Experimenting with Windows Firewall to block by default

[NoelC]

Sorry my data couldn't be more helpful, but we really shouldn't have to be working so hard to prevent the OS we choose to use from doing nefarious things we don't want.

 

It's been my decision as well to hold off upgrading my systems that matter.  I only run Win 10 on a VM for testing.

 

Looking at StatCounter, I see that Win 7 usage has flattened out in the past two weeks.  You're not alone.

 

-Noel

[NoelC]

 

I prefer the one by Sphinx Software because it has a decent user experience and shows outbound notifications (yes it can get annoying since it prompts for every single app that tries to connect and blocks it by default unless you approve) but once you have set it up, it gives you full control. Being prompted at the time the apps wants to connect for the first time and never again is convenient for me.

 

Well, it turns out I crave the more advanced version than the "Plus" edition I bought, because I really do want to see which service running under svchost is doing the communications.  They're allowing me to upgrade for an incremental cost to the "Network/Cloud" edition.

 

-Noel

 

 

Edit:  Testing editing with a more restrictive profile that does not allow Internet Explorer to communicate with some Google servers.

Edited September 4, 2015 by NoelC

[mdmasters]

Hey Noel, It's dead on the insider thread, so I thought I would check out your post. I've tested 5 or 6 and found that while some claim to be W10 compatable, and are definately not, and some others take over your control of your W10 settings. I'm running Vipre on one machine, and it definately blocks dangerous sites on Chrome, IE, and if you're desperate, Edge. It also asks you if you trust all inbound and outbound connections. I'm running Advanced Systemcare on my wife's machine.  It's easier for casual users, but the real time network protection is not as aggressive. I've got Norton Internet Security with Backup on an old Acer that is sort of in the middle, but leans more toward the Vipre end of the spectrum. Kaspersky protects you so well that you almost can't use the internet at all, but W10 tolerates it well. If you're not prone to stress headaches, Zone Alarm has worked well with W10, but it will bug you to death. It's kinda like a little kid asking you if every action your system takes is ok with you. I've lost track of a litany  of firewall/antivirus suites with W10, since build 9960, and many of them left W10 a smoking hole on the testbed.  The one thing that will drive most casual users, is how little interaction they have to have with their protective software, and how much they are willing to spend to achieve the level of protection they Think they need. With W10's version of Defender, we all need every protection we can get. I hope we can inform as many people as we can about this issue. See you back here or on the Insider thread. 

[NoelC]

So far I'm getting good results with Sphinx Windows 10 Firewall Control.  See also:

 

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/174417-sphinx-windows-er-10-firewall-control/

 

-Noel