Came here to see how many others there were. This is only way I can actually feel like I'm in control of using modern OS. Everything is telemetry this and analytics that.
Which I use for years, and just because of lack of a better alternative (minimal, OSS) I actually quite "hate" it.:
It has no rules, like "Allow a file with THIS name on THAT path", the biggest complain of every simplewall user is its biggest flaw and annoyance: It asks you a million times to allow or deny the "same" app, after its checksum changed. So all the Windows apps that auto update always pop up again and again.
A coding agent autonomously compiling and testing an exe with network access is impossible. I have to turn off simplewall, because it would constantly block the executable after recompilation.
I'm a simplewall user and what you describing is not my biggest flaw or annoyance - I simply don't upgrade windows (why would calculator need updates??) and after clicking few denies, its get very quiet. Been this way for 2 years now on Win 11.
I beg you. At the very least, please, write your own headers. I don't even need you to write the whole copy on the page, but please, don't make us read that claudease slop. This makes the app you advertise look like the lowest of efforts, no matter what it is.
"Know which apps are calling home."
"Every connection, your call"
I used Portmaster too until they started locking existing features behind paid subscription. And generally just pushing towards microtransactions in general. I vastly prefer buy once or buy per major version.
This only prompts you after the connection has already been rejected, instead of holding it for approval like Little Snitch and Portmaster -- but I did have WFC installed on my Windows machines anyway, it's still useful.
More than a decade ago, I tinkered around with doing stuff like this. I found that many Windows apps got ugly and naughty when you hold up the connection. I started making a list of the various methods I used to try to hold the connection before user authorization could occur and that's about where I gave up on working it.
It reminds me more of the old Windows firewall/IPS/IDS called Sygate. It was ahead of its time. I think Zonealarm came after since that is what I replaced it with after Symantec(?) bought Sygate and rolled the best functions of Sygate into their Professional firewall for a premium price. Sygate was free or you could buy a permanent license for a one-time fee. It was the best personal protection products available for pcs running Windows up to WinXP.
I had also tried a different firewall/privacy tool from a company in Canada I think called ZeroKnowledge. That was a great product that also allowed you fine-grained access to and control of all connections to/from your Windows pc. They had a product available for a short time but shut down suddenly. I think I read that they were bought out by another firewall company but can't remember which one. They may have been rolled into the Blackberry software line.
Both of these were available in the 90's lead-up to the dot com bust if I remember right. Sygate became obsolete when support ended around the time WinXP faded. ZeroKnowledge disappeared much earlier. I may have old executables and installers somewhere on antique backups.
Personally I used Kerio Personal Firewall. I remember it being very good and while I didn't care about outbound connections much back then, I'm pretty sure it had a similar feature it was just off by default
So now we use AI for coding we can't sell any apps anymore?
Like this guy pushed a button and everything just happened?
What does it matter if it's mostly coded by an LLM. If someone skilled guided an LLM to build an app that does something meaningful and useful why shouldn't they be able to sell it or accept donations?
I mean—I can think of a whole lot of people whose jobs I could do, but who I’m happy to pay a little to avoid having to deal with it myself.
It doesn’t take particularly sophisticated skill to load up your garbage and drive it to the landfill—and, frankly, it’s kind of fun every once in a while—but I certainly wouldn’t call municipal trash service worthless…
I’m reminded of that old saw about contemporary art: “That?! I could have done that!” / “Yeah, but you didn’t…”
You just described the future of all software as LLMs continue to improve. This is an outcome most don't seem to appreciate, yet. And by "most" I'd certainly include large software companies.
It would be better if it suggested the consequences of stopping programs from phoning home, like will this program say the license check failed after 2 weeks, or will it keep working.
With all the reverse engineering out there going on now, I really hope someone does the REA with BlackICE. I miss that software so much. If it works native and is high quality with the simplistic GUI of ZoneAlarm, I would be so happy.
Seems like tools like this get mentioned a lot lately. I think it's because there are more and more things the user allowed to leak out without the user knowing? (mostly through AI)
I used to be a fan of outgoing firewall control, but alarm fatigue became a major issue, and I just accept everything, which just game a false sense of security.
You know these threads are mostly astroturfed because nobody mentions Binisoft/Malwarebytes WFC, one of the oldest and better Windows application firewalls. It's also totally free, though not OSS.
codernews123 | 21 hours ago
aiiotnoodle | 18 hours ago
Thank you for the recommendation.
mlnj | 17 hours ago
shrx | 21 hours ago
underlines | 21 hours ago
It has no rules, like "Allow a file with THIS name on THAT path", the biggest complain of every simplewall user is its biggest flaw and annoyance: It asks you a million times to allow or deny the "same" app, after its checksum changed. So all the Windows apps that auto update always pop up again and again.
A coding agent autonomously compiling and testing an exe with network access is impossible. I have to turn off simplewall, because it would constantly block the executable after recompilation.
joering2 | 19 hours ago
Dylan16807 | 15 hours ago
Even among simplewall users I bet the vast majority install OS updates regularly.
iagiagiag | 19 hours ago
djfobbz | 18 hours ago
baal80spam | 21 hours ago
Sarky | 18 hours ago
jiveturkey | 16 hours ago
packethound can be managed via group policy
packethound has that air of AI slop sophistication
poszlem | 21 hours ago
"Know which apps are calling home." "Every connection, your call"
phendrenad2 | 21 hours ago
eviks | 20 hours ago
iKlsR | 20 hours ago
Kwpolska | 21 hours ago
Avicebron | 21 hours ago
adzm | 20 hours ago
Avicebron | 20 hours ago
someothherguyy | 20 hours ago
Avicebron | 20 hours ago
https://codeberg.org/Avicebron/Sereno
Dwedit | 21 hours ago
constantlm | 20 hours ago
aand16 | 18 hours ago
Here's another one: F.O.S.I.
jeremycarter | 20 hours ago
Tarq0n | 20 hours ago
Portmaster has been filling this role for me for the last couple years.
LoganDark | 19 hours ago
byteknight | 18 hours ago
LoganDark | 15 hours ago
TwoNineFive | 10 hours ago
doodlebugging | 17 hours ago
I had also tried a different firewall/privacy tool from a company in Canada I think called ZeroKnowledge. That was a great product that also allowed you fine-grained access to and control of all connections to/from your Windows pc. They had a product available for a short time but shut down suddenly. I think I read that they were bought out by another firewall company but can't remember which one. They may have been rolled into the Blackberry software line.
Both of these were available in the 90's lead-up to the dot com bust if I remember right. Sygate became obsolete when support ended around the time WinXP faded. ZeroKnowledge disappeared much earlier. I may have old executables and installers somewhere on antique backups.
Kuraj | 16 hours ago
unixhero | 9 hours ago
devilsdata | 20 hours ago
hn_submit | 20 hours ago
msdrigg | 20 hours ago
hn_submit | 19 hours ago
voidfunc | 19 hours ago
AltruisticGapHN | 17 hours ago
Like this guy pushed a button and everything just happened?
What does it matter if it's mostly coded by an LLM. If someone skilled guided an LLM to build an app that does something meaningful and useful why shouldn't they be able to sell it or accept donations?
hn_submit | 15 hours ago
alwa | 14 hours ago
It doesn’t take particularly sophisticated skill to load up your garbage and drive it to the landfill—and, frankly, it’s kind of fun every once in a while—but I certainly wouldn’t call municipal trash service worthless…
I’m reminded of that old saw about contemporary art: “That?! I could have done that!” / “Yeah, but you didn’t…”
somenameforme | 12 hours ago
s3p | 20 hours ago
Edit: and glasswire although portmaster is my favorite
eps | 17 hours ago
Such unadulterated greed, it was painful to watch as it unfolded.
RecycledEle | 17 hours ago
It would be better if it suggested the consequences of stopping programs from phoning home, like will this program say the license check failed after 2 weeks, or will it keep working.
avazhi | 16 hours ago
Uh, no they don't. I haven't used a firewall in 20 years that hasn't had both inbound and outbound monitoring lol.
darksim905 | 16 hours ago
rasz | 14 hours ago
lhk931122 | 14 hours ago
dikei | 12 hours ago
Nowadays, I just use Windows built-in firewall.
bad_username | 11 hours ago
That's not necessarily a good thing.
dyauspitr | 10 hours ago
TwoNineFive | 10 hours ago
https://www.binisoft.org/wfc
WFC allows you to block Windows components. This can cause a lot of trouble, or keep Microsoft from spying on you. Or both.