Vipre Premium adds Firewall, what is learning mode?

Learning mode vs. Simple Mode in Sunbelt’s Firewall and Vipre Premium Product.

This explanation is a reprint from Sunbelt Softwares Security News letter and is part of their explanation on the care and feeding of Firewalls.

Eyes Only – You Viewpoint on Security Issues

Firewall: Simple or Learning Mode

During VIPRE Premium’s installation, you select one of two firewall modes: Simple (no popup) mode or Learning mode. In simple mode, the firewall does what it absolutely must and no more. Specifically, it stealths all the ports (I checked) and it blocks unknown programs that try to accept inbound connections. It doesn’t regulate which programs can make outbound Internet connections and doesn’t enable the included Intrusion Detection System (IDS) or Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS). Well, I have the firewall running in simple mode but with IDS and HIPS enabled and I get no popups. Always thought that this way I have in and outbound protection, am I mistaken? – FR

Editor’s Note: Support Manager Mike Williams to the Rescue – You do have some protection for both inbound and outbound traffic with IDS enabled.

HIPS stands for “Host Intrusion Protection Systems” This deals with programs attacking others by injecting. You see that a lot when malware tries to take over Outlook or even Windows to inject malicious bot code.

The IDS protection protects you from known network attacks. This looks at the network packets so it will protect you from known attacks whether outbound or inbound. As long as you keep up with the Malware scans you should be OK with allowing the outbound traffic.

However, for the most protection – set the firewall in learning mode. You will get a large number of prompts at first but as you create rules the prompts will diminish. (This is the most secure option.)

I hope this was informative and I will try to include more information and tips on software in future posts.

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