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this will also disable any custom exceptions you have created, possibly causing cer-

tain programs to function incorrectly. This is especially true for games, so you will

need to reenable your custom settings after verifying that your network connections

work correctly after resetting the default configuration. If you continue to have prob-

lems with connections, refer to the “Troubleshooting Advanced Firewall Problems”

section, later in this chapter, for more information.

Configuring Advanced Firewall Security

In addition to the basic Windows Firewall, Windows Vista includes Windows Fire-

wall with Advanced Security. At home, you probably won’t work much with this fea-

ture. At the office, however, especially if you work in a medium-size to large

organization, you may find it critical to know how the advanced firewall works.

Windows Firewall with Advanced Security allows you to open a custom manage-

ment console for use in managing advanced firewall features. As Figure 15-16 shows,

this console gives you direct control over inbound, outbound, and connection secu-

rity rules for the firewall’s domain profile, private profile, and public profile. To open

the new management console, follow these steps:

1. Click Start and then click Control Panel.

2. In the Control Panel, click System and Maintenance. Scroll down and then click

Administrative Tools.

3. In Administrative Tools, double-click Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.

Figure 15-16. Configuring advanced firewall settings using Windows Firewall with Advanced

Security

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Chapter 15: Protecting Your Computer with Windows Defender and Windows Firewall

Windows Firewall with Advanced Security gives you a host of new features and man-

agement options versus previous versions of Windows Firewall. You have object

classes on the left side of the window, and their associated properties on the right

side of the window. This follows the classic design of Microsoft products, making

management very intuitive. To configure specific settings, simply click the desired

object from the left and manage it from the right. You also have right-click context

menus available on the objects selected. Table 15-4 provides the specific listings and

their associated properties from the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security man-

agement console.

Windows Firewall with Advanced Security maintains a separate firewall profile for

each type of network to which you can connect. For each profile, you can manage

settings for the firewall state, inbound connections, outbound connections, notifica-

tion, unicast response, and logging. As Table 15-5 shows, the default configuration

for each setting is the same for each profile.

Table 15-4. Windows Firewall with Advanced Security features

Feature Associated properties

Windows Firewall with Advanced Security Provides an overviewof thefirewall profilesassociated withthe local computer

as well as Getting Started options.

Inbound Rules Provides an at-a-glance listing of the inbound packet filtering rules. Lists the

associated inbound rules created on the computer according to the rule name,

associated program group, profile, enabled status, action, and more.

Outbound Rules Provides an at-a-glance listing of the outbound packet filtering rules. Lists the

associated outbound rules created on the computer according to the rule

name, associated program group, profile, enabled status, action, and more.

Connection Security Rules Provides an at-a-glance listing of the IPSec rules. Lists the associated connec-

tion rules created on the computer according to the rule name, enabled status,

endpoints, authentication mode, authentication method, and associated pro-

gram group.

Monitoring Provides a detailed summary of the firewall’s domain profile, private profile,

and public profile according to the firewall state, general settings, and logging

settings.

Monitoring\Firewall Lists the standard inbound and outbound connection settings and their associ-

ated status, giving you one place to look for monitoring the currently active

inbound and outbound rules.

Monitoring\Connection Security Rules Lists the status of connection security rules.

Monitoring\Security Associations Lists the security associations for Main Mode and Quick Mode as well as their

status.

Table 15-5. Default configuration for Windows Firewall with Advanced Security

Setting Domain profile Private profile Public profile

Firewall State On On On

Inbound Connections Block Block Block

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You can configure the settings for the domain, public, and private profiles by com-

pleting these steps:

1. In Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, select the Windows Firewall with

Advanced Security node.

2. In the main pane, click the Windows Firewall Properties link. You’ll find this

link in the Overview section below the profile status listings. This opens the

management dialog box, shown in Figure 15-17.

3. Select the tab for the profile type you want to manage.

4. Use the “Firewall state” list to turn the firewall on or off for the selected profile.

Outbound Connections Allow Allow Allow

Notification Yes Yes Yes

Unicast Response Yes Yes Yes

Log Dropped Packets No No No

Log Successful Connections No No No

Figure 15-17. Managing the settings for each firewall profile

Table 15-5. Default configuration for Windows Firewall with Advanced Security (continued)

Setting Domain profile Private profile Public profile