Safe from Hacker Attack

Someone subjected the firewall to his usual barrage of Web-based tests, including port scans and a variety of other sneak attacks. As expected (based on Comodo's past performance), CFP passed with flying colors. All ports were stealthed, making the computer invisible to hackers. Every personal firewall needs to pass this test, since the built-in Windows Firewall can stealth ports.

If you also unleashed your inner hacker, attacking the firewall using methods available to malicious software. If the bad guys can turn off your protection, it's no protection at all. Many people couldn't disable it by changing Registry settings or configuration files. Terminating it using Task Manager failed: I killed off the visible user interface, but the firewall protection remained active. Disabling the Comodo Firewall Helper Service got the product's attention: The status indicator on the main page turned red. But the actual firewall protection is provided by a kernel-mode driver that was completely unaffected. My wacky attempt to turn off protection using simulated mouse clicks did succeed, but just barely. Setting the firewall to Disabled using fake clicks required pixel-perfect accuracy—there's no way a malicious program could automate the process. CFP is fully armor-plated against attacks by the bad guys.

When an unknown program attempts Internet access, CFP displays a standard confirmation pop-up asking you what to do. In addition to the usual allow and block options, though, it also lets you choose from one of several predefined policies: Web Browser, Email Client, FTP Client, Trusted Application, Blocked Application, and Outgoing Only. Choosing one of these when appropriate can head off queries about other types of access. The über-geek user can even build new predefined policies. Of course, if you stick with programs well known enough to be on Comodo's safe list, you won't see these pop-ups at all.

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