# need a new firewall



## auntiej (Aug 14, 2006)

hi, I run Kaspersky anti-virus. My subscription to kerio firewall is coming to an end - anyone know if Comodo runs well with kaspersky av? Or of any other firewall that does.


----------



## Cellus (Aug 31, 2006)

COMODO Firewall Pro is an excellent free Personal Firewall. Many people have reported their use of COMODO Firewall Pro and Kaspersky AV to work well together. Just make sure avp.exe (part of Kaspersky) is allowed to connect over the Internet to ensure proper functionality.

Kaspersky also has its own firewall as a part of its Kaspersky Internet Security suite (used to be the standalone product Kaspersky Anti-Hacker). I've fiddled with it personally, and have found it to be decent.


----------



## auntiej (Aug 14, 2006)

thank you Cellus for your very quick reply! How would I ensure avp.exe is allowed to connect - presumably somewhere in the Comodo software? I haven't yet downloaded it, so would be grateful for any ideas.


( my subscription to Kerio finishes on 23rd so am going to do this on Saturday. I understand some people have difficulty getting rid of Kerio. Their site says to remove via add/remove programs, but some report this does not work too well so am feeling rather nervous. I have found some advice just in case this happens, hope it works).


----------



## Cellus (Aug 31, 2006)

COMODO Firewall Pro will pop-up an alert on the lower-right of your screen informing you that avp.exe is trying to access the Internet, and will ask you to either Allow or Deny it. When it occurs, make sure the checkbox for "Remember my answer for this application" is checked, so that it will no longer bug you again regarding that particular issue. You may need to do so a few more times, as COMODO separates alerts into different categories - for example, allowing an application to connect out does not necessarily allow things to connect into the application, which will come up as a separate alert. In this case, you would also allow it and "Remember" your choice.

I'm sure you've experienced a lot things like this just like the pop-ups from Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall. For the most part, it handles similarly. When apps change, the firewall will inform you when it tries to connect out, and etc. COMODO Firewall Pro can be a bit more granular, and also ask permission for allowing apps to run a new parent appliation, inject into processes, and so on. Unless you are an advanced user and know if a program should or shouldn't be doing it, as a general rule of thumb if the application has already been allowed by you in the first place to do things, allow it to do the others. If an application were to change due to malicious reasons, the "app change trigger" will go off. There are other tidbits like that to keep in mind while using it, such as malicious programs injecting into other trusted processes to "hitch a ride", but I wouldn't worry about these alerts too much unless you know about how it should and should not run. These extra bits are additional protection features built into COMODO Firewall Pro and, for the most part, tend to only be real helpful for advanced users. For other people, don't worry about it.


----------



## auntiej (Aug 14, 2006)

thanks once again for the explanation, I see what you mean now. I have just downloaded step by step instructions for installing Comodo which I shall read through first (probably a few times).


----------



## Cellus (Aug 31, 2006)

Installing COMODO Firewall Pro is quite easy. You may find it a good idea to orient yourself with the user interface, and figure out what all the settings actually do.

During installation, features to enable or run will be clearly labeled and should include a short explanation as to their purpose (eg. a feature during installation where COMODO Firewall Pro will scan for known good applications on your computer so that if those applications were to run and require access, the pop-up alert window will state "This is a safe application.", allowing you for some of the more popular applications know right off the bat it's fine to run).


----------



## auntiej (Aug 14, 2006)

thank you cellus, will do.


----------



## auntiej (Aug 14, 2006)

just to report back - I uninstalled Kerio and installed Comodo. It was a fairly straightforward procedure. Obviously I did this in my Admin account, and then when I changed to my everyday account and hovered the mouse over the comodo icon I saw the message "comodo is being initialised". I went to the comodo forum and discovered this was a known issue, with xp home and pro. They assured all with the problem that Comodo was working as soon as the pc was switched on. One piece of advice that worked was to hover the mouse over the security level slider, I did and immediately the message from the firewall icon was "everything up and running". I don't know why this happens to some but thought I would pop it into this reply in case others have the same issue after install.
One difference I notice immediately is that Kerio did block adverts, and of course now I am seeing them again! However, this could be annoying - there are some sites I visit where I would get the message "blocked by Kerio", and I would have to open the program, untick Block adverts, and then go to the site again. I know, I should have remembered but mostly I didn't! It will be interesting to see if there are any other differences. I guess this is a minor thing, and I run Spybot and Adaware every few days.


----------



## Cellus (Aug 31, 2006)

What is your current web browser?

If you use, for example, Mozilla Firefox, you can download and run the Adblock Plus add-on extension which will block all that annoying stuff again.

There are other things you can do to clean up and secure your browsing experience. Take a look at our PC Safety and Security thread for additional information on securing your thread. You will find included in that article information such as locking down your HOSTS file and "innoculating" from a variety of adware and spyware through IE-SPYAD and SpywareBlaster. Some of the information in it you may already know, but there are other things included which you may find helpful.


----------



## auntiej (Aug 14, 2006)

thanks once again for all your help Cellus, I use Firefox so will investigate the add-in, and check out the thread you mention.


----------

