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[takam]

Hi,

I have been a paid customer of W7FC for about 6 months and am using the plus version - 4.1.21.93 on Windows 7 64. Ever since I've used this product, I've noticed that when traffic is being blocked, it hangs the client for anywhere from a fraction of a second to about 30 seconds. Typically what happens is that I realize that some application is not working because it is being blocked by W7FC (correctly) and I want to just temporarily 'Enable all' but when I right click on the tray icon it takes between 5 -30 seconds to respond. When it does respond and give me the small menu, I takes another 5-30 seconds for the 'mode' submenu to display. When I finally am able to 'enable all', it becomes responsive again. I have tried to see what is showing in the 'blocked events' screen when this is happening but what happens is it displays a log for a fraction of a second (too quick to read) and then the screen goes blank and then it comes back for another brief period, but never long enough to read - It seems like it is trying to catchup with the hundreds of events being registered. I've also tried installing the latest beta version, but I have the same problem so I have reverted back to the latest stable version.

I'd really like to fix this issue as I'm a big fan of W7FC, there really isn't any other application like it. I'm on the verge of uninstalling it though as it is starting to cost me a lot of time.

Any advice would be most appreicated.

Have a good day,

Troy.

[VistaFirewallControl]

Dear Troy,

The described behavior is definitely not typical. Why you did not contact us just after the problem arose?

How many applications are listed by W7FC roughly? 10..50.100...500?
Did you try to switch of the Portforwarding/Sync option?
Did you try to use the Settings/Low HDD… option?
Do you have any portable/mounted drives with installed/protected-by-W7FC applications (including TrueCrypt drives)?

Could you please verify HDD(*)/CPU load when the W7FC panel is slow to response with TaskManager .
What is the overall CPU load (TaskManager/Processes tab)?
Windows7FirewallControl related CPU load?
Windows7FirewallService (“Show all…” is required in TaskManager/Processes)?

If Windows7FirewallControl/Service CPU and overall CPU/HDD is not significant the problem, most probably, is in slow communications between Windows7FirewallControl (the control panel) and Windows7FirewallService (the service).
So the panel just “waits” for the service response (typically < 10 milliseconds).
The panel-to-service communication is implemented via COM.
Are there any implicit/explicit reasons slowing down the COM communication?
Antivirus (can be temporarily switched off for the experiment)?
Did you notice any specific blocking events during the panel slow response?

Could it be possible to offer you a logging version?
We would like to investigate the problem in full.


(*) by visually monitoring HDD access LED on the computer case

[takam]

Hi, thanks for the comprehensive reply. You've mentioned many things to try. I'll try each one on its own to try isolate the problem. Below are answers to what I know now:

Why you did not contact us just after the problem arose?

Because at first it didn't happen very often and I wasn't sure the problem was caused by W7FC. I've reinstalled the system recently and still had the same problem which is what gave me the confidence that something within W7FC was at fault.

How many applications are listed by W7FC roughly? 10..50.100...500?

Around 100

Do you have any portable/mounted drives with installed/protected-by-W7FC applications (including TrueCrypt drives)?

My system is installed on a SSD with full drive encryption (Truecrypt). I have an external drive but it has no applications installed on it (only media).

Did you try to switch of the Portforwarding/Sync option?
Did you try to use the Settings/Low HDD… option?

I'll start with these today and report back answers to all the questions asap.

Thanks for your help, it is much appreciated and a great sign of a high quality product.