As you learned in previous installments, the Windows Firewall Settings window has three tabs that let you configure basic firewall settings. The General tab is used to turn the firewall on or off while the Exceptions tab is used to control how programs communicate through the firewall. Now we’ll look more closely at the last tab labeled Advanced.

Advanced Tab
From the Advanced tab, you will see the available network connections on your system that can be protected by the Windows Firewall. A checkmark next to the available network connection indicates that the Windows Firewall is protecting the connection. Clearing the checkmark, of course, removes the protection.

If you worked with Internet Connection Firewall in Windows XP, you will notice that two tabs are no longer available under Vista. The Security Logging and ICMP tabs have been removed from the Windows Firewall Setting window. These setting are now configured through the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security window.

Advanced Settings
As I mentioned earlier, there are two interfaces for configuring the Windows Firewall. The majority of settings must be configured through the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security console.

To access the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security console:

1. Click Start and click Control Panel.
2. Click Classic View.
3. Double click Administrative Tools.
4. Double click Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.

For some, that is the exciting part. For less experienced users, the numerous settings can be very overwhelming. If you are not familiar with firewall settings, I highly recommend sticking to the basic settings we have already discussed.

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