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Free Firewall Software for Windows

Postby Red_sunset » Mon Jun 08, 2009 6:14 am

Just recently I read news of a virus that Windows XP firewall was unable to block. Sorry can't find the info to link to now.

ReD (didn't mean to subconsciously copy your name - I might have seen it somewhere, oh yeah all over the great Smokin' Guns game) and anyone else looking for a Firewall for Windows? There's some good free ones available.

I've installed and setup Zone Alarm for a friend's computer before, it's not very intuitive but it works well. It gives you a message EVERY time a program tries to access the internet. Once you get all your settings correct you'll have peace.

Zone Alarm Free Firewall: http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us ... rewall.htm

Comodo is supposedly more complex. Haven't tried it myself but seen it recommended in computer magazines.
Comodo Firewall Pro: http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/
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Postby /dev/random » Mon Jun 08, 2009 6:08 pm

My advise is; never install anything suspicious and let your router do NAT and firewall'ing :D

There are 0 open ports on my network and there's no malware either, so no need for some extra software.
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Re: Free Firewall Software for Windows

Postby DeUgli » Mon Jun 08, 2009 7:46 pm

Red_sunset wrote:I've installed and setup Zone Alarm for a friend's computer before, it's not very intuitive but it works well. It gives you a message EVERY time a program tries to access the internet. Once you get all your settings correct you'll have peace.
I actually paid for a subscription to Zone Alarm Pro but I have since uninstalled it. Those constant messages drove me crazy.

I am currently using the Windows firewall and McAffee VirusScan behind a router, and have no problems.
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Postby Red_sunset » Tue Jun 09, 2009 2:11 am

Top advice re: routers. I've got one too, but for LAN parties need the software protection as well. Everyone needs an antivirus of some kind too, AVG is good and free.

My friend doesn't have a router, and doesn't install software or change configuration at all (leaves that to me :roll: ) so, once the rules are set up, Zone Alaram is apropriate and works well.

Sometimes I temporarily put my computer in the DMZ to play games online. Got to try out port forwarding, but Battlefield 2 needs like 10 ports!

:idea: Gotto find some 3d glasses somewhere and try out 3d smokin' guns soon.

Cheers :P
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Postby sparcdr » Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:20 am

Those are good tips for normal users, though some of us are obsessive compulsive and have a lot of experience with the matter. Clearly saying you don't need one is wrong, especially when you don't trust other members on your LAN, but otherwise you can be fairly safe if you practice safe downloading and do periodic maintenance including defragmentation. (A yearly reinstall of Windows can alleviate a lot of problems)

It's unfortunate such amount of effort is necessary but the benefits protect your investment on how you have things setup, and allow you to have worry free gameplay when you have the time to do so. I have used Zone Alarm, but work with some complex software so it's a non-issue dealing with its prompts as I understand technology as it is what I do and can easily manage such. If you're at a cybercafe or gaming event, both will reduce the risk by a large margin and will also keep your own machines from causing problems for others.
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Postby moRtem » Tue Jun 09, 2009 7:36 pm

sparcdr wrote:moRtem: 1.1 (engine form) is available if you didn't know and there are a few maps floating around (not from us) which may in the future be added, if you're bored or something. The 'current' binaries are already very close to what we expect to release, whenever that is, and the only bugs that are notable will be cured when the content is synchronized again. The buy menu esc bug is the only notable one, and it shouldn't impede gameplay, and yes this works multiplayer..


thanks sparcdr -- though i am already aware of this and installed 1.1 a few weeks ago -- i am not quite sure why i stopped playing on 1.1.. but i think it was due to changes in mouse-input (different mouse-feeling) .. and i aswell think that i talked to tequila about that

I've installed and setup Zone Alarm for a friend's computer before, it's not very intuitive but it works well.


and it likes/liked to phone home (i wouldn't trust such software anymore, even if they released a patch stopping their spying) -- see e.g.:
http://www.infoworld.com/t/hardware/zon ... l-bone-143

My advise is; never install anything suspicious and let your router do NAT and firewall'ing


yea -- for private persons with medium computer-knowledge this should be more than enough

It's unfortunate such amount of effort is necessary but the benefits protect your investment on how you have things setup, and allow you to have worry free gameplay when you have the time to do so


i uninstalled my firewall and antivirus about 2-3 years back and didn't format the PC since then (i am also using winXP .. but deactivated firewall and stuff) .. the only protection i got is the router's firewall and common sense -- i didn't have any problems ever since (and after having a short look at my taskmanager and autostart, i can say that there's still everything fine)

new-generation antivir and firewall programs tend to slow down the system a lot -- in my opinion they are even more annoying than any virus i experienced until today


/quit
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Postby sparcdr » Tue Jun 09, 2009 7:59 pm

While I don't use a software firewall anymore, I used to use Sygate, which got bought out by Symantec (Yes coincidentally similar naming), hence why I don't use it anymore.
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Postby Red_sunset » Fri Jun 12, 2009 3:45 am

and it likes/liked to phone home (i wouldn't trust such software anymore, even if they released a patch stopping their spying) -- see e.g.:
http://www.infoworld.com/t/hardware/zon ... l-bone-143


That's really interesting. I always wondered why they made you register for Zone Alarm with your full details and email etc for a free program. They could well be spying on everyone using a free program as a carrot. They've lost my recommendation now, thanks for the info moRtem!
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Postby Red_sunset » Fri Jun 12, 2009 3:46 am

Addition: Sorry for the double post :?. Also, Zone alarm don't make you register, I was mixing it up with AVG antivirus which does.

After reading that info about Zone Alarm spying, free software is beginning to look even more suspect. Some come with bonus ! adware and other spying tools, search bars that slow down your internet as well. :evil: Kind of like the old trojan horse trick. Good advice to trust and know what you're downloading, and read lots of reviews before you buy / download.
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Postby xenophon » Mon Apr 25, 2011 10:50 pm

Downloaded SG yesterday and after installing was able to play it perfectly fine for several hours online.

Trying to do the same this evening but all I get now is a white screen.
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Postby sparcdr » Tue Apr 26, 2011 11:16 am

In Windows explorer, enter %appdata% for address (On Vista/7 click the end of the address bar for manual mode) and remove Smokin' Guns to delete profile settings for the game. On UNIX it's under .smokinguns in your home (~). Don't enable framebuffer on older cards. The issue sounds like during init when it changes gamma, hence the white.
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Postby xenophon » Wed Apr 27, 2011 7:48 pm

Thanks for the reply, but when I enter %appdata% I can not find the Smokin Guns file to delete.
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Postby sparcdr » Wed Apr 27, 2011 8:43 pm

Vista/7:
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming

2000/XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data
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Postby xenophon » Wed Apr 27, 2011 9:31 pm

Annoyingly still unable to find the Smokin Guns folder to delete. :x
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Postby /dev/random » Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:02 pm

Are you using the v1.1b4 at all? Iirc the plain download includes an old id quake3 which does not use %APPDATA% at all.
If it's the old one, >= Vista uses some virtualization magic to map write access to several folder to so-called VirtualStore C:\Users\randomness\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\ etc.
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