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Protecting Your Data: A Guide to Windows Firewall
Should You Use Windows Firewall?
This question should really be asked in the converse: Is there any reason you shouldn't be using Windows Firewall? Windows Firewall is very capable, it's quite efficient, and it's free. Those points alone may be enough to persuade you, but there are always a few naysayers out there.
I don't need Windows Firewall, I already use a hardware-based router and firewall on my high-speed Internet connection.
While it's true that a hardware-based firewalls and software-based firewalls perform very similar functions, there are some very good reasons to run both firewall types simultaneously. One significant advantage of a personal firewall over a hardware-based firewall is user notification. If a malicious program attempted to open an incoming port to the Internet on my computer, my personal firewall would wave a red flag and signal a loud buzzer to inform me of this program's evil ways. It's true that a hardware-based firewall would also prevent the malicious program from receiving information from the Internet, but I wouldn't get the fancy lights informing me of the evil work occurring behind the scenes.
That's why it's important to protect your computer at every turn, even when the protections tend to overlap. This concept of layered protection is called "defense-in-depth," and it's a methodology used to protect the largest and most important networks in the world. Your personal data is important too, so shouldn't you consider doing the same thing with your computer?
Windows Firewall is too simple for me. I need a big firewall with lots of buttons.
Who says geeks don't have machismo? With Windows Firewall, the impressive part is what you don't see. Behind the scenes, Windows Firewall watches all of your network communication and determines what traffic is good and what traffic is bad. If incoming network traffic is dropped, you never see it. Microsoft also built hooks into Windows Firewall so network administrators could remotely administer the firewall configuration. With this built-in enterprise network functionality, everyone's Windows Firewall configurations are sure to work properly on the company network. There are zero buttons on the Windows Firewall user interface that refer to this capability, but it's always there if you need it.
Like most personal firewalls, Windows Firewall filters incoming traffic only. There are no mechanisms in Windows Firewall to manage or control outgoing traffic to the network. This functionality is very similar to most hardware-based firewalls designed for home use, where only incoming network traffic is scrutinized.
Some people consider this incoming-only method of network fire prevention to be simplistic and flawed, but it's an extremely logical method of managing network traffic on a single workstation. It wouldn't be difficult to also create a filter for outgoing traffic, but it sure would be a major hassle! Imagine if every time you sent traffic out of your computer, you'd get a big red stop sign and a message to confirm your traffic request. That wouldn't be unreasonable if you only focused on interactive network communication, but many computers run programs behind the scenes that automatically send information to the network. These programs might include an anti-virus update, a Windows update session, a stock quote ticker, a weather watching program, or hundreds of other options. Are you tired of clicking on the stop sign yet?
I don't need Windows Firewall, I'm already using a personal firewall from another company.
Well, you got me with that one. In fact, this situation would be the only time you don't want to layer similar security functions. Personal firewall programs generally expect only one firewall running on a computer, and problems can arise when two or more personal firewalls are operating simultaneously on the same system. Most of the time, the installation process for the third-party personal firewall will automatically disable Windows Firewall because of these concerns.
