Windows Firewall is an updated version of the original Internet Connection Firewall in Windows XP Service Pack 2. By default, the firewall is open on all NIC interfaces. Whether it is a new installation or upgrade of Windows xp Installation, this option provides more protection for network connections by default. However, if some applications are not working in this firewall filtering state, they will not be compatible with this new operating system. Updating the user interface and new features
To configure the Windows Firewall, you can open it from the Security Center, which is located in the Control Panel. Of course, you can also open the Windows Firewall Console directly from the Control Panel. There is also a third option. Enter the firewall console in the Advanced tab of the network connection. There are 3 options in the main tab: Enabled (Recommended) Do not allow exceptions to be turned off (not recommended) When you choose not to allow exceptions, Windows Firewall will block all network requests that connect to your computer, including in the Exceptions tab. List of applications and system services. In addition, the firewall will also intercept file and printer sharing, as well as network device detection. Using a Windows Firewall that does not allow exceptions is more appropriate for connecting to a personal computer on a public network, such as a computer that is commonly used at hotels and airports. Even if you use the Windows Firewall with the Exceptions option, you can still browse the web, send an email, or even use communications software. Programs and ports that block rule exceptions are allowed in the Exceptions tab to allow specific inbound traffic. For each exception, you can set a scope accordingly. For home and small office application networks, it is recommended to set the scope to a possible local network. Of course, you can also manually set the scope of the IP in the scope. In this way, only network requests from a specific range of IP addresses can be accepted. There is also a button to add a program in the Exceptions tab. If you want other clients on the network (outside the firewall) to be able to access a particular program or service on your local machine, and you don't know which port and which type of port the service or service will use, in this case You can add this program or service to the Windows Firewall exception to ensure it is accessible externally. The following settings can be configured in the Advanced tab: Connection Specific Rules Applied on Each Network Interface Security Record Configuration Global ICMP rules allow the computers on the network to share and communicate error and status information via the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). By default, all Windows Firewall settings can be restored to their default state. We can configure different rules for different network connections. Combining the settings in the Exceptions with the additional settings for the network connection in the Advanced Options is called the Windows Firewall "resultant set". Group Policy Configuration By using Windows Firewall, administrators can make the necessary protection for a public connection to a small network or a separate computer connected to the Internet. They provide security protection by deploying the appropriate configuration settings for the Windows Firewall on the network and launching it. Windows Firewall Group Policy configuration can be found in the following location of the Group Policy console: Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Network/Network Connections/Windows Firewall Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Network/Network Connections/Windows Firewall/Domain Profile Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates /Network/Network Connections/Windows Firewall/Standard profile In Windows XP SP2, Windows Firewall is set to block all ports by default, which means that server-to-client applications will not reach the client. In this case, the IPSEC can be set in the group policy to verify and trust the request sent by the server-side application to the client. The Group Policy setting of "Windows Firewall: Allow authenticated IPSEC bypass" allows you to specify whether IPSEC authentication for Windows Firewall is enabled to allow proactive incoming messages from the specified system. Command Line Tools Configuration and status information for Windows Firewall is available through the command line Netsh.exe. We can use the netsh firewall command to get firewall information and modify firewall settings. Commands in this context: ? - Displays a list of commands. add - Adds firewall configuration. delete - Deletes firewall configuration. dump - Displays a configuration script. help - Displays a list of commands. reset - Resets firewall configuration to default. Sets firewall configuration. show - Shows firewall configuration. Security Warning In Windows XP SP2, when a user runs an application locally and will serve as an Internet server, Windows Firewall will pop up a new security warning dialog (above) . You can add this application or service to the Windows Firewall exception using the options in the dialog. The exception configuration of the Windows Firewall allows for specific inbound connections. If the program does not work properly after using this method, you can isolate the problem by the following analysis steps: Add the program to the exception; Add the port to the exception; Use the firewall security record; Disable the firewall (not recommended).