2. Choosing Windows Firewall with Advanced Security
Sometimes, just allowing applications or features to pass through
Windows Firewall is not granular enough for the type of control needed.
Specific ports might need to be configured as allowed, or a specific
set of ports might need to be blocked to ensure the security of the
computer. These types of configurations are best accomplished by configuring
Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, which can be accessed from the
Windows Firewall application by tapping or clicking the Advanced
Settings link.
Figure 2 shows Windows Firewall with Advanced Security before any changes have been made to the configuration.
Note
SECURITY ALERT CONTROLLING ADVANCED SETTINGS
You can control ports and other advanced settings individually only by using the advanced feature set.
Viewing the initial configuration
The initial settings displayed for Windows Firewall with Advanced Security are similar to those for Windows Firewall in Windows 8. The Overview pane, shown in Figure 2, displays each network profile along with information about how it is configured. The domain profile is also displayed in the advanced firewall overview.
Modifying a firewall profile
In Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, a profile
is the network type to which the settings apply. Profiles enable the
firewall to behave differently, depending on the type of network to
which the computer connects. For example, a laptop computer that
connects to the contoso.com domain when a user is at work might connect
to the wireless network at the local coffee shop on the weekend.
Windows might need to block more items on this local network and be
more secure than on the contoso.com network. The profiles available for
Windows Firewall with Advanced Security enable you to configure these settings.
The profiles available in Windows Firewall with Advanced Security are:
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Domain Profile Specifies firewall behavior when the computer is connected to a domain
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Private Profile Specifies firewall behavior when the computer is connected to a private network location (for example, a home network)
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Public Profile Specifies firewall behavior when the computer is connected to an unsecured or public network
To modify the profile settings, from the Overview pane (see Figure 2), select the Properties link in the Actions pane to open the profiles configuration dialog box shown in Figure 3. Each profile has a tab in the dialog box, and each tab contains the settings for the profile.
For each firewall profile, you can configure the following settings:
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Firewall State
Determines whether the firewall is on or off.
-
Inbound Connections Determines how the profile handles inbound connections. The following options are available:
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Block (Default) Blocks inbound connections that have not been allowed
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Block All Blocks all inbound connections, including those that have been allowed
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Allow Does not block inbound connections
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Outbound Connections Determines how the profile handles outbound connections. The following options are available:
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Protected Network Connections Identifies the network connections within the computer that are protected by the selected firewall profile. Select Customize to add or remove network connections from a firewall profile.
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Settings Identifies items that control the overall behavior of the firewall for a profile. Select Customize to modify the following items:
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Display A Notification Determines whether the firewall will display notifications for this profile.
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Allow Unicast Response Determines whether the firewall will allow a unicast response to broadcast traffic. A unicast response is a reply directed at the computer broadcasting items rather than broadcasting the response to all hosts on the network.
-
Allow Rule Merging These settings must be configured by using Group
Policy, but they allow local rules and Group Policy distributed rules
to be used together.
-
Logging Determines the level of logging for traffic the firewall sees by using this profile. Tap or click Customize to configure the following options:
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Name The path and file name of the log file.
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Size Limit (KB) The size of the log file.
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Log Dropped Packets Determines whether packets the firewall discards will be logged; No is the default.
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Log Successful Connections Determines whether packets passed through the firewall will be logged; No is the default.
