Windows Vista Firewall
{"Image DocumentName": "Windows Vista Firewall", "Image ImageDescription": "If your computer is not protected when you connect to the Internet, hackers can gain access to personal information on your computer. These hackers can install code on your computer that destroys files or causes malfunctions. They can also use your computer to cause problems on other home and business computers connected to the Internet. A firewall helps to screen out many kinds of malicious Internet traffic before it reaches your system. [BUILD1] One of the new features with the Windows Firewall with Windows Vista is the integration with IP Security. IP Security, commonly called IPsec, is a suite of IP protocols used to provide secure communication. IPsec policies and filters distributed by Group Policy, provide authorization for authenticated users and machines. IPsec provides the ability to protect communication between workgroups, local area network computers, domain clients and servers, branch offices, extranets, and roving clients. Although support for IPsec is built into Windows 2000 and later, in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, Windows Firewall and IPsec are configured separately. While the purpose of Windows Firewall was to block or allow incoming traffic, IPsec could also be configured to block or allow incoming traffic. Because block and allow traffic behavior for incoming traffic could be configured through two different and separate services, it was possible to have duplicated or contradictory settings. Additionally, Windows Firewall and IPsec supported different configuration options for specifying allowed incoming traffic. For example, Windows Firewall allowed exceptions by specifying the application name, but IPsec did not. IPsec allowed exceptions based on an IP protocol number, and Windows Firewall did not. [BUILD2] In Windows Vista, the Windows Firewall and IPsec have been combined into a single configurable tool with the new Windows Firewall with Advanced Security snap-in, which now controls blocking and allowing of inbound and outbound traffic, in addition to protecting traffic with IPsec. Also, commands within the netsh advfirewall context can be used for command line configuration of both firewall and IPsec behavior. The integration of Windows Firewall with IPsec provides computers running Windows Vista with an authenticating firewall. Another improvement with the new Windows Firewall is the more intelligent firewall rules. Now administrators can specify security requirements such as authentication and encryption. Also Active Directory computer and user groups can be specified. Enterprise management can benefit from the addition of outbound filtering in the Windows Firewall. Previously only inbound communications were filtered. Outbound filtering can improve business productivity. For example, an administrator can block sharing through a peer-to-peer application that you don\u2019t want communicating in your network. Additionally, if an application has a known vulnerability without a patch available, you can set up a rule that allows that application to be used, but not communicate outbound in the network.", "Image XResolution": "37", "Image YResolution": "37", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Centimeter", "Image Software": "SlidePlayer", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered"}