Firewall Penetration Test

I went to the "Gibson Research Center", https://www.grc.com/intro.htm which has a firewall test. Go to Freeware, Security, Leaktest. My windows 7 firewall is enabled & yet i failed their leaktest! Anybody else have the same results? They also have other security tests/features etc. that may be of interest to the group.

 

If your internet connection is through a router of less than five year old, it will also have a hardware firewall built in, so in effect two firewalls are in series, even though the Gibson test showed a fail it was probably just a port open and showing. Not too much to worry about, though if you wish to try, there are other firewall softwares around, just remember to make sure the Windows 7 firewall is disabled if you install one.
I use Comodo, though others will advise of different ones.

Nev.

 

You know N3 this is a subject that can become as personal as "what is your favorite Antivirus program". My own view is that 3rd party firewalls seem to cause more issues for the user then they do for the scumware providers of the world. And it has been many years since I decided to no longer "imbibe". I got so tired of having network failure, and computers not being able to talk to each other that I just allowed the Windows Firewall to be there alone knowing it isn't the best but it causes no real issues either.
You are someone I would call an experienced user and I see no reason to worry about this just as Nev suggests. The only firewall that ever worked with the user IMHO was Sygate and then Symantec bought them and killed the program all together. After that I tried sooo many and just couldn't stand the annoyance.
So you know the firewall in a router isn't really the same thing as a software firewall and what it does is primarily to disguise your position in the internet making it more difficult for an attacker to find your real ip address, not watch for incoming or outgoing incursions from various bloatware programs. Damn 3rd party firewalls create so many issues decided years ago I would rather chance an issue than spend so much time during the day replying to stupid questions from a firewall program and that has never served me wrong.

 

Rich-M.........What about using the last "Sygate" download before Symantec bought them? Here is more information concerning older versions of sygate....
http://www.oldversion.com/windows/sygate-personal-firewall/

 

N3 I remember trying to use that in XP and it wouldn't even install. Since then I have been thinking firewalls are more trouble than what they prevent anyway.

 

A third party firewall or enabling Windows 7 Firewall to be two-way vs. the default of incoming only is a great addition...*IF* you do the due diligence every time it asks you if a program should connect to the internet. Note that if you set up some features, it may have modified your router. E.g., some NAS systems do that to ensure you can access it via iOS apps or web browsers from outside your network.

If you just click "OK" every time it pops up, your Windows firewall is enough. You can also lock down your Windows firewall down completely for incoming connections, but some programs may fail. There are some free software control centers for the windows firewall that can also help navigate the options.

-etavares

 

Gene I don't deny there are good uses for a third party firewall, especially for a sensitive business, its just I have spent more time trying to fix the problems they cause to be bothered spending the time necessary to configure them when I have never myself really seen any reason to use more than the Windows firewall.

 

Agree...hence the *IF*. I run nothing more than the native Windows Firewall and have since Vista.