TinyWall for Windows

Name: TinyWall
Rating: 3.4 (14 reviews)
Author: Karoly Pados

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Key Details of TinyWall

Harden and control the firewall built into Windows with ease, without annoyance.
Last updated on July 22, 2019
Virus scan status:
Clean (it’s extremely likely that this software program is clean)

Editors’ Review

Download.com staffJuly 22, 2019

A firewall controller utility developed by Karoly Pados, TinyWall improves the operation of the default Windows firewall and effectively blocks Trojans, viruses, and worms. It's largely based on application whitelisting picked by its corresponding executable, process, or window.

Pros

Robust: TinyWall does not install its own kernels but cleverly adds some very robust features and protection to your Windows firewall by initially blocking practically everything and then creating exceptions. Even after we deactivated it, it reactivated itself after a computer restart.

No pop-up messages: Taking a cue from the default Windows firewall, TinyWall does away with those extremely annoying diversions. Plus, you do not have to understand anything about DLL files, ports, or other technical details to use this app effectively.

Updates: For a utility developed by a single person, it is surprising to have updates, although admittedly cloud functionality is a much more immediate way to respond to new threats.

Cons

Learning mode is not foolproof: When entering Autolearn mode you must be absolutely certain that your computer has no malware; otherwise it will unavoidably be whitelisted by the firewall and not detected at all. It kind of beats the logic of having protection in the first place.

Manual unblocking: We had to manually whitelist Firefox, Skype, and Dropbox. Even though this is done only once for every application, popular applications should be whitelisted by default.

Bottom Line

TinyWall increases the control you have over the default Windows firewall and enhances its level of protection. It requires very limited user input and does away with all the irritating messages and pop-ups. We highly recommended this well-made app.

What’s new in version 2.1.10

Fix accidentally introduced dependency on .Net 4.8.

TinyWall for Windows

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Full Specifications

GENERAL

Release: July 22, 2019

Latest update: July 22, 2019

Version: 2.1.10

OPERATING SYSTEMS

Platform: Windows

Operating System

Windows 8
Windows 7
Windows Vista
Windows 10

Additional Requirements: Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 SP1

POPULARITY

Total Downloads: 25,255

Downloads Last Week: 2

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Last Updated

User Reviews

3.4/5

14 User Votes

Deleted all my firewall rules!
WizzzzzardSeptember 18, 2017
Pros
Easy to Install.
Cons
Deleted most if not all of my Windows firewall rules!
Summary
TinyWall deleted about 4 years worth of rules, some were custom rules I created! And this is why I don't disable system restore on my SSD C: like some online SSD guides are recommending, Windows created a system restore point before installing so I could go back to before I lost all my firewall rules! I thought this app would enhance my firewall options for existing and future rules.
More troubles than benefits
LongHorn204October 22, 2016
Pros
Easy to install, works with Windows firewall
Cons
Blocked antivirus updates permanently
Summary
Worked just great. For 1 day. Next day I noticed that my free AVG antivirus couldn't connect to the server to update definitions. I white listed the AVG window, update fail again. I white listed all AVG processes listed, at no effect. I went to the log and unlocked AVG entry listed as "closed", same result. Then I uninstalled Tiny Wall, that resolved the issue with AVG definition updates instantly.
Love This Firewall
boxturtle4September 17, 2015
Pros
Can be used along with the built in Windows firewall. Simple & easy to configure & use. Tiny footprint. No slow down of the computer. No popups!
Cons
No cons for this program.
Summary
Download and put in auto learn if don't want to make alot of decisions then switch back to normal.
Good but has serious flaws
yesterdayz_manMay 14, 2013
Pros
Easy to use
Cons
Doesn't work properly with multiple user accounts
Summary
Is a nice easy to use firewall for a single user machine but it simple does not work with multiple users and completely blocks every other user other than the one that installed it and gives an error when you try to change setting which is a pretty serious flaw and a deal breaker. I had to uninstall it as this makes it useless.
Simple, uses almost no recourses and no CPU!
bupbup777March 29, 2013
Pros
Lightweight!, Simple. Still testing it.
Cons
Unsure yet, still testing it. Perhaps a learn as you go option. But, not required. Perhaps enable capable in options would be nice, off by default.
Summary
So far So good!
seems easy to use, quick access to important settings
swupdtJanuary 22, 2013
Pros
the w7 firewall is quite unintuitive to configure for anyone not in depth familiar with it and/or coming from a separate firewall with a user-friendlier interface. tiny wall takes care of that quite well and while there is certainly room for improvement it does make handling w7's on-board firewall significantly easier
Cons
some quirks I've encountered took me to the brink of uninstalling the app for good. I've finally decided to give it one last try, though. problems being: re-setting your settings for no obvious reason, forcing you to reconfigure everything allowed. blocking all internet traffic arbitrarily, as it seems, (forcing you to reset your settings yourself - at least that helped). finally, after installing avg free 2013 not only the internet could not be accessed anymore but the tiny wall service kept starting and stopping itself over and over (leading to massive cpu consumption) while presenting itself as "unavailable", thus preventing you from restarting and/or configuring it manually. uninstalling it was the only solution. as said above, now running the third and last test.
Summary
nice if you can live with bugs and your requirements are not too high. however, if problems arise, they usually will prevent you from accessing the net and thus the many solutions you could find there. with a bit of work and more thorough bug-testing it would be recommendable outright Updated on Jan 22, 2013[1/2] Just installed the lastest version and usability-wise imho it has deteriorated. The handy auto-learn feature has been removed (yes, I know that it can lead to problems, esp. if you forget switching back to normal) and thus much more has to be configured manually. For configuration you have to use so-called profiles or individual port configuraton. Either way, you should know at least a bit about how the program you want to unblock works: if not the specific ports then at least if it works as a http(s) client or server, with pptp or l2tp etc. Or you use the profile "blind trust" which, according to its name (other information is not given), should unblock all. It didn't with "Bid-O-Matic", though. Updated on Jan 22, 2013[2/2] The program detection service does not recognize many of my programs (e.g. Waterfox or Cisco VPN Client; from Thunderbird it only detects the plugin-container etc.; otoh, Opera is detected twice). As soon as you hit "apply", the gui closes. You cannot edit several apps in a row but always have to open the ui again. Irritating. Finally, the program now can no longer be uninstalled from the control panel but only from its own tray-icon/gui. It seems to me that this would effectively have prevented my uninstallation last time (still the old version) when the TinyWall service had blocked net access completely, constantly started and stopped again and the icon itself had been greyed out - "not available". After these experiences, I'd judge it as both too risky and too complicated (or rather lacking in ease-of-use) to use this over the original W7 firewall controls. Uninstalling now - too bad, the concept was/is really promising
Nice program,but needs work
razzamatazzerDecember 20, 2012
Pros
I installed and used this for about a month.A lot of the times,when I either re-started or came out of sleep mode,the program would not allow me to change it's status,as the status was unknown.It also caused some issues when I uninstalled it(luckily I had a good system image to restore from).
Cons
I installed and used this for about a month.A lot of the times,when I either re-started or came out of sleep mode,the program would not allow me to change it's status,as the status was unknown.It also caused some issues when I uninstalled it(luckily I had a good system image to restore from).
Summary
It still has bugs to be worked out,but so far it's pretty good...
Pretty good!
JexthothNovember 10, 2012
Pros
When it says block everything, it means everything. I like the mode switching feature very well. I love how I can lock it so nothing can touch my firewall. It does not slow the system down too bad.
Cons
I hate finding new registry entries of invalid firewall rule each time I use my cleaner, but I can live with it for added security.
Summary
Works well with any antivirus I have tested so far. It is worth a try.
Has Alzheimer's
JackSpearsOctober 20, 2012
Pros
It seems to work fine.
Cons
It has reset my whitelisted exceptions three times now, forcing me to re-teach it which programs should not be blocked. Three strikes, and you're out -- I uninstalled this faulty product.
Summary
For a product that is supposed to streamline firewalls to be less obtrusive and high maintenance, it fails.
very pleased
August 31, 2012
Pros
compact, fast, uses low resources, easy to use
Cons
cant think of any right now
Summary
i was a massive fan of zone alarm but as the years roll by, it just got more and more buggy. clunky, just annoying, eventually i had enough and decided to switch. I am so glad i did, tinywall works exactly like a firewall should work, silently, in the background, its my silent guardian. okay so, when you first start using it, you may need to add specific programs manually to the cleared list but when your done with the config thats it job done :) i'm happy with it so far been using it for about two weeks, i would recommend this for sure.

Developer’s Description

By Karoly Pados

Harden and control the firewall built into Windows with ease, without annoyance.

Designed to harden and control the advanced firewall built into Windows, TinyWall includes a combination of features that sets it apart from both commercial and freeware firewalls.

TinyWall does not display popups that "urge users to allow". In fact, it will not notify you of any blocked action. Rather than displaying popups, TinyWall allows users to whitelist or unblock programs via various methods. For example, you can just initiate whitelisting by a hotkey, then click on a window that you want to allow. Or, you can select an application from the list of running processes. (Of course, the traditional way of selecting an executable also works.)

This approach avoids popups but still keeps the firewall very easy to use. It will also limit the list of unblocked programs to those that the user really needs, which is optimal from a security standpoint.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 not, while preventing other programs from modifying or overwriting your firewall settings.

Key features:- TinyWall lets you work while protecting you. There are no annoying popups but configuration is very simple.- Using the advanced Windows Firewall built into newer Windows versions, TinyWall's performance impact is negligible.- No drivers or kernel-components are installed so it does not influence system stability.- Automatic learning, blocklists, password lock, firewall tampering protection and built-in tight firewall rules help increase TinyWall's and your computer's security even further.- Firewall modes and lots of other convenience features make TinyWall extremely easy to use for anybody.- All packed into a download that is about a megabyte.

TinyWall for Windows

Key Details of TinyWall

Editors’ Review

Pros

Cons

Bottom Line

What’s new in version 2.1.10

TinyWall for Windows

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User Reviews

Deleted all my firewall rules!

More troubles than benefits

Love This Firewall

Good but has serious flaws

Simple, uses almost no recourses and no CPU!

seems easy to use, quick access to important settings

Nice program,but needs work

Pretty good!

Has Alzheimer's

very pleased

Developer’s Description