by: CNET staff on July 03, 2012
Recent versions of Windows pack some underrated security tools, such as the Windows Firewall, which compares favorably with quite a few better known firewalls and even plays nicely with many of them. Windows Firewall Control is a simple bit of freeware that extends the capabilities of the built-in Windows firewall controls. It adds icons and entries to the system tray, desktop, and other locations; adds shell integration in Explorer menus; and other options.
When installing Windows Firewall Control, you're presented with a small dialog containing a variety of check boxes for configuring how you access the program and how it starts. If you run the Windows Firewall at startup (and you ought to, if you run it at all) you can set Windows Firewall Control to run at startup, too. When we'd made our choices and finished the setup process, a small shield logo appeared in the notification area, also known as the system tray. The shield's color indicates Windows Firewall's filtering status; high, medium, low, and no filtering, for when the firewall is turned off. Clicking the icon opens the program's compact console, which offers tabs for Profiles, Options, Policies, Shortcuts, and About. The Profiles tab includes Windows Firewall's filtering slider, a button to access a detailed rules manager, and the ability to lock the current configuration. Among the options is the ability to enable Learning Mode and display notifications. We could also import and export policies.
The interface stays pinned to the corner and can't be dragged around, and you can't pin it open or specify always-on-top. The ability to keep the interface open would add to this tool's usefulness, which is certainly keeping with its mission to extend the functionality of the built-in Windows Firewall. If you use the Windows Firewall, try Windows Firewall Control.
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Windows Firewall Control is a application developed to provide quick access to the most frequent options used from Windows Firewall. It sits in the system tray and allows user to control the Windows Firewall by navigating to the specific part of the Firewall. Options to enable or disable firewall, access Windows Firewall and its Advanced Security are all given in the system tray right-click context menu. It extends the default functionality of the native firewall by integrating the program into the context menu of the executable files and by showing to the user the notifications of outgoing blocked connections.
What's new in this version: Version 3.9.1.0 has added an Advanced options tab for the Rules tab and various small code optimizations were made to increase the speed.
All versions:2.9 stars out of 35 votes5 star: 13 4 star: 1 3 star: 5 2 star: 2 1 star: 14 Current version:0 stars Be the first to review this product My rating:0 starsWrite review 3.0 stars"It's ok, but has problems"December 17, 2012 | By louiskuhelj Version: Windows Firewall Control 3.8ProsThis is ok for managing your firewall rules,Consbut has one major problem in that the shellextension that gives you an option to use the program in windows explorer's context menu is buggy. It locks up the explorer when you have it enabled, so one of its selling points, that of being able to use it in the context menu in windows 7 is not a selling point to consider. Other than that, it seems pretty good. But you can do the same thing from the command line or with a batch file when it comes to the firewall part. It suffers from the same problems other applications have and that is trying to do too much and ending up doing one part half-assed.SummaryI can take it or leave it. From a batch file, I can create inbound and outbound rules for an entire folder and I can pass it what folder I want done and all the sub-folders as well and I wrote a short program that can use that batch file to make it even simpler to accomplish what I want. So, when you want something quick and dirty without cluttering your system with a whole bunch of new junk, this is not the way to go. But if you are a noob, I guess it is better than nothing and the fancified gui is just fine for the novice, but the problem with the shell extension, will give a novice one heck of a headache that they won't know the source of. So, it is good and bad for the target market. The people that need this most are the ones that will have issues with the one bug in the program and they won't know what is causing it. Ain't it a *****.Reply to this review Read reply (1)
Was this review helpful? (0) (1) 1.0 stars"FIRST SOFTWARE which caused Windows 8 to have problems."November 15, 2012 | By DenverRick Version: Windows Firewall Control 3.7.2ProsI have no pros for this software - there is nothing good about it.ConsLock up even a Windows 8 system.SummaryIT SUCKS and you shouldn't even try it. OR, IN THE VERY LEAST, do a complete system restore ISO before you ever install this crap.Reply to this review Read reply (1)
Was this review helpful? (0) (1) 1.0 stars"Unable to install"October 30, 2012 | By edweglarz Version: Windows Firewall Control 3.7.0.5ProsHaven't a clue.Consis not intuitively workable.Reply to this review
Was this review helpful? (0) (1) 1.0 stars"please don't"October 8, 2012 | By kxian Version: Windows Firewall Control 3.7.0.3Prosnone of the prosConsall the consSummaryfoolishly installed this, now i can't get rid of the damnable thingReply to this review Read reply (1)
Was this review helpful? (0) (1) 5.0 stars"Windows Firewall Control - Tthe best one I've seen"September 10, 2012 | By chrisbotti Version: Windows Firewall Control 3.6Pros- Extends the configuration that is possible to set for Windows Firewall.
- Adds a lot of new functionality to Windows Firewall.
- Easy to use. Help not needed. Every setting is self explanatory.ConsThis product is the best.SummaryThe new Learning Mode which offers the possibility to auto allow digitally signed without showing notifications makes this product closer to all modern firewalls.Reply to this review
Was this review helpful? (0) (1) 5.0 stars"Outstanding work. WFC made me use Windows Firewall."August 16, 2012 | By chrisbotti Version: Windows Firewall Control 3.5.0.2ProsThis program extends the default settings and posibilities of what you can do with the default Windows Firewall. Very easy to use and very simple and intuitive interface.
Technical support is great. I had a problem with my DPI settings and they released a test version the next day which solved my problem. Then, four days later, a new version came out, which included my fix.
I use WFC 3.5.0.2 on my Windows 8 RTM build 9200 and works great. I am glad that I don't need another firewall. With WFC installed, Windows Firewall gained super powers. :) I'm kidding. It is a great software.
ConsNone that I can think about.SummaryGreat job. Keep up the good work in improving of this software.Reply to this review
Was this review helpful? (0) (1) 2.0 stars"poor, unable to install"August 6, 2012 | By mike spencer Version: Windows Firewall Control 3.5Prosunknown, won't installConsrepeatedly asks permission to install and then apparently fails to do so.Summarypoor productReply to this review Read reply (1)
Was this review helpful? (0) (1) 5.0 stars"Version 3.5 is the best version ever. Runs very smooth."July 27, 2012 | By chrisbotti Version: Windows Firewall Control 3.5Pros- You can control all aspects of Windows Firewall very easy.
- This tool is a must.
- From this version, Lock feature is available to all users.
- Easy to use, very intuitive.Cons- Learning Mode which gives the user notifications about outbound blocked connections, requires to be a registered user. This requires a donation of 10$. This is very cheap, because you can activate it on all of your home computers (4 in my case). I am a registered user since version 2.9 and I can tell you that this little program worth the money.SummaryIf you want to get rid of 3rd party firewalls and use Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, this little gem is a must. Very powerfull and easy to use. Even if you know nothing about firewalls, this tool will be easy to learn in minutes.Reply to this review
Was this review helpful? (1) (1) 5.0 stars"Windows Firewall Control is a valuable security tool"July 23, 2012 | By chrisbotti Version: Windows Firewall Control 3.4ProsWindows Firewall Control can be configured to start automatically with Windows and it is then incredibly simple to flick between using High, Medium, Low, or No Filtering modes. This is a great alternative to navigating through the various firewall related screen that can be found in the Control Panel. Working in free mode, the program is very powerful, but opt to register for $10 and there are a number of additional options available to you.
Even if there was no trial mode active, I wrote to the developer and he sent me an activation code for testing purposes.
Technical support is great and fast.
Consnone until nowSummaryWhether used in free or registered mode, Windows Firewall Control is a valuable security tools that makes it easy to configure your internet protection.Reply to this review
Was this review helpful? (0) (1) 5.0 stars"Outstanding product. The best of its kind."July 23, 2012 | By paulvandelay Version: Windows Firewall Control 3.4Pros10+
I use this product since version 2.1 back from 2010. It started as a little project but now is definitely a mature project which worth a try. Even if you are not a registered user (10$ donation) this tool proves its power.
ConsNone. This tool is great.SummaryIf you want to get rid of 3rd party firewalls and use the firewall included in Windows 7and Windows 8, this is the tool that you really need to make Windows Firewall more easier to use.
You can read below a very complete review:
http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=31144.0
Remember that this applies for an old version.
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