Windows Vista Security For Dummies®

Chapter 11. Configuring Your Firewall

In This Chapter

• Finding out about Windows Firewall and Windows Firewall with Advanced Security interfaces

• Discovering what configurations options are available to you

• Seeing how to create inbound or outbound rules

The firewall built into Vista is officially known as Windows Firewall. This firewall is a software application that surrounds your computer from the networks to which you connect so you can protect your system and data from the other computers and users on the network. The firewall either allows or blocks incoming and outgoing communication to or from other networks based on the information that you set within the configuration of the firewall. You can configure the Firewall in Vista to be very specific (with lots of complex options), or you can allow Vista to manage the settings for you.

In this chapter, I discuss the various interfaces that you can use to manage Windows Firewall as well as the different ways in which you can set firewall rules to better secure your system. Two interfaces allow you to access and manage your settings for the Vista Windows Firewall: the Windows Firewall applet, and the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security applet. In this chapter, I take a look at what each offers.

Using the Windows Firewall Applet

You access the Windows Firewall applet through Windows Control Panel. Although this applet doesn't provide all the options available from the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security applet, it does provide a simple ...