vistafirewallcontrol.freeforums.org

[svanburen]

Hello,

I put myself to an effort trying to understand the workings of wfc7 x64 (trial, for the beginning)

Some questions, if you allow:
is this forum still active,
how long does the trial period last,
what to do with the blocked connections generated by
- 10/31/2010|4:37:14 PM|IPv4 TCP 78.84.208.137:52158(139)|System| Incoming
10/31/2010|4:37:14 PM|IPv4 TCP 78.84.208.137:52159(139)|System| Incoming
10/31/2010|4:39:44 PM|IPv4 ICMP 78.84.90.31(8)|System| Incoming
10/31/2010|4:39:51 PM|IPv4 TCP 78.84.128.50:1054(445)|System| Incoming

- 10/31/2010|4:40:26 PM|IPv4 TCP 78.84.45.96:43081(135)|Host Process for Windows Services| Incoming
10/31/2010|4:41:57 PM|IPv4 UDP 255.255.255.255:67(68)|Host Process for Windows Services| Outgoing
10/31/2010|4:42:00 PM|IPv4 UDP 255.255.255.255:67(68)|Host Process for Windows Services| Outgoing
10/31/2010|4:42:01 PM|IPv4 UDP 123.112.201.139:59292(20457)|Host Process for Windows Services| Incoming
10/31/2010|4:42:03 PM|IPv4 UDP 221.232.51.214:1063(20457)|Host Process for Windows Services| Incoming

just some examples, but many more of the same in the log.
what do I need to allow in general, and what specifically in order to secure the functioning of windows update?

thanks for any hints.

[VistaFirewallControl]

>is this forum still active,

Any doubts?

>how long does the trial period last,

Endlessly, the registration reminder is shown on random basis after a short period.
The reminder appearance probability increases with the lapse of time.
Reboot starts the reminder free period from the beginning.

>what to do with the blocked connections generated by

Please take into account
(a) W7FC shows all the blocked events regardless of the origin.
(b) W7FC specifies the blocking reason (the blocking zone/rule name) precisely.
No blocking reason specified means the block is made not by W7FC, most probably by WindowsFirewall.
So if the block is made by W7FC you would see
“….System| _TheBlockingReason_ Incoming” instead

Please check WindowsFirewall settings. Maybe just the “Block all the incomings” policy is used.

>and what specifically in order to secure the functioning of windows update?

“HostProcess” should be set with “Local+DNS+DHCP+Update(svchost)” zone

[svanburen]

Hi,

No doubts anymore; was just confused by the board index, showing only 6 categories, 5 Vista and 1 XP.

Thank for clarifying the logging of blocked events. Hostprocess set like recommended. So primitively speaking I could say that I have got to different sets of firewall rules being enforced by two seperate firewall programs into one and the same engine, supposed I leave W7 native firewall running. Should one expect conflict arising from that?

Once in a while there seems to be a problem the frontend not applying/saving new or modified settings. For instance, the setting disable logballoon never works, regardless the box being checked or not. The only thing effective there is exiting the frontend altogether.
Infrequently an allowed program gets kicked from the programlist (first tab), making it necessary setting up the respective policy repeatedly. Happens sometimes after reboot.

Finally I would be interested to know where all policy configurations and settings are stored (.ini .cfg). It should be possible to back them up, in order to implement them after a reinstall. That is how I do it with other programs, too, saving a lot of time.

Thanks.

[VistaFirewallControl]

>supposed I leave W7 native firewall running. Should one expect conflict arising from that?

There may be no conflicts generated by the underlying security engine principally.
However you should realize that to finally enable a network activity the activity must be enabled (not disabled) by all the rules regardless of the rules creating program.


>For instance, the setting disable logballoon never works, regardless the box being checked or not. The only thing effective there is exiting the frontend altogether.

We have just re-checked. There were no problems encountered.
W7FC however keeps the popup visible for a period (typically 5 secs), so the last balloon can be visible during the period. W7FC just does not show new events in the balloon.
Anyway please retry and provide us with more details if the problem remains.

>Infrequently an allowed program gets kicked from the programlist (first tab), making it necessary setting up the respective policy repeatedly. Happens sometimes after reboot.

Please review the listed programs paths. If the paths are different, W7FC lists the programs separately as the programs are actually different (regardless of the program name). Anyway some more details would be helpful.
Also “Apply once” button instructs W7FC to remove the program from the list automatically after the program is terminated. So, if you would like to retain a program setting please always use “Apply”, not “Apply once”


>Finally I would be interested to know where all policy configurations and settings are stored (.ini .cfg). It should be possible to back them up, in order to implement them after a reinstall. That is how I do it with other programs, too, saving a lot of time.

http://vistafirewallcontrol.freeforums.org/backup-my-settings-t20.html

[svanburen]

Hi,

thanks for the swift and to the point remarks.
I'll let you know how I fare and report any irregularities.
I will do that as a follow up to this post then.
s.

[svanburen]

Hi,

plus seems to run smoothly now, nothing more unexpected after reboots for the time being.
the frontend GUI doesn't show an apply or ok button, but I suspect it is intentionally designed like that.
Closing the GUI neither closes the frontend completely, nor minimises it to the systray, though.
Would like to see that different, although the intention is not to let the frontend startup at all after finalised configuration. I can always bring it up by means of a shortcut, if required.

A question, if you allow:
-what would be the right zone setting for SYSTEM?
-I put skype and voipbuster in the skype(portforwarding) zone. they both function. Should I set up different ports for them than the default, or different ports assigned to either program?

When I have comprehended W7FC+ completely, I will turn off W7 native firewall, sounds a nice idea to me.
There is a learning curve to cover, though. No install and forget, but sometimes life is more interesting without that.

Thanks.

[VistaFirewallControl]

>Closing the GUI neither closes the frontend completely, nor minimises it to the systray, though.

Uncheck Settings/Windows7 task bar integration

>what would be the right zone setting for SYSTEM?

LocalSystem under typical conditions


>I put skype and voipbuster in the skype(portforwarding) zone. they both function.

The zone is called “sample”. Moreover Skype arranges portforwaring automatically.
Set EnableAll to Skype till you have no special reasons to limit Skype

>There is a learning curve to cover, though. No install and forget, but sometimes life is more interesting without that.

Any firewall is not a one-button-click solution; firewall is just a tool to implement your security policy, so the tool requires tuning. However we believe the set of predefined zones and the zone adviser make the process easier.