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Ram & Reason: Enter the Dragon: Comodo Free Desktop Security Tools
By Rob Rice, A member of the Computer Club of Oklahoma City and a computer specialist in Anchorage, Alaska 
http://www.ccokc.org
articles(at)isp.com
 
Every once in a while a company manages to push my button. Symantec is the latest after having bought my beloved Sygate Personal Firewall and then immediately yanked it from the market. Having paid for the Pro version, I can no longer install it; since it requires authorization - I am dead in the water.

Still, a nice thing about capitalism is that where there is a void, it will get filled. Enter the Comodo Group, with not only a worthy alternative to Sygate’s Personal Firewall, but a whole suite of security products for free!

The Comodo Group gets its name from the Komodo dragon, a metaphor for the Internet, with a “C” instead of a “K” to acknowledge a commitment to commerce, communications, and dot com. Comodo is the “2nd largest Certification Authority for ensuring Identity Trust & Assurance” on the Internet. In other words, they are the folks that make that little yellow padlock on your web browser work. The Comodo Group is the real deal with headquarters in Jersey City, USA (Yes, they have a real mailing address unlike some so-called security products offered on the web) with global offices in UK, Norway and India.

So why is Comodo giving away product? While the company does more than just issue SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates, but apparently they feel the need to build brand identity. According to Melih Abdulhayoglu, the President and CEO - Comodo Group:

          If we are able to write good software and give such valuable software for free, our name will be known in the market place, we will build our Comodo brand and this brand will be associated with security. And this will help us sell more Digital Certificates and other services we have as we will have a big brand!

Simple enough! So what are they offering? Again from the Comodo website:
 
• Comodo Firewall 
• Comodo Verification Engine
• Comodo AntiVirus
• Comodo AntiSpam
• Comodo BackUp
• Comodo iVault

Comodo Personal Firewall 2.0
FREE lifetime license

Sleek design gives an at-a-glance overview of your security status

     1. Highlights - displays the latest Comodo news and information about updates
     2. Traffic - high visual overview of the last minute of traffic history in terms Applications and Network protocols
     3. System info - information about your system in terms of the Hardware and details of all network Adapters in your computer.
     4. View Alerts - Get in-depth details on the high severity risks that the firewall has detected.
     5. Update License - One click activation of your free-for-a-lifetime Comodo license.
     6. Computer Security level - customize firewall security by using the slider to quickly move between preset security levels
     7. Check the security of your firewall's configuration with Comodo's online vulnerability scanner, HackerGuardian.
     8. Security Monitoring - get an immediate heads up on the status of the firewall's major components.
     9. Protection strength - your overall security level determined by the settings you have chosen

Comodo Firewall, rated by PC Magazine Online as an Editor's Choice, constantly monitors and defends your PC from internet attacks. It's easy to install and use and passes the industry's most stringent firewall "leak" tests. Unlike some other 'free' firewalls, this is not a stripped down version but is the full, completely functional product. This free solution comes complete with continual updates that are free forever!

System Requirements:
Windows 2000 (ALL)
Windows XP (ALL)
Windows 2003 (ALL)
64 MB available RAM
32 MB of available free hard disk space

Comodo Verification Engine 
FREE for life

VerificationEngine anti-phishing and identity assurance tool for Microsoft Windows offers an extremely simple way to differentiate legitimate web sites from fraudulent ones. Place your mouse cursor over a site logo. If it is authentic, a green border will appear around your browser. So if you really wish to be sure you are looking at the real www.paypal.com site rather than a clever imitation created to steal your identity, install VerificationEngine now!

Comodo AntiVirus 
FREE lifetime license

 • On Access Scanning - Always on, real-time protection against threats more...
• On Demand scanning - Take control by running instant scans on any file, folder or drive more...
• Automatic Daily Updates - Up-to-the second protection against the latest threats more...
• Email Scanning - Automatic checking and disinfection of incoming and outgoing mail more...
• Process Monitoring - Continuously scans your PC's memory for viruses more...
• Worm Blocker - Monitors and intercepts suspicious mass mailing attempts more...
• In- depth Reporting - Comprehensive logs of all scans performed more...
• Pro-active virus defense - Submit suspicious files for analysis by the Comodo AntiVirus team more...
• Easy, User Friendly interface - Sleek design provides fingertip access to all major settings more...
• Scan Scheduling - Timetable scans to run when you choose more...
• Dedicated Quarantine Facility - Isolate suspected files where they can do no harm more...
• Advanced Heuristic detection Engine - Protection against unknown viruses more...
• Scan Removable Devices - CD's, DVD's, external drives, USB devices, digital cameras more...
• Scans Network drives - protection from any potential threats on your network more...
• Scans Compressed Files - there's no hiding place for viruses, even in a .zip file more...
• Does not hog system resources - Maximum Protection with no slow down of your PC more...

System Requirements
Windows XP (SP2) / Windows 2000 (SP4 or later)
50 MB available space on your hard drive
128 MB RAM 
Intel Pentium 300 MHz processor (or equivalent)

Note - Not compatible with Windows 9x systems
 
Comodo AntiSpam
FREE license

Install Comodo AntiSpam for free and reclaim your inbox. Our powerful challenge-response technology authenticates the sender of every mail – a system that automated spam bots can’t get around. This is the full product, not stripped down ‘cripple ware’ and is free forever to the end user.

• Total Spam Elimination
• No hassle set-up
• Sender based authentication
• Thwart the Spam Bots
• Works with your existing setup
• Automatically authenticate your address book
• Instantly migrate custom black and white lists
• One click Bandwidth Optimization
• Pro-active Spam defense
• Maximum Protection – Minimum Drain
• Independent Authentication Database
• Independent Quarantine Database
• Protects all your email accounts
• Stay spam free WHEREVER you access your mail from
• Never miss a message
• Failproof
• E-Commerce friendly
• You’re protected – stay protected!!

System Requirements

Operating Systems: Windows 2000/XP
Processor: Pentium 100 MHz or higher,
System RAM: 32 MB RAM
Hard Drive: 21 MB of HDD free space
Internet Browser: IE 6.0 or above.
 
Comodo BackUp 
FREE lifetime license

Comodo Backup is the straightforward and powerful utility that allows users to quickly and easily create backup copies of critical files. Free of charge, it includes complete file and folder-duplication to local network drives and FTP servers, intelligent incremental backups, e-mail reporting, extensive report logs, real time back ups with “synchronization” mode, advanced rule-based filtering, flexible scheduling of backups, space-saving archiving capabilities, and more.

• Easily backup files or folders anywhere on your computer, network, CD-RW or FTP server
• Protect yourself against ever losing those critical files that took hours to create
• Quickly recover your data in the event of data loss
• Schedule backups to run automatically at a time that suits you
• Synchronized backup feature - save a file and it gets copied instantly
• Send E-mail notifications to team members about the status of a backup job
• Save Disk space by compressing your backups as ZIP files
• Configure in minutes with our intuitive interface

System Requirements
Windows XP (Service Pack 1 or later) or
Windows 2K (Service Pack 3 or later)
Intel Pentium IV with 133 MHz processor
64 MB RAM
12 MB free hard drive space
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or above
 
Comodo iVault 
FREE license

iVault saves time by providing instantaneous logins to any username/password secured web pages such as online banking and email account sites. It also doubles up as a 256 bit secure storage for private and confidential information such as credit card details and social security numbers and protects against the very latest key-logging Trojan Horse viruses.

• Instantly login to your favorite websites and applications
• Speed up surfing - No more forgotten passwords
• Single point of storage for all your confidential information
• 256 bit encryption of credit card and bank account details
• Secure Password Generator instantly creates complex passwords
• Supports multiple users on a single machine
• Anti Keylogging feature- stop hackers monitoring your personal data
• 'Drag 'n' drop' interface -Windows ease of use

Comodo i-Vault can protect and manage:
• Website password details
• Software access passwords
• Credit card numbers and PIN details
• Bank Account Details
• Telephone banking codes
• E-Mail account passwords
• Computer logon passwords
• Personal Contact details
• Cell Phone PIN codes
• And much more..
 
Phew! That is a lot of stuff! And I must admit I have yet to test all of these free products. Not for a lack of desire but because we are talking about six programs! I will say that I am about half way through my testing of the firewall product and it does seem to perform as advertised. But don’t wait around for me, grab these six freebies and let me know what you think of them!

Thanks Comodo!

Comodo - http://www.comodogroup.com/ 
Computer Club of Oklahoma City - http://www.ccokc.org/ 
PC Magazine Article on Comodo Firewall - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1969485,00.asp

There is no restriction against any non-profit group using this article as long as it is kept in context with proper credit given the author.  The Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an international organization of which this group is a member, brings this article to you.