How to use and configure Windows 7 firewall

Most importantly, select an adapted network location
The network location offers four different profiles, and these go hand in hand with Windows Seven firewall. It is for this reason that the machine’s user or network administrator should verify the location of the machine is properly set before all use, as this will guarantee the highest level of security possible. The online help will guide you on what the best choice is for your machine.

The Home Network allows you to see other computers and devices connected to the network, allowing users to also see your computer. The Office Network is for small companies or work areas, although you can’t create or join a home workgroup in the same way as in a home network. The Public network is activated in public areas like cyber-cafes, airports or WiFi hotspots (free or pay), while the Domain network is used for networks with a defined domain like inside enterprises. Placing your computer into this network will place your computer under the control of the network administrator, leaving you with no configuration options that can be changed by yourself.

To set your network location, go to Start, Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network and Sharing. You can also enter “network” into the search bar, and select “Network and sharing”. In our example, we set our computer to be in a Home Network.

The first time the firewall is started
Once Windows has been installed, the firewall is by default activated in automatic mode. If for some reason this isn’t the case, you can start it by clicking on the start menu, Control Panel, System and Security, Windows Firewall and click on the Activate or Disable Windows Firewall option. The other, faster, method is to enter the word “firewall” into the search bar and click on the “Use recommended settings” button which is displayed.

Authorise or block a program in classic mode
By clicking on “Authorise a program or function in Windows Firewall” when the button is present, a list will appear with the programs and functions that are authorized. Depending on the selected profile, for us Home Network, you will notice that Remote assistance, search for network and basic network are active in the private and public modes. Once a program is started which doesn’t appear in the Windows firewall list, a message will be displayed so that the user can select the action that they wish to associate to it. Here, Windows Live Messenger is indicated as trying to connect to the network and the user has to allow the connection if desired. You should take note that at this stage you can set the rule to private networks only, or for private and for public networks (by checking the corresponding boxes).

Once this has been done, the rule will be added to the existing ones. To better understand what effect a created rule will have on the machine, select the rule and click on the Details button. If the filtering rule is not being used, as the application is no longer in use, you can temporarily disable it by checking the box. If you are sure that this rule is no longer required, you can delete the created rule (delete button). This filtering mode isn’t perfect though, as outgoing traffic isn’t controlled. It is for this reason that it is better to use the Advanced mode, which we will look at in the next step.