One of the security features included with Windows Vista (and Windows XP Service Pack 2) is the Windows Firewall. It is a built in firewall component that is designed to protect your computer when connected to an un-trusted network such as the Internet. Because of the importance a firewall plays in protecting your computer, it is enabled by default when you install Vista.

You may want to take this one step further and monitor the type of traffic that is being discarded by your firewall. This can be done by enabling security logging using the steps outlined below.

1. Click Start, All Programs, and Administrative Tools.
2. Select Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.
3. Click Windows Firewall Properties.
4. Click one of the profile tabs, such as Public Profile.
5. Click the Customize button within the Logging area.
6. Enable firewall logging from the dialog box that appears.
7. Click OK.

Once you enable security logging, information is written to a log file that is stored in the Windows directory.

[tags]firewall log, vista, windows firewall, internet security[/tags]