Enabling and Disabling Windows Firewall in Vista
Administrators can enable or disable Windows Firewall on all connections or on a per connection basis. To do so, click Windows Firewall from within Windows Security Center and then click Change Settings to display the Windows Firewall dialog box.
Using the General tab, administrators can choose to enable or disable the firewall.
By selecting On to enable Windows Firewall, all outside sources are prevented from connecting to the computer except for the unblocked connections configured on the Exceptions tab.
In this configuration, users are notified of any programs that are blocked, and users have the option to keep blocking, allow the program, or be prompted again later. Enabling the additional option, Block All Incoming Connections, ignores connections configured on the Exception tab and blocks all incoming connections. This option does not provide user notification. This setting is the preferred setting when the computer is used in a nonsecure environment outside the office environment.
By selecting Off to disable Windows Firewall, administrators can turn the firewall completely off. This configuration leaves the system open to outside attack because the firewall is turned off for all network connections.
Administrators can also enable and disable Windows Firewall on a per connection basis using the following steps:
1) In Windows Security Center, click Windows Firewall. Note the network location you are configuring and then click Change Settings.
2) In the Windows Firewall dialog box, make sure that the firewall is set to On and then select the Advanced tab. If prompted, confirm the action by clicking Continue.
3) In the Network Connection Settings section, each of the configured network connections is listed. Clear the check box for a connection to disable Windows Firewall for that connection. Select the check box to enable Windows Firewall for a connection.
4) Click OK when finished enabling or disabling Windows Firewall connections.
Tags: security,network,firewall
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