The much anticipated new release of 8Signs Firewall incorporates several new features that users have requested.

• DNS Names
  Rules can now be based on DNS names in place of IP addresses. For example, you can now create a rule allowing RDP access _only_ from a particular host machine (i.e. your laptop running a dyndns client)
  
  
• Port Scan Exceptions List
  You can now designate IP addresses that are exempt from the Port Scan setting "Ban the IP address of the scanner". This is useful for people who want to ban (unknown) port scanners, but need to allow a monitoring application to scan their system.
  
  
• Log Viewer Filter
  An external log viewer application that allows you to create filtered views of your firewall log entries. This application requires Microsoft's .Net 2.0. Click on image below to enlarge screenshot of the new log file viewer.
  
  
  
  
  
• Command Line IP Group Modifications
  8Signs Firewall v3.0 adds the ability to modify IP Groups from the command line. These commands will allow you to add/delete/modify IP Address Groups. For example, let's say you have a rule that is allowing access to your SQL Server on port 1433. The Remote Addresses that this rule will apply to are in an IP Group that you've created called SQLAllow. If you want to add IP address 209.103.14.89 to this group (meaning that this IP could then connect to the SQL Server), the command line would be:
  dfw.exe -ipgroup add 209.103.14.89 -name SQLAllow
  Following is the command set that is available:
  dfw.exe -ipgroup update -name {name of group} -file {filename}
  dfw.exe -ipgroup add {address, address1-address2, address/mask} -name {name of group}
  dfw.exe -ipgroup delete {address, address1-address2, address/mask} -name {name of group}
  
  Command functions:
  update - will replace the entries in the group with those in the filename you have specified
  add - will add IP's to the group (can use single addresses, ranges, or address/mask combintations)
  delete - will remove IP's from the group