How 2
Configure The Firewall In Windows
You will start by clicking
the START button.
You will need to click the
CONTROL PANEL option.
You will now be in the
Control Panel and double click the WINDOWS FIREWALL icon.
You can also double click
the
I will click the WINDOWS
FIREWALL icon for this task.
I am now presented the
WINDOWS FIREWALL screen.
You can see I have my
Firewall enabled since it shows WINDOWS FIREWALL IS HELPING TO PROTECT YOUR
COMPUTER.
This is the preferred
setting. You do not want to disable the Firewall unless you have a good reason.
I will click CHANGE
SETTINGS.
You can see on the GENERAL
tab that my Firewall is ON (recommended)
If you click BLOCK ALL INCOMING
CONNECTIONS then nothing is coming through.
You could turn the Firewall
off by clicking the OFF radio button. (Not Recommended)
I will click the EXCEPTIONS
tab.
Here on the EXCEPTIONS tab I
can select exceptions to the firewall. (I would recommend leaving this alone)
unless
you find something is not working from the internet.
An example would be you have
a friend that needs to remote your computer from another part of the country.
You would need to click the
REMOTE DESKTOP box to allow them access in from the outside.
I will click the ADVANCED
tab.
Here on the ADVANCED tab I
can see my LOCAL AREA CONNECTION is protected by the Firewall.
You can click the RESTORE
DEFAULTS button to bring the Firewall settings back to the original thresholds.
I want to go back to the
main page and click on the
I am now in the NETWORK AND
SHARING CENTER.
I can see a layout of my
network.
I see TEMP-PC is connected
to the NETWORK and then I connect to the INTERNET.
I will click on VIEW FULL
MAP.
You can see my full network.
If I had a switch between
the TEMP-PC and the GATEWAY (Router and Last contact point before the Internet
on a network.)
with computers plugged into it I would see them also.
You will see under SHARING
AND DISCOVERY that I have many drop down arrows.
I will break them down in
the next image.
You can see once they are
broke down I could select many options. Turn things On or turn them Off.
These settings are a
preference thing of how you need to use your computer.
If you only have one
computer in your house then this information is useless to you from a network
perspective.
I will bring the arrow break
down back up.
I will click INTERNET
OPTIONS.
You can see here I could set
my HOME PAGE by removing the address of www.how2computer.com
and type the
new address in the box and then click OK.
I will click CANCEL to go
back to the main page since this area is covered in our Windows Internet
Explorer 7
How 2 section
on the main page of our website.
One other option is worth mentioning
on this page is the DIAGNOSE AND REPAIR section.
If you are having an issue
with your network then this might help you out.
I am going to switch to Advanced features.
Go to the START button.
In the START SEARCH box type
MMC and hit Enter.
The following box will open.
Click on FILE and select
ADD/REMOVE SNAP-IN… from the drop down.
You will now see the following
box.
You will scroll down the
list in the left hand pane until you come to the WINDOWS FIREWALL WI… option.
You will click to highlight
the WINDOWS FIREWALL WI…
as I have done and click ADD.
I will leave this set to
LOCAL COMPUTER and click FINISH.
You will now see the WINDOWS
FIREWALL WITH ADVANCE… is in the right hand pane and I have it highlighted.
I will select OK.
You see in the left hand
pane is the Snap-In.
I will double click on the WINDOWS
FIREWALL WITH ADVANCED SECURITY ON LOCAL COMPUTER which will break it down.
You will see I have an
OVERVIEW area which shows how the Firewall will react to different connection
types.
DOMAIN PROFILE shows how the
Firewall will act if connected to a business networked Domain.
PRIVATE PROFILE IS ACTIVE
shows how the Firewall will act if connected to at your home or in a workgroup
configuration.
PUBLIC PROFILE shows how the
Firewall will act if connected to a network in a public coffee shop or library.
All of these settings are
set by default for your protection.
I will now right click on
WINDOWS FIREWALL WITH ADVANCED from the top of the left hand pane and select
PROPERTIES from the list of options.
You can see here I have the
ability to change the settings for all the Profiles.
In each Profile you can
specify whether the Firewall is On or Off in the
You can change the INBOUND
CONNECTIONS and OUTBOUND CONNECTIONS.
Remember all the tabs have
the same info except for the IPSEC SETTINGS tab.
I will click on the
CUSTOMIZE button in the SETTINGS area on the DOMAIN PROFILE tab.
You can see I have the
option of changing the DISPLAYS, UNICAST, and RULE MERGING.
The DISPLAYS is a YES and NO
question.
The UNICAST is a Yes and NO
question.
You will notice the RULE
MERGING is only available if the computer is a member of a network Domain.
Select OK when you have
completed the settings.
Switching to the IPSEC
SETTINGS tab we find IPSEC DEFAULTS and IPSEC EXEMPTIONS.
IPsec is used to ensure private, secure communications
over Internet Protocol networks through the use of Cryptographic security
services.
In other words it helps protect
a VPN. (Virtual Private Network)
I will click the CUSTOMIZE
button.
You will see I can make many
changes. If you decide to change these settings make sure
you are aware of the outcome.
I will select CANCEL.
You can see on the main console
page you still have many things you can look at.
You see the INBOUND RULES
and OUTBOUND RULES.
I have selected INBOUND
RULES and now my center screen is populated with what is under control with
this rule.
You can right click any of
the Rules in the center pane for more information.
I will right click and
select PROPERTIES from the list for CONNECT TO A NETWORK PROJECTOR (TCP-In)
option from the center.
You can see I start on the
GENERAL page which allows you to click ENABLED or turn off this Rule by Unchecking the box.
The other tab that may need
adjusting is the USERS AND COMPUTERS tab since you may need to allow computers
Or Users to be Authorized.
You could check AUTHORIZED
COMPUTERS or AUTHORIZED USERS and then click the box under them along with
clicking the ADD and then selecting the correct user or
computer.
Select APPLY if you made any
changes.
The ADVANCED tab will show
what Profile this rule is associated with
and what Interface you may want to apply this particular
rule to.
Select OK if you made any
changes.
NOTE: By Default, Windows
Firewall is turned on.
NOTE: Do not turn off your
Firewall since you will leave your computer open to attack.
NOTE: Only turn off the Firewall
if you have another program that is running a Firewall.
NOTE: By default, all
outbound traffic is allowed.
This Ends The
Task