A firewall help to keep your computer more secure. A firewall restricts information that comes to your computer from other computers and gives you control over the data on your computer. Additionally, a firewall provides defense against people or programs, including viruses and worms, that try to connect to your computer without any invitation.
Firewall act as a barrier that checks all information, also known as traffic, which comes from the Internet or from a different network. The firewall either turns traffic away or let it pass through to your computer, depending on your firewall settings.
In Microsoft XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), you may turn off or turn on the Windows Firewall. By default, Windows Firewall is always turned on for all the network interfaces. This is the configuration which provides network protection on new Windows XP installations and upgrades. This default configuration also helps you to protect your computer from the new network connections as and when they add to the system.
Although Windows Firewall is always turned on by default, but some computer manufacturers and the network administrators may turn the firewall off. You may not have to use Windows Firewall. You may install and run any of the firewall that you want. Evaluate the features of others, and then you can decide which of the firewall meets your requirements. If you decide to install and run any other firewall, turn off the Windows Firewall.
How to configure Windows Firewall settings
Statutory Warning This workaround can make your computer or your network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this but are providing this information to you so that you can implement it at your own discretion. You can use this workaround at your own risk.
To examine and configure your firewall settings, you can follow these steps:
- First Click on Start, then click on Run, and type wscui.cpl & then click OK.
- In Windows Security Center, click on Windows Firewall.
Windows Firewall will include the following tabs:
- General
- Exceptions
- Advanced
The General tab will have the following settings:
- On (recommended)
- Don’t allow exceptions
- Off (not recommended)
When you click on Don’t allow exceptions, Windows Firewall will block all requests to connect to your computer, including requests from all programs or services that are listed on the Exceptions tab. The firewall will also block discovery of network devices, file sharing, and printer sharing.
The Don’t allow exceptions option is helpful when you have to connect to a public network, such as one that is linked with an airport or with a hotel. This setting will help to protect your computer by blocking all the attempts to connect to your computer.
When you are using Windows Firewall with no exceptions, you can still view the Web pages, send and receive your e-mail, or use an instant messaging program.
The Exceptions tab allows you to add program and port exceptions to permit certain types of inbound traffic. You can also set a scope for every exception.
For home and small office networks, we will recommend that you can set the scope to the local network only, if it is feasible. This configuration enables all computers on the same subnet to connect to program, but drops all the traffic that originates from a remote network.
The Advanced tab let you configure the following:
- Connection-specific rules apply for each network interface.
- The Security Logging configuration.
- Global Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) rules which apply to ICMP traffic. (This traffic is used for the error and status information transmission.)
- Default settings.
If you need further assistance please visit http://www.livetechcare.com
To turn on the firewall in Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Service Pack 3. Disable the firewall to troubleshoot applications that do not function as expected behind a firewall.
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