The general purpose of a firewall
is to stop traffic from accessing computers on a private network or
computer system. Windows 8 supports two firewall applications, Windows Firewall and Windows Firewall with Advanced Security. Windows Firewall can help protect an individual computer from harmful or unnecessary traffic. It allows for a simpler configuration set than Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, which provides granular control of specific ports and other options.
With the introduction of Windows Firewall with Advanced Security in
Windows Vista, Microsoft offered the ability to configure granular
rules about which traffic to allow into or out of a computer system. For example, Windows 8 allows IP version 6 Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
echo requests to come in by default. If certain computers should not
respond to these requests, the rule allowing the responses can be
disabled, and any further responses will fail.
1. Choosing Windows Firewall
Standard configuration options with Windows Firewall include:
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Allow An App Or Feature Through Windows Firewall This option enables administrators to configure the firewall based on applications that need specific access.
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Change Notification Settings/Turn Windows Firewall On Or Off Both of these items allow changes to the firewall configuration, including:
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Enabling/Disabling Windows Firewall Turns the firewall on or off
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Block All Incoming Connections, Including Those In The List Of Allowed Apps Blocks all incoming traffic to the computer
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Notify Me When Windows Firewall Blocks A New App Displays a balloon notification when a new app is blocked
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Restore Defaults This option returns Windows Firewall to its original configuration.
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Advanced Settings This option opens Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.
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Troubleshoot My Network This option launches the network troubleshooter.
Figure 1 displays Windows Firewall in its original configuration.
In addition to the configurable options of the standard firewall,
the initial window displays the status of the firewall for each
configured network type.
Windows Firewall can block or allow access to applications installed
on Windows 8. For example, Tailspin Toys has a written policy covering
the use of chat applications on company computer systems. Because the
organization has internal instant messaging (IM) to provide an
additional way for employees to communicate, public chat clients are
not allowed, and Windows Firewall blocks them. However, with the
evolution of social media and Internet marketing to help grow the
business of Tailspin Toys, this policy has been reviewed, and some
applications are being allowed for some individuals. By configuring
Windows Firewall, you can control which applications are allowed to
access the network and the Internet. The system administrator can
designate applications to use in the Tailspin Toys social media
marketing campaign while still preventing the use of public IM clients
on the network.
Configuring Windows Firewall to allow specific apps
To configure Windows Firewall to allow an application through, complete the following steps:
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Search for Firewall on the Start screen and select Settings.
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Tap or click Windows Firewall in the list of results.
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Tap or click Allow An App Or Feature Through Windows Firewall.
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Tap or click Change Settings to grant the elevated permissions necessary to change firewall settings.
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To allow an app already known by Windows Firewall, scroll through the Allowed Apps And Features list and select the check box next to the name of the app.
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Select Private to allow the app when connected to private networks
or select Public to allow it when connected to public networks.
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Tap or click Allow Another App to browse for an application that is not listed.
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Tap or click OK to save the new settings.
After configuring
a rule to allow the application through the firewall, open the
application to ensure that it can access necessary resources. If the
app does not function as needed, select the firewall rule associated
with it again.
Removing an app from a Windows Firewall configuration
You can remove an app that you have previously granted access
through the firewall. This works only with apps you have added to the
list; it does not work with Windows 8 apps or services. To remove the
previously allowed application, complete the following steps:
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Locate Windows Firewall by searching for Firewall on the Start screen and selecting Settings.
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Tap or click Windows Firewall in the list of results.
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Select Allow An App Or Feature Through Windows Firewall.
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Locate the application you want to remove from the Allowed Apps And Features List.
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Select the application, and then tap or click Remove. In the confirmation dialog box, tap or click Yes.
