Comodo Firewall Pro: A Comprehensive Review
Comodo Firewall Pro recently launched a new version of their flagship product, and we have had a chance do a test run. Here is a report on how it fared in our books.
What’s different from older versions?
The look will strike you as soon as the program launches. The new Comodo (version 3.0.13.268) has undergone a makeover. It looks rather “Vista ready” to us. With a new green, white, and blue interface, the look itself can steal your heart.
There is also a new logo, and brand new button styles to go with the new color combination. Different functionalities have been bunched under comprehensive categories and tucked away as tabs that you can access on a click.
It definitely scores much more than the previous version from the design usability point-of-view.
A new addition is the Live Network Defense feature. What it does is monitor the network for activities and blocks the suspicious ones. The good thing about this is you don’t have to spend a lot of time configuring it. The program operates under something called a “learn mode”, where a message pops up on your screen telling you that your firewall is learning about every minuscule process that is going on in your computer. Interesting at first, but it can get tiring after a while.
You get alert messages if the firewall notices something unusual. In such cases, allowing the activity to continue is left in your hands-can be a daunting task for a newbie.
Pros: Once again, the intuitive interface scores highly in our card. There are N number of features that gives your computer the highest degree of protection available. The biggest pro of course is the price. Comodo Firewall Pro is a free product that you can download from the Comodo website.
Cons: The program can be a nag at times. The sheer number of alert messages and pop ups can make your computing experience annoying. Of course, a few mouse clicks can put them all away. A big con, in our books, is the stability. The program often fails to run at start up and we have to reboot in order to make it work.
Summary: Highly recommended. It is amazing what Comodo is offering you for free. Go ahead and download it. Yes, there are a few glitches, but given their track record, Comodo will take care of them by the time you get your next update.
Addendum: As we predicted, Comodo is out with an update and several new patches. We promise we will be back with another review soon.
Update: We have installed and run the updated version that claims to have several stability patches. Unfortunately, the computer crashed again. It is too soon to write off this software on the basis of stability issues. So watch this space as we keep testing this firewall.
[...] Comodo Firewall Pro and Zone Alarm Free Edition. Comodo offers you enterprise level security for free. The host of features that are available to you at absolutely no cost are simply amazing. However, if you are new at configuring firewalls for your computer, we suggest you go for Zone Alarm… simply because it is more easily configurable. [...]