is it safe to use simplewall + windows firewall?

[0lm]

hi there
is it safe to use simplewall and windows firewall in compination? i jsut feel more savf with that. it wont cause any problems, will it?

[beerisgood]

I didn't disable the Windows firewall even if simplewall say that is recommend and i don't have problems since long usage

[ltguillaume]

How will you keep tabs on what actually gets through if you still have Windows Firewall enabled? Those rules may have priority over anything you set up in simplewall.

[beerisgood]

If a program try a connection, simplewall ask me.
And if i say no, it works.

So i don't see a problem here

[pwn0r]

If simplewall works then WF is not needed. SimpleWall filtering should take priority over WF.

[beerisgood]

Thats right but you get a warning from Windows if the firewall is disabled.
Of course you can disable that warning too, but i don't a reason for that.

[ltguillaume]

I've read that it's the other way around: Windows Firewall rules could take priority over simplewall's, which is definitely not what you want.

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On Nov 9, 2018 6:36 PM, "pwn0r" ***@***.***> wrote: If simplewall works then WF is not needed. SimpleWall filtering should take priority over WF. — You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#254 (comment)>, or mute the thread <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AEjlgdsrn7rJJIyEuobP7yzO2fyxjrHbks5utb00gaJpZM4YWFMD> .

[beerisgood]

Did you read my post? Can't confirm this

[ltguillaume]

If you use it just to block third party applications, I guess leaving Windows Firewall on should be alright. If the application adds its own firewall rules (such as uTorrent), I'm not sure if simplewall will help. If you use it to block Windows services, or use the blocklist in simplewall, I'd be sure to disable Windows Firewall. I'm following the logic of what I've read here and in the Wiki, but I haven't tested these use cases myself.

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On Nov 10, 2018 4:46 PM, "beerisgood" ***@***.***> wrote: Did you read my post? Can't confirm this — You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#254 (comment)>, or mute the thread <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AEjlgXcexg1pah9kThAKpLWO4hkS2Lyuks5utvS9gaJpZM4YWFMD> .

[ltguillaume]

@henrypp added this issue to the FAQ, but hasn't responded to it himself. So what's the verdict?

[TontyTon]

Hey everyone I had used Simplewall (SW) in parallel with Windows Firewall (WA). And I kept a close watch on Resource Monitor, for quite some time few months back, to observe the priorities.
I observed that the two firewall works independently.

For example-
If you had blocked some file in WF, then whatever you do in SW, file will not be able to access internet. And vice-versa.

They are acting as two 'walls', for a thing to pass and access outside world, it has to pass through both of the 'walls'.

[ltguillaume]

That's all good and well, but there is a priority system in the form of weights among rules, and priorities between firewall sublayers. So unless the rules by Windows Defender Firewall always have a lower weight (which you can't know), or Windows's sublayer always has a lower priority than simplewall's sublayer, you can never really know if the simplewall rules are actually honored.

So @henrypp (how) are you taking this into account?

Edit2: So, simplewall is also implemented as a sublayer. To some extent, you could indeed see its rules as a "separate wall", although according to this documentation sublayers have a priority value. There's also the FWPS_RIGHT_ACTION_WRITE flag that can be set to NO for a rule, in order to shut up any other conflicting rule, in any lower-priority sublayer. So only if simplewall's sublayer has the absolute highest priority, anything below it can happen, depending on how flag that is used.

In order to silently override "Hard Permit" filters a firewall has to add its filters within a higher priority sub-layer.

Disclaimer: all this is based on the assumption that simplewall puts its rules in a sublayer, not a layer.

[TontyTon]

@ltguillaume Hey! I didn't understand what you are saying, I am just a basic user and many terms you used were read by me very first time.
What I said is based on experiment. I tried many combinations with system and third party apps (I thought might be MS had made some difference) and inferenced "They are acting as two 'walls', for a thing to pass and access outside world, it has to pass through both of the walls." from the observations.

[ltguillaume]

I know, and I appreciate the effort you made. Essentially you're right, to a point, but there can be exceptions, as can be read in the documentation. This means that you can't be sure everything you don't want to get through is in fact blocked (by simplewall), unless proper precautions are already taken by @henrypp .