Windows 7: Firewall tests

If you are really serious about security. forgot consumer products you run on your computer. Go hardware like I do on several corporate networks. We use hardware firewalls, IDS/IPS, and anti-virus/malware. Only bare-bones security software runs on client machines.

However, on a consumer network you rarely ever need more then a properly configured router. Unless you want to spend every waking moment trying to configure a complex set of firewall rules.

Leak test, ports and ping all passed, even though I score only 200/340 on Commodo Test, even though tried multiple times to set it up as stated.



A Guy

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I completely agree for 100.0000%. I said it before somewhere in a reply posting. If you walk around with 25 dollars (or whatever) in your purse you don't have a heavily armed security gorilla with you, a few steps back. The situation becomes different if you are transporting a few millions.
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No point in arguing with that. Still, it is always a good idea to check whether or not your 'whatever ' is properly configured. It can't do any harm and if you have the 'checks' at hand it is done quickly. And that is the reason i started this thread. To find out what checks are available. I did a lot of gooooogling and it's amazing how many of those web pages that have checks give you the notice
"no longer available".

[QUOTE=A Guy;1583145][QUOTE=FranzB;1582402].........................................
Some years ago Comodo used to fail the test, as far as i can remember. I'm not sure though. I thought only ZoneAlarm passed the test at that time.

And i really wonder. Is the Comodo test not rigged? They say it is not.
The trouble, of course, with all these programs is that you don't know what is programmed into these programs. You can't ever check; even if you have access to the program line by line it will take days of work to see what is done, and that's true even if you have written the program yourself. It takes days to check your own creativity if you have to change something.

Btw, there is an interesting, sometimes heated discussion going on at "Best firewall" started by seekermeister
two weeks ago. You can see again all these personal opinions. We need checks, objective checks. Especially to see whether or not the firewall you are using is configured properly and especially if you are not a security expert
with a lot of experience but use the machine as a tool.

Unfortunately, these so called firewall test are not actually testing the firewall. The Comodo Leaktest for example is not actually testing the firewall like GRC is. The Comodo Leaktest is testing for things that are not even part of a firewall.

For example, all of these injection test are outside the realm for a firewall.
What the Comodo Leaktest is really testing is HIPS, Host-based Intrusion Prevention not a firewall.

Thank for all your replies.
On a rainy, quiet Sunday morning i did some digging with Google and i came across three websites that set me straight or at least left me wondering. If i would have read them before posting this thread i would probably never have posted it.
The three are:
www.matousec.com: Security software testing, analyses, research and reviews. ---->projects ------>proactive security challenge

http://techsupportalert.com/ ----->enter 'matousec' in the search box.

The Older Geek*|* -------> enter 'how to test your firewall' in the search box.

Pages and pages of text.
The second link above has some heavy criticism of what the matousec site says and how it tests. Quote:
"Some of the site's claims are misleading".
In one of the three sites it says that leak tests, including the one from Gibson Research, are outdated, i.e. useless.

All of them have, btw, lists of best AVs and firewalls.

So now i am wondering about everything: tests, best "whatever", etc.
The worst part is that even testing the security of a system seems rigged, biased or may be influenced by commercial interests or testing is carried out for properties that are not claimed by the programs tested (and then handed out bad marks). You simply don't know any longer what you can trust and what not.

I think most of the more experienced users on this site will say that the "Best ...." articles and blogs on the net are often biased from one way or another, the best of anything is the one that works for you, based on your own experience and your set-up.

If you ask 10 of the regulars here, you will probably find 10 different set-ups, with the only common item being sensible surfing - if you don't visit dodgy sites you are a lot less likely to be attacked

You want to test a firewall? GRC. It test only the firewall. fancy port scanner you say? Well yes that is how you test a firewall. A firewall blocks ports, allows/blocks communications on said ports. That is all a firewall does. Simple right?

Now, my personally evaluation. If you are behind a NAT Router, almost every consumer router is a NAT Router. Then you are perfectly safe from almost anything that is not an accomplished hacker. But I seriously doubt you as a home user would ever be targeted by anyone high level enough to warrant their attention.