Networking For Dummies, 9th Edition by Doug Lowe

Author:Doug Lowe
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Wiley Publishing
Published: 2010-03-08T16:00:00+00:00

The term perimeter is sometimes used to describe the location of a firewall on your network. In short, a firewall is like a perimeter fence that completely surrounds your property and forces all visitors to enter through the front gate.

In large networks, it’s sometimes hard to figure out exactly where the perimeter is located. If your network has two or more Internet connections, make sure that every one of those connections connects to a firewall and not directly to the network. You can do this by providing a separate firewall for each Internet connection or by using a firewall with more than one Internet port.

Some firewall routers can also enforce virus protection for your network. For more information about virus protection, see Chapter 23.

The built-in Windows firewall

Both Windows XP and Vista include a built-in firewall that provides basic packet-filtering firewall protection. In most cases, you’re better off using a dedicated firewall router because these devices provide better security features than the built-in Windows firewall does. Still, the built-in firewall is suitable for home networks or very small office networks.

Here are the steps that activate the built-in firewall in Windows XP or Vista:

1. Choose Start⇒Control Panel.

The Control Panel appears.

2. Click the Windows Firewall icon.

This step opens the Windows Firewall dialog box. Figure 10-2 shows the Windows Vista version.

3. Select the On (Recommended) option.

This option enables the firewall.

4. Click OK.

That’s all there is to it.

Figure 10-2: The Windows Vista Firewall dialog box.

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