Set up the Firewall For Maximum Security and Usability
This page outlines the functions of Comodo's Firewal and helps you to set up a secure connection to the Internet.
Stealth Ports Settings
Port Stealthing is a security feature whereby ports on an Internet connected PC are hidden from sight, sending no response to opportunistic port scans.
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Open 'Tasks' interface by clicking the green curved arrow at top right of the 'Home' screen
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Open 'Firewall Tasks' by clicking 'Firewall Tasks' from the Tasks interface
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Open Stealth Ports interface by clicking the 'Stealth Ports' icon from the Firewall Tasks panel
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Select 'Block Incoming Connections' to make computer's ports are invisible to all networks
Click here for more details on Stealthing your Computer Ports
Network Zones Settings
The 'Network Zones' settings allow you to configure the protection level for network connection to a Router/home network. (This is usually done automatically for you).
To view the configurations
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Open 'Tasks' interface by clicking the green curved arrow at top right of the 'Home' screen
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Open 'Firewall Tasks' by clicking 'Firewall Tasks' from the Tasks interface and click 'Open Advanced Settings'.
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Click 'Network Zones' under Firewall from the left hand side pane
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Click 'Network Zones' tab from the 'Network Zones' interface
Check the Loopback zone and Local Area Network #1. In most cases, the loopback zone IP address should be 127.0.01/255.0.0.0
In most cases, the IP address of the auto detected Network zone should be 192.168.1.100/255.255.255.0 .
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Check these addressees and click 'OK'.
Click here for more details on Network Zones settings
Firewall Settings
The Firewall Settings option allows you to configure the protection level for your Internet connection and the frequency of alerts generated.
To open Firewall Settings panel
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Open 'Tasks' interface by clicking the green curved arrow at top right of the 'Home' screen
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Open 'Firewall Tasks' by clicking 'Firewall Tasks' from the Tasks interface and click 'Open Advanced Settings'.
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Click 'Firewall Settings' under Firewall from the left hand side pane
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Ensure that 'Enable Firewall' is selected and choose Safe mode from the drop-down beside it.
Safe Mode: While filtering network traffic, the firewall will automatically create rules that allow all traffic for the components of applications certified as 'Safe' by Comodo. For non-certified new applications, you will receive an alert whenever that application attempts to access the network. Should you choose, you can grant that application Internet access by choosing 'Treat this application as a Trusted Application' at the alert. This will deploy the predefined firewall policy 'Trusted Application' onto the application.
Alert Settings
Under 'Alert Settings' in the same interface:
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Deselect Do NOT show popup alerts
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Select 'Set alert frequency level' option and choose 'Low' from the drop-down. At the 'Low' setting, the firewall shows alerts for outgoing and incoming connection requests for an application. This is the setting recommended by Comodo and is suitable for the majority of users.
Advanced Settings
When launching a denial of service or 'flood' attack, an attacker bombards a target machine with so many connection requests that your computer is unable to accept legitimate connections, effectively shutting down your web, email, FTP or VPN server. To protect from such attacks, make the following settings under 'Advanced' in the 'Firewall Settings' interface:
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Select Filter loopback traffic
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Ensure that the Block fragmented IP traffic is selected
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Block fragmented IP traffic - When a connection is opened between two computers, they must agree on a Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU). IP Datagram fragmentation occurs when data passes through a router with an MTU less than the MTU you are using i.e when a datagram is larger than the MTU of the network over which it must be sent, it is divided into smaller 'fragments' which are each sent separately. Fragmented IP packets can create threats similar to a DOS attack. Moreover, these fragmentations can double the amount of time it takes to send a single packet and slow down your download time.
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Select the Do Protocol Analysis checkbox to detect fake packets used in denial of service attacks
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Select Enable anti-ARP spoofing
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Click 'OK' for your settings to take effect.
Click here for more details on Firewall Settings
Setting-up Application Rules, Global Rules and Predefined Firewall Rulesets
You can configure and deploy traffic filtering rules and policies on an application specific and global basis and predefined firewall rulesets.
To view the Application Rules
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Open 'Tasks' interface by clicking the green curved arrow at top right of the 'Home' screen
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Open 'Firewall Tasks' by clicking 'Firewall Tasks' from the Tasks interface and click 'Open Advanced Settings'.
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Click 'Application Rules' under Firewall from the left hand side pane
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Click the handle from the bottom and Add or Edit rules for specific applications manually or remove them.
Click here for more details on Application Rules
To view the Global Rules
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Open 'Tasks' interface by clicking the green curved arrow at top right of the 'Home' screen
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Open 'Firewall Tasks' by clicking 'Firewall Tasks' from the Tasks interface and click 'Open Advanced Settings'.
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Click 'Global Rules' under Firewall from the left hand side pane
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Click the handle from the bottom and Add or Edit global rules manually or remove them.
Click here for more details on Global Rules
To view Predefined Firewall rulesets
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Open 'Tasks' interface by clicking the green curved arrow at top right of the 'Home' screen
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Open 'Firewall Tasks' by clicking 'Firewall Tasks' from the Tasks interface and click 'Open Advanced Settings'.
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Click 'Rulesets' under Firewall from the left hand side pane
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Click the handle from the bottom to and Add, Edit or remove rulesets.
You need not make your own rulesets, the defaults are usually enough.
Click here for more details on pre-defined firewall rulesets