Many thanks to both of you.

There is already a thread on the support site, located here: http://support.tallemu.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2541

...that I've appended.

Seems that the problem's been pointed out by others, but is not common to all systems.

If/when a solution is found (or I give up, which usually takes quite a lot of time and failure) I'll post the results here.

Hopefully this can be resolved, because I really like the OA firewall.

I'm sure the question will be addressed. I am using a much later beta than the version you are using, it is 2.1.0.56, and there have been a considerable number of changes, improvements and bug fixes during the many iterations, almost daily, to these beta versions. And, as stated above, I anticipate a new release version in the next week or so containing those fixes and improvements. It is also worth noting that a number of CC members are on the beta team providing input to the developers, who are extremely responsive.

Cool - probably I'll wait for the new release and watch their website for developments.

For the time being, I've solved the problem by changing the 2 rules in question from "allow" to "deny," so now I have total stealth.

As I'm not currently running a network at home I don't think it's going to be a problem. If it is, I'll figure out something to get by in the meantime, as I really like OA.

Thanks again.

Well - the thread topic on tallemu got so cluttered with router issues that support likely missed my responses.

Anyway: I went in and changed the two "allow" rules to "deny" and now I have perfect stealth and all of my programs seem to be running smoothly.

I'd just re-done my entire security scheme, and OA was the first of several new "system cops" that I installed.

It's very likely that I allowed these rules to be created manually during the subsequent installs.

In any case, I'm going to wait for the new version of OA before I worry any more about it.

FYI, the next release of OA (free, paid and with A/V) is scheduled for the 21st, next Monday. The current betas are now working quite stably, so unless something unexpected shows up, I expect the 21st to a good date.

Lots of small bug fixes, the ability to trust and/or untrust the local network, better and more stable Save Settings and Restore feature, improvements in anti-leak and anti-termination features, the ability to resize a number of settings windows and other GUI improvements, major improvements to the initial Safety Check Wizard, etc.

testing

Cool - been immersed in other things lately and everything's been smooth so I haven't been working on this.

The only hassle now with the "pre-new release" is, that if one allows an autorun.exe from a CD, OA freaks out big time if the CD is not in the drive when one opens program permissions. It's easy to kill the program permission after removing the CD and I've been waiting for the new version so haen't worried.

Overall - OA rocks. My wife finds it really easy to use also. Gives it an A+

Planning to install the new one over the weekend.

I'm on the verge of buying it for all of my computers at work because it'll be pretty trouble free as I see things now.

...Will post updates as I go.

Updates for all three versions, these are not betas:

OA Free
OA Paid
OA+ with A/V

Release 2.1.0.85 - 19th February 2008

General
Resizeable GUI
Remove Spamshield.
Multiple Desktop Support.
Fixed bug with uninstall protection
Added hotkeys disable option
Autoruns Enhancement - The scope of protection has been significantly enhanced in Online Armor - (Thanks to Tony Klein)
Additional scan during SCW added (folders where start menu items reside).

Safety Check Wizard
Realtime update during Safety Check Wizard
Faster Saving
Deeper, more thorough scan

OASIS
OASIS (Online Armor Software Information Service) has been significantly updated. OASIS is our files database and in previous versions of Online Armor it was woefully out of date because it relied almost completely on manual effort - including updating the servers. OASIS2 provides the users with this data whether or not the file has been assessed, information about what the program does, how many users have seen it and some information about what it does. This is accessible as a search on the website (all users).

When a program runs that is unknown - you can click the "more" button to get the OASIS results for it. This might help the user decide what to do as it provides aggregate information about what the other users did.
You can also right click inside programs ---> File Information ---> More to get information out of OASIS.

Firewall
Optimized Performance for Torrents - users complained that when using bittorrent, firewall processing created slowdowns. This issue has been comprehensively corrected. You should not see slowdowns caused by Online Armor Firewall.

Automatic Network Identification(Interfaces) - previously all interfaces were lumped in as one. Now, OA will allow interfaces to be selectively trusted/not trusted. This caters for the case of the road warrior that may plug into trusted/public networks. This now also includes VPN interfaces.

Computers Tab - Computers on the network are automatically detected and listed. It is possible to override on a computer by computer basis the trust status. For example, you could have an untrusted network - with two computers plugged into it that you trust. (or vice versa)

Manage Windows Firewall during OA Install - If the windows firewall is active, it will be disabled. If Online Armor firewall is removed, windows firewall will be reactivated.

Added firewall log viewer

Block network connection on boot (optional)

Firewall Logs are defaulted to "Off"

Bugfix - ICMP traffic is now blockable per application.

Program Guard
Install Mode added .
Allow blocking of trusted programs.

Runsafer - Added the ability for the user "Safer" program normally, or a normal program "Safer" from inside program guard (rather than have them force the setting change, if for example, they want to use a program temporarily with admin rights)

CPU Limiter added to control runaway processes; CPU Affinitity control to show which processor a program may use.

I've tried various software firewalls and a few different HIPS programs over the years....but I really prefer Online Armor to the others. It's effectiveness, the developers attention to detail, and the product's ease of use are all top notch. I would recommend people looking for a top notch firewall/HIPS program to give this one a try. The HIPS functionality can even be disabled for those simply looking for a good, yet easy to understand firewall. I've found that it works very well with other security software (such as NOD32 and others) as well.....

Very cool - the problem with Autorun.exe programs on removable media has been fixed, and the new networking management functions are pretty smooth.

...Very impressed with this firewall. RAM footprint still very tiny.

Now - when Vista is supported I'll be able to protect my notebook also.

Any plans for Vista in the near future?

Yes, the Vista version is their first priority right now, and as I understand it, is close to a Beta version. It will then be throughly tested by the beta testers, and probably released thereafter as a release candidate.

WTF?

Online Armor Blocks my using a DVD.

I attempt to tell OA that "E:\programname.exe" is OK, but OA has no record of ever blocking it.

I attempt to uninstall OA, and MY ATTEMPTS TO UNISTALL OA ARE BLOCKED, AND I NEED TO USE SAFE MODE TO ACCOMPLISH THIS??"

MALWAWARE!

VIRUS!

Some "security," is not worth the price paid.

Uninstalled, LIKE A stepping on a COCKROACH, using safe mode like I would do to a VIRUS, wasting several hours of my time that would have been better spent with MY FAMILY.

Bye OA.

PCBruiser - I thought better of you - honestly.