2. Configuring Security for the Basic Windows Firewall
The basic Windows Firewall provides essential firewall
security for your computer. You can use the basic firewall to protect
your computer from many types of attacks. In Control Panel, you can
configure the basic firewall by clicking System and Security and then
clicking Windows Firewall.
As Figure 1
shows, the main page in Windows Firewall provides an overview of the
firewall configuration and status. You can use this information to tell
at a glance whether the firewall is on or off, whether notifications are
displayed when a program is blocked, and to which type of network you
are currently connected. The network type determines which firewall
profile is currently being applied. There are separate profiles
for:
In the left pane are links for accessing management settings,
including:
Allow a program or feature through Windows Firewall
Change notification settings
Turn Windows Firewall on or off
Restore defaults
Advanced settings
Clicking either “Change notification settings” or “Turn Windows Firewall on or off” opens the Customize
Settings page. You can use the options on the Customize Settings page to
turn the firewall on or off (see Figure 2) for each profile. To turn
the firewall on, click “Turn on Windows Firewall.” This setting allows
the firewall to block incoming
connections. To turn the firewall off, click “Turn off Windows Firewall
(not recommended).” This setting turns the firewall off and makes your
computer vulnerable to remote attacks through network and Internet
connections.
When you are connecting to networks that are less secure, you may
want to turn the firewall on and block all incoming connections to your
computer. To do this, select the “Turn on Windows Firewall” option and
the “Block all incoming connections...” checkbox. This setting ignores
all settings in the firewall configuration and blocks every connection
to your computer. You can turn off notifications by selecting the
“Notify me when Windows Firewall blocks a new program” checkbox.
Back on the Windows Firewall main page, clicking “Allow a program
or feature through Windows Firewall” opens the Allowed Programs page.
This page, shown in Figure 3,
allows you to control how programs communicate through Windows Firewall.
Many Windows components commonly used for networking have exceptions
listed in the Program or Port list. By default, you can view the
configured exceptions but cannot make changes. To modify the settings,
click Change Settings.
NOTE
Keep in mind that changing or disabling the default
configuration of Windows Firewall may leave your computer in a
vulnerable state. Take considerable care when changing these
configuration settings.
You can enable an exception for a program by selecting the
related checkbox and then selecting the profiles on which the exception
should be enabled. By default, the checkbox for the active profile is
selected.
To disable an exception for a profile, clear the related profile
checkbox. To disable an exception entirely, clear the program checkbox
or clear all the related profile checkboxes.
To learn more about an exception for a Windows component, select
the exception by clicking it and then click Details.
Using the “Allow another program” button, you can add new programs
to the exception list, giving you greater control over your computer’s
security parameters. You can permanently remove any exception you add by
clicking the exception and then clicking Remove.
Clicking “Restore defaults” and then clicking the Restore Defaults
button allows you to remove all Windows Firewall settings that you can
have configured for all network profiles. Although this might cause some
programs to stop working, it resets the Windows Firewall to its original
post-installation configuration.
3. Troubleshooting the Basic Windows Firewall
Like Window Defender, Windows Firewall runs as a service
on your computer. If you begin to experience problems
connecting to your network or you cannot connect to a specific computer
or resource on the network, you may be experiencing problems associated with
Windows Firewall. Other telltale signs of firewall problems include
other computers failing to connect to your computer or the inability to
ping, tracert, or access
network resources even though you have an IP address.
As with Windows Defender, start your troubleshooting by making
sure that Windows Firewall is on. If the firewall is on and you are
blocking all incoming connections, you might want to clear this setting
for your troubleshooting. Next, you should verify that the Windows
Firewall service is running through the Services node in Computer
Management. Verify that the service status is listed as Started, and
make sure the “Startup type” is set to Automatic. If the service is not
listed as Started, click the Start button to start the service. Also,
verify the logon credentials using the Log On tab associated with the
service’s Properties dialog box. You should see “Local service” as the
selected account.
If the firewall still isn’t working properly, you need to verify
the network location. When you click the Windows Firewall option in
Control Panel, the main firewall window shows the connected networks. If
you are on a private or domain network, other computers should be able
to connect to you by default. If you are on a public network, most types
of connections to your computer are disabled. If the wrong location type
is listed, you can change the location type in the Network and Sharing
Center by clicking the network type link, selecting the desired location
type, and then clicking Close. Don’t change the location type without
first considering the possible ramifications of doing so. If you are on
a public network such as a wireless hotspot in a cafe or airport, and
you specify that you are on a private network, you will open your
computer to attack.
If the firewall still isn’t working properly, check the exceptions
that are listed on the Allowed Programs page. In most configurations, a
home or work (private network) should have the following exceptions
enabled:
Core Networking
File and Printer Sharing
HomeGroup
Network Discovery
Remote Assistance
You might also have exceptions for:
If you believe the appropriate exceptions are enabled and you
still have problems, you can click the Restore Defaults button on the
main firewall page and then click the Restore Defaults button to go back
to the original postinstallation Windows Firewall settings and remove
any changes you have made to these settings since installing the
operating system. Keep in mind that this will also disable any custom
exceptions you have created, possibly causing certain programs to
function incorrectly. This is especially true for networked games, so
you will need to reenable your custom settings after verifying that your
network connections work correctly after resetting the default
configuration.
