FC overwrites the existing.
Otherwise creates new, keeping all the existing zones intact

[jclarkw]

I was making the stupid mistake of changing the Rule name instead of the Zone name. The latter apparently creates a COPY of the old zone with the new name. Then I can apply that new zone to the desired application, delete the old zone, and all is well.