Since the launch of Windows
the first firewall built into the XP system (Internet Connection Firewall), Microsoft has been steadily improving the firewall capabilities of its later systems. The Windows
firewall in the latest client operating system Windows
7 has been revolutionized to provide more user-friendly features and a significant improvement in the firewall for mobile users. In this article, we'll cover Windows
Firewall in Windows
7 and how to configure it with multiple firewall policies. Windows
History of Firewalls
The firewall software in XP only provides simple and basic functions, and can only protect inbound traffic and prevent any inbound connections that are not started locally. By default, this firewall It is closed. The SP2 system is enabled by default, allowing system administrators to enable firewall software through Group Policy. Vista's firewall is built on the new Windows Filtering Platform (WFP), which adds the ability to filter outbound traffic through the Advanced Security MMC snap-in. In Windows
7, Microsoft has further adjusted the firewall's features to make the firewall more user-friendly, especially on mobile computers, and can support multiple firewall policies. Windows
7 Firewall In Vista, the basic settings of Windows
7 firewall are set through the control panel program. Unlike Vista, you can also access advanced settings through the control panel (including configuring outbound connection filtering). Instead of creating an empty MMC and adding a snap-in. Just click on the Advanced Settings link in the left panel, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: In Windows
7, you can enter the advanced firewall settings through the control panel program. More network options Vista firewall allows users to choose public or private networks. In Windows
7, you have three options: Public networks, home networks, or work networks, both of which are considered private networks. If you choose the "Home Network" option, you can create a Homegroup. In this case, network discovery is automatically turned on so that you can see other computers and devices on the network and they can see your computer. Computers belonging to Homegroup can share pictures, music, videos, and document libraries, as well as share hardware devices such as printers. If you have files in your folder that you don't want to share, you can also exclude them. If you choose "Working Network", the network discovery is enabled by default, but you will not be able to create or join Homegroup if you add your computer to the Windows
domain (via Control Panel |
System |
Advanced System Settings |
Computer Name tab) and through domain controller verification, the firewall will automatically treat the network as a domain network. When you connect to a public wireless network or use a mobile broadband network at airports, hotels or cafes, you should choose "public network", network discovery will be off by default, so other computers on the network can't see you. Computer, you can't play Sichuan Opera or belong to Homegroup. For all network types, by default, the Windows 7 firewall blocks connections to programs that are not on the list of allowed programs. Windows
7 allows you to configure settings for each type of network, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Windows
7 allows you to configure multiple active modes for each type of network. In Vista, even if you have configured profiles for public and private networks, there is only one in a certain time. It's effective. If your computer is connected to two different networks at the same time, then things are not good, then all the connections will be used in the strictest mode, which means you may not be able to do all the required operations on the local network because The rules for the public network mode are used at this time. In Windows
7 (and Server 2008 R2), you can use different modes for each network adapter at the same time, using private network rules for private network connections, and public network rules for traffic from public networks.
Important small features In many cases, small changes may lead to higher usability. Microsoft has been actively listening to users' opinions, and they have added some important small features to the Windows
7 firewall. For example, in Vista, when you create firewall rules, you need to list the port number and IP address separately, but now you only need to specify the range, which saves a lot of time for this common management task. You can also create connection security rules to specify which ports or protocols are subject to Ipsec requirements in the firewall console, without the need to use the netsh command. This is a handy improvement for those who prefer to use the GUI. Connection security rules also support dynamic encryption, which means that if the server gets an unencrypted (but verified) message from a client computer, you can request more secure communication by requiring encryption. Using Advanced Settings Profiles With the Advanced Settings Console, you can set up profiles for each type of network, as shown in Figure 3. Figure 3: You can use the Advanced Settings Console to set up profiles for each type of network. For each profile, you can do the following: • Windows
Firewall switch state • Inbound connection (block, block all connections, Or allow) • Outbound connection (Allow or Block) • Display notifications (whether notifications are displayed when the program is blocked) • Whether unicast responses are allowed for multicast or broadcast traffic • In addition to using Group Policy firewall rules, Local firewall rules created by local administrators • In addition to using Group Policy to connect security rules, use local connection security rule logs created by local administrators. Vista firewall can be configured to log event logs to a file (by default, Windows< Br>\\System32\\LogFiles\\Firewall\\pfirewall.log). In Windows 7, the event log can also be recorded in the Applications and Services section of the Event Viewer, which is much easier to access. To view this log, open Event VIEwer, in the left pane, click Applications and Services Log |
Microsoft |
Windows
|
Windows
Advanced security options in Firewall, as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4: Firewall Event Log in Event Viewer in Windows
7 In the Event View log, you can create a custom view, filter logs, search logs or enable verbose logging. The Netsh command Windows
7 includes a backwards compatible netsh firewall, but if you run the change command, you will receive a message saying, "Important, 'netsh firewall' is outdated, please use netsh advfirewall firewall", if you want to know more For more information on this new command, please click http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947709. Summary The Windows
7 firewall is a product of extensive improvements to the Vista firewall and exposes its hidden advanced features. Many users (including some IT professionals) may not have known before that the Vista firewall can filter outbound traffic, detect and perform advanced configuration tasks, because these features are not clearly displayed in the firewall program in the control panel, on Windows< Br> 7, Microsoft created a built-in firewall, more complete than Vista, and became an effective alternative to third-party managed firewalls.