Windows Firewall : Overview & Settings

Windows  Firewall : Overview & Settings

The firewall controls connections coming into your network so that only the connections that are allowed can get through. Much like the doorman will know all the residents and have a list of authorized guests, a firewall has something called an access policy.

An access policy is simply a set of rules that determine who gets in or out of your network and who doesn't. Firewall access policies are created by firewall administrators, who are IT experts that know and understand how to setup the firewall to protect your network.

      Firewall Functions

Firewalls perform two basic security functions for a network. These are known as packet filtering and acting as an application proxy.

          Packet Filtering

In packet filtering, sometimes called static filtering, the firewall operates at the packet level. What this means is that the firewall looks at each data packet as it comes to, or leaves, the computer network. While it's examining these packets, it uses user-defined rules to determine whether to accept or reject the packet. In this way, packet filtering is a type of gatekeeper that determines what can pass through, thanks to system monitoring and the network's rules.

        Application Proxy

The other function of a firewall is to act as an application proxy. Often referred to as an application level gateway, this firewall lives at the application level rather than the packet level. Packet filtering, for example, cannot recognize malware trying to break into your system because it doesn't have any basis for understanding the entire application. A firewall acting as an application proxy can actually stop information between your internal network and the network outside your walls because it understands the application being used.

        Rules in Firewall

• Inbound rules: These are to do with other things accessing your computer. If you are running a Web Server on your computer then you will have to tell the Firewall that outsiders are allowed to connect to it.

• Outbound rules: These are so that you can let some programs use the Internet, and Block others. You will want to let your Web Browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera...) have access to the Internet, so you will tell Windows Firewall that it's allowed.

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