I guess it is about time I write something here too...
My history in short: I started out using Tiny Personal Firewall v.2, and the configuration interface of that program, and the subsequent versions of the Kerio and Sunbelt firewalls remains to be matched by any other (free) firewall program, so I would really like to continue to use this firewall. HOWEVER, on my server at home, I am STILL using Tiny! When I first upgraded to Kerio v.2, it blue screened about once per 24 hour - not acceptable on a server in particular. so I went back to Tiny, and I have installed all new versions of Kerio ever since on my workstations, to be able to determine when a version of Kerio could "pass the test" and get installed on my server. BUT, practially every version of Kerio ever since would show me a blue screen or two within the first 24 hours of installation, and despite being burned by the very first version of Kerio, I tried once more to put an early Kerio v.4 on my server. Big mistake... So, I am still scanning the Sunbelt Kerio firewall for a satisfactorily version, I have tried other firewalls, but have not been satisfied with any - and then I even had further problems with Kerio, when trying to revert to Kerio on a laptop I had tested Comodo on. Kerio has kept giving me trouble in the Filter List interface (the "heart" of Kerio, and the reason I want to use it), I have had occassional blue screens or freezes, I have even had HTTP traffic being messed up (http headers missing and/or moved to different connections(!), all blowing away when the firewall was stopped, so no doubt who was to blame), problems when starting, problems when shutting down, I even tried once to report an error to Sunbelt, offering to hand over configuration files and assist in debugging, just to receive the answer that if I hadn't paid, I wasn't in title to support! Hey, I didn't want support, I wanted to help fix a bug that most probably bothered paying customers as well... Still, I had gotten used to Kerio on my workstations, and it wasn't THAT bad, and the flexibility of the interface... Wow. But I kept Tiny on my server where stability was so important, although Tiny also have a few bugs, and not quite as good an interface. The bugs in Kerio where far more serious.
So, I thought I would wait for an official release from Sunbelt, but I changed my mind and installed the new Beta on some of my workstations, and I must say, I have come a *lot* closer to finally skipping tiny on my server.
- No blue screens or freezes so far.
- The http mess-up error is no longer reproducable.
- No quirks in the filter list interface yet.
- Improved prompting - when defining a new filter rule, now it is actually applied to the entire queue of waiting prompts, so I don't have to answer the same question several times, even if I define a rule on the first prompt.
A few things still remain:
- I have seen prompts for incoming UDP to Outlook where the receiving port number was not shown in the prompt.
- The jury is still out on the new feature of automatically denying after 20 seconds, if I don't do anything, but I think it will be a "Not Guilty".
- The order of combined ip address and port number conditions shown in the filter list is still odd, but that is a minor cosmetic thing.
- I don't yet understand the new architecture of 3 processes, but I guess it is just a cleanup of the old one.
I have not tried to export/import configurations yet, so I don't know if there are still problems there, and when the time comes, I also have a few wishes for the future, but all in all, the new beta has been a very positive experience. I will keep it under observation for some time yet, I still haven't touched everything, and I don't think I will install the beta on my server in any case, but it is starting to look like Tiny is out of a job, when the official release comes. It took Sunbelt a while, but in my oppinion, it was worth waiting for.
I will keep you posted, if (when!) I have more to comment on this beta. _________________ Morten Due Jřrgensen
http://www.mdjnet.dk
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