Windows XP Hacks

Protect Your Computer with the Internet Connection Firewall

XP’s built-in firewall can do more than just provide basic protection. You can also use it to log potential attacks and send information about the intruders to your ISP.

Any time you’re connected to the Internet, you’re in some danger of intrusion, especially if you have a broadband connection. PCs with broadband connections are tempting targets, because their high-speed connections are ideal springboards for attacking other networks or web sites.

Whenever you’re connected, your system is among many constantly being scanned for weaknesses by crackers (malicious hackers) and wannabes (often called script kiddies) sending automated probes looking for vulnerable PCs. In fact, these kinds of probes are so common and incessant, you can think of them as the background radiation of the Internet.

One of the best ways to protect yourself against these probes and more targeted attacks is to use a firewall. Firewall software sits between you and the Internet and acts as a gatekeeper of sorts, only allowing nonmalicious traffic through.

In this hack, we’ll look at how to get the most out of the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), the firewall built into XP.

Tip

If you have a home network, your residential gateway may offer firewall protection. For details on how to optimize that protection and get the most out of other gateway features, see [Hack #49].

The ICF offers basic Internet security by stopping all unsolicited inbound traffic ...