Installing and configuring programs (overview): firewall (firewall) Comodo Firewall (end). Installing and configuring Comodo Firewall
Good day, dear readers, readers, admirers and other individuals.
It has long been no secret that any modern person cannot do without a computer and. The World Wide Web has become an integral part of the lives of most of us, because it is a storehouse of information, a method (or means) and much more.
The computer is the tool with which we gain access to the World Wide Web. Therefore, everyone has a natural desire to protect their iron friend from the dangers that it conceals behind itself.
One of these means is Comodo Firewall Free– a program that will help us protect our computer from various computer infections, of which there are many on the Internet.
Questions in the style of “What is a firewall and why is it needed” have already been discussed earlier on the site in the articles: “”, “, and others, that is, if you need a theory about what kind of thing this firewall is ( which is so cleverly avoided in films), then it’s worth starting with them (at least with the first two).
This article will be entirely devoted to a separate product - Comodo Firewall. This program is free, and many rightfully consider it number one among similar products. At the same time, the product in question copes with its tasks no worse than most paid analogues from other software manufacturers. It is also important that there is an excellent Russian-language version of this firewall.
Let's see what it can do, install it, configure it, and all that jazz.
Download and Install Comodo Firewall
Installation Comodo Firewall does not contain any particular difficulties, but still there are some nuances that are worth taking into account. We will talk about them in the first part of this article.
You can download this miracle of programming thought from the developer’s website by clicking on the appropriate button:
After downloading, run the previously downloaded file to begin the installation process, which, however, will begin with unpacking the files necessary for the installer:
After that Comodo Firewall will prompt you to select the installation language. Choose the one that is closest to you (in our case Russian):
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Next you will need to uncheck the " I want to use cloud-based application behavior analysis by passing unidentified programs to COMODO", as well as "Anonymously send data about the use of the application to COMODO to make changes that improve the operation of the program", because there is no need for them, as well as for an email subscription.
However, if you think that you need them, then you can leave them. Next, it would be useful to click on the " Customize installation", rather than immediately pressing the button " Forward". This very button will allow us to configure the elements for installation (more precisely, components) Firewall"A:
Each element has its own description according to which you can make a choice yourself, but we recommend unchecking the " Install COMODO GeekBuddy", which allows you to receive some remote support and other tails and install only the firewall part itself.
Installation configuration
If you are not very knowledgeable about working with firewalls, then this checkbox may be worth leaving. This will allow you to avoid unnecessary settings and notifications, but at the same time part of the solutions Comodo Firewall will make decisions for you based on statistics (for example, allow connections for known normal applications - like , - and deny known malicious or suspicious ones).
Well, the last tab allows you to select the location of the firewall installation files. You can, traditionally, leave the default, or specify your own. Next, click on the button " Back" and return to the previous step, where we unchecked the first boxes and pressed the button " Customize installation", where, in turn, we press " Forward".
Next, we will continue to struggle with the checkboxes, because we will be prompted to install the elements Yandex, do Yandex the main thing and everything else in general. Traditionally, filming all the boxes are ticked, if of course you Yandex is not necessary, and press the button " Agree. Install".
After this, the process of obtaining a free license and installation will begin. COMODO Firewall.
In fact, all you have to do is wait for the end of the process, after which the firewall will start up and start screaming urgently and demanding attention, rebooting and other things, and doing this in several windows at once:
Well, you’ll have to make concessions and allow a reboot (after closing everything you need and saving the work process), otherwise the firewall won’t work normally, and, in general, it won’t let you.
After the reboot, we will begin using and further configuration.
Initial launch and setup
After installation, most likely, you will immediately see a small (side) window of the program, a notification about how it protects you Comodo and the developer’s website automatically opened. If everything went well, then everything will look something like this:
Tick " Don't show this window again“You can put it right away, fortunately there is no need for it, other than self-education:
Also, most likely, you will immediately receive a notification about the network you are on with a set of items, the choice of one of which will determine a certain level of internal settings:
The choice should be made wisely, or more precisely, to be honest about where you are. Or, if you have some concerns and are concerned about the level of confidentiality, then select the third item, i.e. " I'm in a public place", as the most powerful in terms of protection.
Handling Comodo Firewall requests
The second type of notifications will be about attempts by various types of programs to connect with something or someone, as well as about doing something for some reason. It looks something like this:
The logic for processing such requests is simple: if you know what kind of program (for example, a browser) is trying to connect to something or perform something, then you allow the action to be performed, but if you are not at all aware of what kind of nonsense is happening (even after how they used an Internet search, etc.), that is, it makes sense to block or process according to one of the application rules.
Next, it makes sense to go to the main program window. This can be done using a small window (right mouse button - " Open") or tray icon (the latter can change to display traffic or a firewall logo):
The main window of the program looks quite clear, moderately concise, and, in fact, contains most of the necessary information. It may be that it makes sense to start with the update process, although if you installed the program from the developer’s website, then the version should be the latest initially:
The buttons are all standard and each is responsible for the corresponding functionality. For example the button " Scanning" will, in fact, allow you to scan your computer for threats and provide a detailed list-report about what kind of files live in the system and whether they should be trusted:
We have already talked about updates, so we won’t do anything unnecessary, since the update is responsible for the update and there is nothing complicated in it.
Isolated environment and more details
A button with a virtual desktop will allow you to launch an isolated environment in which you can walk through dangerous places.
In terms of logic and principle of operation, it resembles one based on Windows functionality, and is also extremely similar to a sandbox (like ) in its expanded, moderately adult form. An extremely useful thing, we recommend it for paranoid people.
You can switch between desktops using the appropriate button, quickly and fairly painlessly, which is convenient. By the way, the installation of all the above ( Silverlight And Comodo Dragon) is not a necessary functionality for full operation, but recommended as such.
The quarantine tab is responsible for quarantine, online support for online support. In general, there is nothing unusual and we will not dwell on them. The button in the upper left corner allows you to see a detailed summary of what is happening:
That is, see the number of incoming and outgoing connections, blocking processes, enable or disable all sorts of Automatic Sandbo x, HIPS And Viruscope, and already manage what is already blocked, isolated, etc.
Clicking on a firewall link, for example, will allow us to open a tab with settings and the corresponding subtab, but here we can manage everything in general by going to where we need it (for example " General settings" - "Interface"). Let's briefly go through them.
Advanced setup and use
The interface tab is, oddly enough, responsible for the interface. If you wish, you can customize the theme, again, language and other tails. It is recommended to disable the long-suffering sound, greetings, various types of notifications and other annoying functionality here:
The updates tab is responsible for the frequency of updates, and the log for, logically, the size of the log, its re-creation, and so on. It’s all logical, simple and easy to set up, fortunately it’s in Russian, I think you’ll figure it out.
On the configuration tab, you can enable or disable any of the ready-made configurations. This is very, very convenient, and when switching, it allows you to save the existing and changed configuration, i.e. you can change the security level, depending on the circumstances. True, switching requires a reboot, which, in general, is logical.
Hips and sandbox in Comodo Firewall
The defenses are inhabited by the above mentioned HIPS(proactive intrusion prevention system), Sandbox(sandbox, which is responsible for virtualization and protection based on it) and VirusScope(a system that allows for dynamic analysis of running processes and recording their activity).
For HIPS"It would be nice to include detailed explanations (if you don’t understand), set the notification display time and, optimally, check the box" Adapt operating mode at low system resources"so that it doesn't eat up performance so much. In principle, it would be possible to enable enhanced protection mode, but it is very paranoid and gluttonous.
In settings Sandbox You can uncheck the first box if you don’t need it, and it would also be a good idea to protect your desktop with a password. But much more important here is the presence of automatic Sandbox"and based on a given policy:
This increases security by an order of magnitude, provided you understand how it works Sandbox in general, and also realize that it chews resources. If not, then it is recommended to read at least.
IN Viruscope It makes sense to disable notifications, provided that you trust the automation. In general, the logic of its operation is quite adequate, but it requires periodic monitoring and verification of what is happening if something stops working for you.
On the firewall tab, it would be good to reduce the alert frequency level and enable filtering IPv6-traffic, protection from ARP-spoofing and creating rules for secure applications.
On the sub-tabs, you can set and adjust rules for applications, as well as edit those that you have already created by clicking on the block/allow buttons for the corresponding firewall requests above.
Here you can create sets of rules and even activate a content filter by blocking and or allowing certain sites and categories (created independently). With the right approach, you can create your own kind of parental control.
With this you can finish the setup. As for use, it makes sense to start with the training mode (turned on next to the firewall line in the extended view of the main program window), then switching to the custom set or, if you are too lazy to configure and train, then safe mode.
In a nutshell, perhaps it’s something like this. We will not describe finer tuning and use here, because part of any article would not be enough, besides, part of the logic has already been described in the relevant materials on other firewalls (see the beginning of the article), and.
So, actually, let's move on to the afterword.
Afterword
So this heroic epic about the brave struggle of a valiant firewall against an overwhelming army of computer pests has come to an end. With your skillful control, this struggle will always end in victory for the forces of good;)
With this I say goodbye to you. Let viruses and other malware bypass you! As always, if you have any questions, additions, thanks, etc., then welcome to comment on this article.
This is especially true for add-ons, because probably those who are on Comodo Firewall tightly and for a long time, in fact, there is something smart and to the point to say.
review, we examined in detail and with “pictures” the process of installing the freeComodo Firewallon computer. Now, as promised, I will tell you howoptimal firewall, with a minimum of pop-up notifications, quickly and independently configured. The author's version of the program's advanced settings largely coincides withrecommended in the Russian part InternationalCOMODO Forums(branch " CIS/CFP for firewall newbies"). These forums can be visited by clicking on the " tabMiscellaneous" paragraph " Visit the support forum "The only thing is that you will be taken to the main English-language page, so in order not to search, here is a direct link to the forum" In Russian / Russian "(clickable!) There is a lot of useful information on the topic - those who wish, of course, can “dig in.” And I, as usual, for convenience the points I'll start what I promised.Comodo Firewall Advanced Settings
1. At the beginning, I suggest changing the default (default) grey-cheerful “face” Comodo Firewall for something more interesting. To do this, in the same “Miscellaneous” tab, click “ Settings" → "Appearance" → in "Theme" we change the "gray" theme "COMODO Default Normal" to, for example, "COMODO Blue Norma" (first screenshot) and, "dressed up", move on.
2. The first of the program's advanced settings will be to enable the "invisibility" mode of your computer on the network. To do this, in the tab " Firewall"click applet" Hidden Port Wizard "→ select" Block all incoming connections and hide my ports for all incoming connections "(screenshot above) and confirm your choice via " OK ".
3. Further, in the same tab " Firewall"let's go to" Firewall settings " and on the "General settings" tab we activate " ". Now, allowing rules will be automatically created for all applications from the list of trusted ones, which will save you from unnecessary manual permissions. In addition, check the checkbox next to the item "Automatically discover new private networks " (which can be removed after detecting your network) and, most importantly, " Firewall mode "we leave unchanged" Safe ".
Confirm all changes in settings with the " OK".
4. Let's move on to the mode settings" Proactive Defense". To do this, in the tab " Protection+"click" Proactive Defense Settings " and, by analogy with the previous settings item, activate " Create rules for secure applications ". If you are confident that the system is clean from viruses and have an effective anti-virus scanner (the need for which I wrote in the note " ") like free, then feel free to put " Clean PC mode " – again, to get rid of “annoying” alerts. Also check that there is no checkbox next to " Enable enhanced protection mode " and presence - opposite the point " A adapt the operating mode at low system resources " (no comments).
5. In the same settings of Proactive Firewall Protection in the " tab Application execution control settings "check that unrecognized files are treated as " Partially limited " (default) or " Suspicious " – under other settings, some applications will refuse to launch.
6. For users of older versions Comodo Firewall< 5.3 рекомендуется отключить в программе режим "Sandbox " ("Песочница"), по отзывам, работающий некорректно. Лучший вариант – просто перейти на последнюю стабильную версию брандмауэра (на данный момент – v. 5.10), которую можно скачать, например, из Каталога избранного софта. В этом случае отключение режима "Песочницы" не требуется.
And don't forget to confirm changes in settings with the " OK ".
Note: When Proactive Defense is completely deactivated, this option ("Sandbox") is automatically disabled.
7. The final tweak from the "optional" category: in the " tab Miscellaneous " → "Settings"→ on tab" Are common"Uncheck the box next to the item" Automatically check for program updates" (penultimate screenshot), especially since the option " Check for updates "always "at hand" (last screenshot).
Another click on the " OK" and you can close the appropriately configured Comodo Firewall– after restarting Windows, with this configuration, “comfortable” for the user, the program reliably protects the computer from network threats.
Friends, I received a lot of letters asking for a review. free antivirus Comodo internet security. My opinion is that the antivirus is good and I will recommend it to all my friends, but it has a lot of settings and the most important thing is that you have to configure this antivirus when installing it on your computer. I assure you, there is nothing complicated about this and you will succeed. Let's take a look at all the settings of this antivirus together and see how it copes with malware. For our article, let’s take a computer with Windows 8 infected with viruses, which my friends brought to me at work.
Note: The Windows 8 operating system has its own built-in “Windows Defender” antivirus, which many users are not aware of; details are in our article “” A description of most existing antiviruses and their ratings are described in our other article -.
Letter. Hello, I would like to consult with you about a free antivirus. I bought a new laptop with the Windows 8 operating system pre-installed, and I’m thinking of installing the free comodo internet security antivirus. This anti-virus program is installed on my friend’s computer and he hasn’t had any problems with viruses for a year now. I read all your articles about free antiviruses, so I decided to consult you. On the Internet, as usual, opinions are divided, who criticizes (especially difficult antivirus settings) and who praises. You know, there is even such a service as expert help, that is, a specialist from Comodo can personally help you, but I don’t know if this is available in the free version. What is your opinion?
Free antivirus Comodo internet security
A fairly good anti-virus program, or one might even say a whole complex of computer security. Born in the USA, developer of the American company Comodo Group Inc. This free antivirus carries on board everything that a real modern antivirus should have. Especially good (can be installed separately) is the updated “sandbox”, which is now called Virtual Kiosk. A virtual kiosk is a virtual environment isolated from the main operating system; I would compare it to a small virtual machine that even has its own desktop, which is very convenient. Many applications can now be checked for malware by running inside a virtual kiosk (sandbox), without the risk of infecting the main system.- Personally, I don’t use any special test programs to test any antivirus for functionality. In this article we will install free antivirus Comodo internet security on a computer with Windows 8 infected with malware. Of course, you must understand that everything is relative and you can only know one hundred percent the quality of an antivirus program while working with it.
Another free antivirus, comodo internet security, will protect you from viruses, worms, rootkits, and spyware (Anti-Spyware). It has a powerful firewall, a startup analyzer, a whole set of computer security tools - COMODO Cleaning Essentials, and a unique process monitoring system - COMODO KillSwitch.
This antivirus solution supports the operating systems Windows 7, 8, Windows Vista and Windows XP (32 and 64-bit versions).
So, let's go. Go to the official website http://www.comodo.com, select Comodo Internet Security
Let's launch the installer.
Very easy installation.
We accept the license agreement.
If you don't need Yandex. Bar uncheck.
Install.
Complete.
Select Russian language.
It is not necessary to enter an email address.
"I want to get additional online security by switching to Comodo SecureDNS service"There is no need to check the first box, but if you still check this box, then after installing the free antivirus Comodo internet security, your DNS server settings will change to addresses 8.26.56.26 and 156.154.70.22. This means that in On the Internet, you will travel through a kind of filter from the company Comodo, that is, they will decide for you where you can be and where not. On the one hand, this is good and you will avoid many malicious sites, but on the other hand, glitches with the Internet are possible. Therefore, before. check the first box, consult your provider
In the second paragraph we note - I want to use "Cloud Application Behavior Analysis" Comodo Internet Security uses behavior analysis of unidentified files in the cloud and any unidentified file will be sent to Comodo Instant Malware Analysis (CIMA) for further analysis. According to the developer, the result will be known in 15 minutes.
The third point is clear, check the box and after installing the antivirus, the Home page will change in some browsers.
Before clicking Agree, Install, please read the User License Agreement.
Click Customize installation. We read carefully which component and why. This is where all the checkboxes come in handy.
Configuration options. If you want to communicate less with the antivirus, you can leave the checkbox, but know that in the process of work, sometimes you will not understand why this or that program does not start or this or that archive does not open. I personally unchecked the box, since information about what is happening on my computer will not be superfluous
File location. I advise you not to change the antivirus installation path.
The Comodo internet security antivirus widget appears first (you can customize the information content of the widget, check the boxes you need)
and utility program icons, then the main program window.
At the same moment, comodo internet security warns us that it has detected a new network. Join a new network, select - I am in a public zone (it is more secure).
The antivirus update starts automatically.
After complete installation, Comodo internet security updates its anti-virus databases and the computer must be restarted.
After the reboot, the Comodo internet security program will thank you, so that it does not appear again, check the Do not show this window again option
The main window of the free antivirus Comodo internet security contains the main elements that we will use constantly:
In the middle of this window, you will have access to some information about the security status of your computer, in our case Safe. The main window contains a panel for quickly checking any file for viruses; we drag and drop a suspicious file and immediately receive information about the harmfulness of the file we are interested in.
If you select Yes, let an expert clean up, you can contact a certified technician if you speak English and have paid for support. We press the button and here is the price.
If you select - No, I’ll try it myself, then the options that are visible in the screenshot are available to you, I suggest choosing Neutralize and the virus will be neutralized
If you click on the arrow, the Sandbox panel will open and we can drag the installer of an unfamiliar program into this panel and start installing this program in a safe sandbox.
In the upper right corner of the main antivirus window, buttons are available to you
Contact a certified specialist - if you speak English and have paid for support.
By selecting the Help button, online Help will be available to you. Support, Support forums(all in English)
The diagnostic will tell you whether all modules of the free Comodo internet security antivirus are running smoothly.
The antivirus also has its own built-in browser: Comodo Dragon Web Browser
Scanning
I’ll get ahead of myself and say that I installed the free antivirus Comodo internet security on a computer infected with viruses. Quick Scan (scans frequently infected areas and computer memory) It didn’t help me, 25 percent of malware was not found.
Full Scan - scans all files and folders on your computer(take a lot of time)
Helped Rating scan (cloud scan of frequently infected areas and memory)
And then scan the entire C drive: Select P custom scan (scans custom files and folders)– Scan folder – Local drive (C:)
Update
Virtual kiosk
Let's take a closer look at this tool, in order to gain access to all the capabilities of the virtual kiosk Comodo internet security suggests installing the Microsoft silverlight software platform, we agree
A virtual kiosk starts, it has its own desktop, as I already said, this is a virtual environment isolated from the main operating system. In it we can launch unfamiliar applications and files; if they turn out to be malicious, then internet security will warn us about this. Click on the yellow arrow and everything on your desktop will open to you.
If you are working on a simple computer, then I advise you to go into the Virtual Kiosk settings and select the Normal PC mode, then managing the virtual kiosk desktop will be practically no different from managing a regular Windows desktop. Select settings and Normal PC.
I told you at the beginning of the article that a friend of mine downloaded a movie with the .exe extension on the Internet, this “movie” is nothing more than a ransomware banner Trojan.Winlock (Winlocker) - a malicious program that blocks the desktop and requires you to transfer money to the attacker’s account. Video files come with different extensions, mainly avi, mpg, mov or mkv, but not exe, which means an executable file (containing a program), sometimes malicious.
Let's run this “movie” in the sandbox, downloaded by a person inexperienced in Internet affairs. Click on Computer and find our file in Explorer,
We launch it, as we see, the sandbox responded immediately, giving us a warning that the file is malicious. If we launched it in the operating system environment, our desktop would be blocked by the ransomware banner.
You can also run an unfamiliar program in the virtual kiosk environment; if it turns out to be malicious, the sandbox will inform you about this. You can also access the Internet using a browser. You can exit the virtual kiosk into the operating system and then return back as needed, or you can exit the sandbox completely.
Quarantine
Quarantined files can be deleted, excluded from the list, or sent to Comodo
Task Manager
It displays everything that the Comodo internet security antivirus is currently doing (the screenshot shows that an update is currently in progress)
Tasks
So, using this arrow, we move on to additional antivirus settings, the so-called tasks.
Scanning. Update . Quarantine. Task Manager . We have sorted all this out for you. Event log.
What we haven’t discussed is the Event Log (records of events, actions taken and alerts) - displays all the information on security events.
Active connections(viewing applications using an active Internet connection)
Contains information about all active connections for each application.
Firewall tasks
When you launch a suspicious program, it will display a window like this. If we know the program, then we launch it without restrictions.
Allow connection. You can allow or block any application from connecting to the Internet.
Block connection. Block an application from connecting to the Internet
Hidden ports
Managing your computer's visibility on the network. You can block all incoming connections and make your computer invisible on the network.
Network management
Stop network activity. You can block all incoming and outgoing traffic
I uncheck Don't show alerts, since we need all notifications
Additionally, we mark the points
Enable IPv6 traffic filtering
Enable loopback traffic filtering (for example, 127.x.x.x, ::1)
Block fragmented IP traffic
Analyze protocol
Enable ARP spoofing protection
ARP spoofing is used by attackers to listen to an Ethernet network, the goal is to steal your confidential data.
We have already dismantled the virtual kiosk.
Launch in Sandbox. In this window, you and I can select an application and launch it in a virtual environment. We can also create a shortcut on the desktop and next time we can launch this program in the sandbox using the shortcut.
Advanced Sandbox settings– everything is configured optimally, we don’t change anything.
Advanced tasks
Smart Scan. Full scan. Selective Scan.
Advanced settings
Advanced settings are divided into General settings and Security Settings. Let's consider everything.General settings . Interface.
When starting, show a welcome message - you can uncheck it.
Updates. Everything can be left as default.
Configuration. COMODO - internet security
By default, you should have the COMODO - internet security configuration. What is configuration? This is the preferred type of antivirus protection. The COMODO - internet security configuration is aimed at protecting against malicious attacks coming mainly from the Internet. If you spend a lot of time on the Internet, I advise you to use the COMODO - internet security configuration.
If you select Comodo - Proactive Security, then the protection of your computer will be based on proactive protection, such protection mainly monitors the integrity of the operating system itself and registry vulnerabilities. We installed our antivirus on a computer already infected with viruses, which means it makes sense to select this mode during the scan.
Comodo - Firewall Security
Before changing the configuration, you can save the settings of your current configuration by exporting. If in the future you decide to return the old configuration along with your settings, select import. All changes you make will take effect after a reboot.
Security Settings.
Antivirus. Realtime scanning.
In this window, you can increase the Heuristic Analysis level to medium or high.
Do not show alerts (direct to quarantine). I'll uncheck this box because I want to know everything that's going on in my operating system.
Here you can add your own scanning option or change an existing one, configure options and scan schedule.
The folders you specify will be excluded from malware scanning.
Protection – one of the most important parameters.
HIPS Settings
The computer we are checking is infected with viruses, so we turn it on Paranoid mode
Put a tick on the item Provide detailed explanations in notifications and then everything is as in the screenshot
Protected objects.
As you can see, autoloading is protected. Important registry keys are protected.
Automatically launch a detected unknown application into Sandbox and treat it as Partially Restricted.
Next, we leave everything as is. If necessary, set up exceptions.
Global rules. Sets of rules. Network zones. Port Sets. We leave it unchanged.
File rating settings. Put a tick on Perform cloud-based analysis of unknown files, allowing you to get quick results and save computer resources
Uncheck the items
Trust applications signed by vendors.
Trust applications installed using trusted installers 
Trusted files.Unidentified files.
Sent files. Trusted Suppliers. We leave everything unchanged.
optimally, with a minimum of pop-up notification windows, quickly andconfigure it yourself . The author's version of the program's advanced settings largely coincides with that recommended in the Russian part of the International COMODO Forums (thread "CIS/CFP for beginners in firewalls"). These forums can be visited by clicking on the "Miscellaneous" tab and clicking "Visit Support Forum". The only thing is that you will be taken to the main English page, so in order not to search, here is the directlink to the forum "In Russian / Russian". There is a lot of useful information on the topic - those who wish, of course, can “dig into it.” And for convenience, point by point, I will proceed to what I promised.
Setting up Comodo Firewall
1. At the beginning, I suggest changing the default gray and sad “face” of Comodo Firewall to something more interesting. To do this, in the same “Miscellaneous” tab, click “Settings” > “Appearance” > “Theme” and change the gray COMODO Default Normal theme to, say,. COMODO Blue Normal and, having dressed up, we move on.
Hello, dear readers of the blog site! In this article, I continue the big topic I raised about protecting your computer from various types of threats. In my last article on this topic, I began to talk about protecting your access to the Internet and program control using a special protection component - Firewall, which is part of Kaspersky's extended protection - Kaspersky Internet Security. Firewall is also called differently - “Firewall” or “Firewall”.
And now I will talk again about Firewall protection, but from a different developer and which can be installed separately along with any anti-virus product, without specifically installing comprehensive protection from one manufacturer. The product I want to talk about is called Comodo Firewall. Its most important advantages are free and high quality traffic protection!
In one of the previous articles, I already mentioned that Comodo also offers a free antivirus (read about it here:) or even free comprehensive protection: Comodo Internet Security. However, the antivirus itself from this developer is not as reliable as, for example, Kaspersky Anti-Virus or Avast, so I recommend installing only a firewall from Comodo and, separately, a reliable antivirus from another developer. Or use the Kaspersky Internet Security package.
Let's look at the installation and basic settings of the firewall from Comodo.
Comodo Firewall installation process
Installing a separate Comodo Firewall product can be said to be no different at all from installing an antivirus from Comodo, so I will analyze this process more briefly - without commenting on each customizable option.
You can find more detailed comments on installation at the beginning of the article, the link to which is given above.
So, let's begin:
Setting up Comodo Firewall
Setting up Comodo's Firewall is simple and almost everything will already be configured optimally by default. All we have to do is check and, if necessary, correct something. Before setting up the Firewall component itself, let's do some steps with the basic Comodo settings:
Complete blocking. By selecting this mode, the firewall will block absolutely all connections, both incoming and outgoing, and from any network. Your computer will be isolated, similar to if you turned off all networks on your computer and unplugged the network cable.
This mode, in principle, is not needed as such, since the advisability of its use can only be when working in extremely dangerous unprotected networks, in which various viral threats are circulating in droves.
Custom set of rules. By selecting this mode, the firewall will work and block traffic only based on the rules for programs and networks that we set ourselves. In this case, the firewall will not take into account that the program is trusted and has a digital signature. He will make decisions only based on the rules we set.
Safe mode. This is the mode I recommend using. When operating in this mode, the firewall itself creates most of the rules for trusted applications that have valid digital signatures. Based on this, he chooses which connections to allow a particular application and which not. When it detects unrecognized and untrusted programs, Comodo will give the user the choice to allow or block the connection, telling them what actions the application was about to perform.
Training mode. In this mode, the firewall will not show any notifications and will itself create rules for all applications, allowing them network requests. The mode can only be used if you are 100% sure of the reliability of the applications installed on your computer. As a rule, this cannot happen, so I do not recommend using this mode :)
Immediately after installing the Firewall, a pop-up window will appear in which you need to select which network you are connected to. Select “I am at home”:
Now we launch the main window of Comodo Firewall by clicking on the tray icon (the area near the Windows clock) and we will see a large exclamation mark (which indicates that some component is not working) and an active “Fix” button. In this case, we only need to reboot, because after installation not all protection components were launched.
Just click the “Fix” button:
The computer will reboot and after the system boots, the Firewall components will already be enabled and the warning icon will disappear.
If you have Windows 7, then on the right side of your desktop there will be a completely unnecessary widget from Comodo :) This is what it looks like:
Let's remove it. To do this, right-click on the Comodo tray icon, select “Widget”, and then click on the button marked “Show”:
As a result, the widget will disappear and will no longer be an eyesore or consume system resources :)
Now again launch the main Comodo Firewall window from the desktop or from the tray and update the databases by clicking the appropriate button (see image below):
The database update will start and if there are new versions, they will be updated. After this, the window will close automatically after a few seconds.
Even if you have installed the latest version of an antivirus or firewall from the official website of the developer, I still recommend checking for updates immediately after installing the product.
Now let's move on to checking the settings of the firewall component. For easy access to all settings, switch to the advanced mode of the main window. To do this, in the upper left corner, click on the small button as in the image below:
Now the main window of Comodo Firewall will transform a little and we will see more functions. But the main thing is that now we can easily move on to the settings of the firewall itself. To do this, simply click on the “Firewall” link in the upper left corner:
As a result, we find ourselves in the first Comodo firewall settings window.
As soon as we go to the settings, the very first menu from the “Firewall” category will open in front of us - “Firewall Settings”.
These settings are optimal, but I will make some comments.
The “Enable Firewall” checkbox, of course, is responsible for enabling or disabling protection. Do not uncheck the box under any circumstances, otherwise the installed Comodo Firewall will be of no use to anyone right away, since the firewall itself will simply be turned off :)
Next to the checkbox to enable/disable the firewall, there is a list where you can select a security mode. I'll tell you briefly about these modes:
In the “Application Rules” firewall menu, we can set rules for any applications or see previously created rules.
All already created rules will be visible immediately if you click on the “Rules for Applications” menu. To add your own rule, right-click on an empty area in the window and select “Add”:
Now I’ll show you with an example how to block access to the network of any program.
To do this, in the window that opens, first of all, you need to select the program for which we are creating a rule (as I indicated for the example: block access to the network). Click on the “Browse” button, after which you can select many files at once by selecting “File groups” and checking the appropriate group. You can also select one of the currently running processes in the system and create a blocking rule for it. But it’s more convenient to select the “Files” item:
After we select “Files”, Explorer will open, where you need to select the program for which we will create a rule. For example, I will block access to the Internet for a well-known browser - Mozilla Firefox. I look for the folder where Firefox is installed and select the file responsible for launching (firefox.exe). Then I click the “Open” button in Explorer:
Now we will automatically return to the previous window and see that the path to the program we specified has now appeared in the “Name” field. Check the “Use set of rules” option, then select “Blocked application” from the list of ready-made rules on the right:
After all the settings in this window are set, click the “OK” button below to save them:
As a result, we will return to the window with a set of rules for programs and in the list we will see a newly added program (in my example, Firefox) with the “Blocked application” rule. In order to immediately check the result, you need to apply all changes in the rules and click the “OK” button at the bottom again:
To check my action, I launch the Mozilla Firefox browser and try, for example, to open our favorite blog site :) As a result, I get the error “Connection attempt failed”:
And this is exactly what we needed for the example :) Connections for Firefox are blocked. It is clear that Firefox, seriously, of course, does not need to be blocked. This was just an example :) You can and should block programs that do not need Internet access or programs that are untrusted.
The created rule is even easier to delete. You need to go back to the firewall menu - “Rules for applications” and, right-clicking on the desired rule, select “Remove from list”:
In our selected “Safe Mode” mode, Comodo Firewall will be very good at selecting rules for applications and we will rarely have to dig around and configure the rules ourselves. In principle, this is where the important firewall settings from Comodo for beginners end. I do not recommend making any settings in the remaining firewall menus, since they are intended for much more experienced users who understand computer networks and have more complete knowledge of working with networks in operating systems.
The settings that I showed are quite enough to protect your computer from attacks by a hacker and block access to the Internet for untrusted applications or those that we choose ourselves.
You probably noticed that in addition to the “Firewall” section, there are other sections in the settings, for example: “Protection+”, “File rating”, “General settings”. I have already described the necessary settings from the sections listed in one of my previous articles - “Another good free antivirus - Comodo”, so, if necessary, you can read about them in that article by clicking on the link above.
And with this, I conclude the last of the articles I am currently planning.
There is still a single article on computer topics ahead of you, for example: data backup, remote computer control and others :) I think that a periodic deviation from the topic of surfing and making money towards technical issues is even useful. Thus, on the same favorite blog, in addition to continuous information about earnings, we also study our computer and everything connected with it :)
See you soon! Good luck to you;)
