TinyWall 3.3.1 – Maintenance Release

TinyWall is a free software to harden and control the advanced firewall built into modern Windows systems. Includes the features that set it apart from both commercial and freeware firewalls.

TinyWall gives Windows Firewall a sane and secure configuration and presents you with a simple interface where you can easily define what has network access and what does not while preventing other programs from modifying or overwriting your firewall settings.

What this application does:

• It does not annoy you with popups at all, yet it is still extremely easy to add exceptions to your firewall rules.
• Actively blocks hundreds of trojans, viruses, and worms.
• Does not require you to know about ports, protocols, and application details.
• Prevents malicious programs from modifying the settings of Windows Firewall.
• Does not install drivers or other kernel components, and is free and lightweight.

TinyWall Features:

• Multiple and easy ways to whitelist programs
• Automatic learning mode
• Firewall tampering protection
• Password lockdown of settings
• Quick modes, like Normal protection, Allow outgoing, Block all, Allow all, and Learning mode
• Support for temporary/ timed firewall rules
• Port and domain blocklists
• Hosts file protection
• Option to always allow communication within LAN
• Option to restrict an application to the LAN
• Recognition of safe software and impostors
• Full IPv6 support
• List established and blocked connections
• View open ports on your machine
• 100% free and clean software. There are no fees, no ads, and no paid upgrades.

The no-popup approach

Most firewalls are based mostly on the same interaction rules. Basically, at any time when an application is attempting to access the internet, displays a popup asking the user what to do. This shouldn’t be only annoying for the user but additionally lower than safe. On an average computer, numerous applications try to access the internet. Displaying a popup for every app makes it very possible that unneeded applications will acquire access to the network because it will increase the probability of the user granting pointless rights to many applications.

This phenomenon might be characterized as “security fatigue”, and at its expense, the user doesn’t confirm anymore what he offers internet access, however simply blindly allows all programs that ask for it.

TinyWall Firewall takes a special method. It doesn’t display popups that “urge users to allow”. In truth, it is not going to notify you of any blocked action in any respect. Instead of displaying popups, TinyWall Firewall makes it simple to whitelist or unblock applications by totally different means. For example, you possibly can simply provoke whitelisting by a hotkey, then click on a window that you simply wish to allow. Or, you possibly can choose an application from the list of running processes. Of course, the normal method of choosing an executable additionally works.

This method avoids popups however nonetheless retains the firewall as very simple to use. Most importantly, with the no-popup method, the user will only discover that a program has been denied internet access when he can’t use it anymore. Consequently, users will only unblock applications that they want and none more, which is optimal from a security standpoint.