Windows-Firewall

The Windows Firewall is a personal firewall from Microsoft that is part of Windows XP ( since Service Pack 2), Vista and 7.

Operation

The Windows Firewall discards unsolicited incoming connections, and asks at the start of programs that provide server services to users who have administrator rights, according to whether inbound connections to the open ports of these programs are to be allowed. You can via the security center - which also -added with Service Pack 2 central administration office for personal firewalls and virus scanners - or the name Netfw.inf file can be configured. There, exception lists for specific ports and programs can be created in two sections.

Revision history

Even the operating systems Windows NT4 and Windows 2000 bring with onboard capabilities of packet filtering, the older versions of Windows are missing. The one hand, IPsec is a way of regulating set-based packet filtering, on the other hand filters for incoming connections can be defined at certain ports in the properties of the network connection.

With Windows XP, up to and including Service Pack 1, Internet Connection Firewall ( ICF) is included. It can be activated for individual network interfaces and checks incoming data packets to determine whether they have been previously requested. In the standard configuration, the ICF is not enabled for all network interfaces. This meant that many do not timely patched Windows XP machine fell internet worms " Blaster " and " Sasser " victim.

With Service Pack 2 for Windows XP additional security features were added: The Security Center has been introduced. The firewall functions were expanded and was renamed in Windows Firewall. It is when you install the service pack 2 or the Windows installation disk with integrated (English: slipstreamed ) Service Pack 2 automatically activated. Initially, a programming error affected the reliable operation of the Windows Firewall. This was eliminated shortly after the release of Service Pack 2 in a security update of 14 December 2004. Outward-oriented connections, Windows Firewall does not control under Windows XP. For inward connections no port ranges can be specified.

In Windows Vista, the function of the firewall was extended again: You can filter outgoing connections. In addition, the previously independent of the Windows Firewall IPsec policies were integrated and it has a remote maintenance access.