There are a few things however, you should be aware of when you are using the Windows 7 Firewall. While outlining a few important points, this article will introduce you to the basic features of the Windows 7 Firewall, and you will learn how to easily customize its behavior.

1. Choosing A Network Location Determines Firewall Settings

When you connect to a new network, Windows asks you whether this is a Home, Work, or Public Network. The selection has an impact not only on the network settings, but also on how your Windows 7 Firewall treats network traffic.

Once you have assigned a network to a certain profile, i.e. home, work, or public, the firewall rules for that profile apply to this network connection. You can customize the settings for each profile, i.e. network type and thus create multiple active firewall profiles.

If you are unsure which profile you assigned your network to, you can go to the Windows Firewall Control Panel application through > Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Firewall or simply search for > Windows Firewall in the > Start search box. Here you will find which network you are connected to and which settings apply to it. If your computer is connected to a domain, you may also see a profile called > Domain networks.

You should know that in terms of firewall settings, there is no difference between a home or a work network. Both are considered private and are thus thrown into the same pot. If you are using a WiFi connection at work, however, you might consider designating it as a public network and thus assign it a more restrictive network profile.

2. You Can Allow Or Deny Programs To Communicate Through the Windows Firewall Based on the Network Group

As mentioned above, a firewall controls network traffic and can deny programs to communicate through your connection. By default, the Windows 7 Firewall blocks inbound connections and allows outbound connections. However, you can customize this behavior.

The simple way to do this is to go to > Start and type > allow program in the search field. Click the first link that says > Allow a program through Windows Firewall. This will open the list of > Allowed Programs, which really is a list of allowed and denied programs, though.

It’s a list of both because you can set a checkmark to allow or deny programs to communicate through the Windows Firewall or you can click the > Allow another program… button to add a program not yet on the list. To make changes, you may first have to click the > Change settings button.

As you can see in the screenshot above, you can choose a different behavior based on the type of network you are connected to. Dropbox, for example, has added itself to the list and is set to communicate only when connected to a private or home network, while traffic via a public network is disabled. That’s why it’s important to choose a network type as outlined in point one.

3. Allowing Programs to Add Custom Rules to the Firewall

As seen with the Dropbox example above, some programs add themselves to the list of allowed or denied programs. Typically, this requires user input as it changes the default behavior of the Windows 7 Firewall, for example by allowing inbound traffic for the respective program. When you install a new program and are asked to confirm an exception, you should carefully review this request before you click > Allow access, as you are potentially opening the gates for malicious software.

You can also check the status of notifications in the Windows Firewall Control Panel application. Click > Change notifications settings in the left-hand sidebar, and be sure that your Windows Firewall is turned on. If you wish to be notified of changes, check > Notify me when Windows Firewall blocks a new program.

If you ever find that you have issues with inbound traffic because a program didn’t add itself to the list of allowed programs, don’t make the mistake of opening an entire port. It is much safer to just add this program to the list of allowed programs manually, than to open a port.

Summary

The Windows 7 Firewall very much operates on a ‘set and forget’ basis. The type of communication is easily customized based on individual programs and network profile. For the average user, however, adding custom rules manually via the advanced settings view can be a daunting task. This is where I recommend to look into Windows 7 Firewall Control, a program we have previously reviewed on MakeUseOf.

Do you use the default Windows Firewall or do you prefer a third party application? Did you ever consider setting up a router firewall or an intermediate computer that acts as a firewall for your private network? Are firewalls overrated?

Image credits: beboy

In this article I will show you how to block unsafe websites by adding blocking lists to the Windows Hosts file. The Hosts file allows you to re-direct domain names to an IP address of your choice. Subsequently, you can use this knowledge to block any domains, such as those distributing advertisements, banners, cookies, and more.

What Is The Windows Hosts File?

The Windows Hosts file is a plain text file Windows refers to for mapping hostnames to IP addresses. The file is loaded into the cache at startup and every time Windows queries a DNS server, it first checks the Hosts file for redirection information. Simply put, the Hosts file can be used to re-direct a domain name to a different IP address and hence to a completely different website or simply back to the local computer.

What Are The Benefits Of Blocking Sites Using The Hosts File?

First of all you can block malicious websites using excluding lists that contain known offenders.

Secondly, if those lists contain ad servers or trackers, you will experience faster website loading times, as all ad and tracking related apps are blocked from loading. Moreover, this protects your privacy and enhances security since your browsing habits are shielded from many known trackers.

Finally, you can play a prank on people by re-directing any website you like, for example Bing to Google.

How Can I Edit The Windows Hosts File?

Mark wrote an article explaining how to block websites via the Hosts file, which covers almost everything you need to know: Create your own Internet Filter with the Windows Hosts file.

I will briefly describe how to edit the file in Windows 7.

• Open Notepad as Administrator. For this go to > Start > All Programs > Accessories, right-click > Notepad and select > Run as administrator. When asked whether you > (…) want to allow the following program to make changes to the computer, select > Yes.
• From within Notepad go to > File > Open and browse to the Hosts file, which is located under > C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc. The folder will be empty as it’s only showing *.txt files. In the bottom right of the folder click the drop-down menu and select > All Files.

Where Can I Find Blocking Lists?

A great resource for a customized Hosts files to block ads, banners, and other parasites, can be found on WinHelp2002. The Hosts file on offer has been updated regularly, most recently in June 2011. You can download the file in plain text or as a ZIP file. The Zip file contains a batch file (mvps.bat) to automatically rename and replace your current Hosts file. However, you can also manually add the list via copy and paste from the text file to your Hosts file, following the instructions above.

You can also find Hosts files on hpHosts. You can either follow the installation instructions on the website, or manually copy and paste the list from their Hosts text file into your existing Hosts file.

There are other resources that share blocklists. However, you need to make sure you get a list that has the format ‘IP address domain name’ (without quotes), for example ’127.0.0.1 google.com’ (without quotes), which would redirect the domain name google.com to the IP address 127.0.0.1 (localhost). Of course you can manually add the IP address in case you get a list that is lacking it.

What Tools Can I Use to Manage My Hosts Files?

I recommend HostsMan. Apart from providing a simple interface to add entries to your Hosts files, it also allows you to import blocking lists from hpHosts via the > Update Hosts button.

You can either merge this data with your current Hosts file or overwrite it. I recommend merging, since this allows you to simply delete the added information later and not lose anything you have in there already.

You can also edit the Hosts file using a convenient user interface.

Unfortunately, HostsMan does not currently allow you to import your own text files and merge them with your Hosts files. This is something you need to do manually.

If you liked this article, also check out the following posts on MakeUseOf:

• 3 Best Resources To Find Sites That Are Known To Have Spyware & Viruses
• Block Websites Without Any Network Experience using Any Weblock
• 3 Free Real-Time Malware Protection & Removal Tools

Did you know about the Hosts file before and what are you going to use it for now?

Image credits: John David Bigl III

Even though, in the twenty years I’ve been a Mac user, I have never experienced any known security issues, I will at least use the Firewall application installed by default in Mac OS X. It’s easy to set up, but there are a few considerations you should know about if you have not yet activated the firewall on your Mac.

The Purpose Of The Firewall

Without getting too technical, the purpose of a firewall, as the name implies, is to keep out malicious traffic from invading your computer through various networks and protocols. As you will know, when you’re using the Internet, all kinds of data traffic comes through different ports of your computer via email (typically port 25), your web browsers (port 80), chat and webcam applications, and mobile remote applications requiring access in order to perform certain functions. Each program wanting to communicate with a device does so through a special sort of file called a socket, “which specifies the protocol being used, the local IP address and port, and, in some cases, also the remote IP address and port.” (Mac Security, by Joe Kissell).

The job of the firewall is to determine which data and networks can have traffic access to your computer or mobile device. If you leave the firewall off, then you’re saying to the computer world, “please, scan my computer for open ports and come right in”.

Enabling The Firewall

To enable the Firewall on your Mac, open System Preferences and select Security.  Please note that these instructions are based Mac OS X Snow Leopard. They should also apply to Leopard, with a few slight differences. If you are already running a third-party firewall application like Little Snitch, then there shouldn’t be a need to run Apple’s default firewall).

Next, choose Firewall. To make changes you will need to click the padlock and enter your administrative password. Click the Start button to turn on the firewall.

The Firewall application will ask you to approve any applications or programs already installed on your computer.

Many of these requests may come from iOS mobile related applications. If you are aware of these applications and you don’t see any risk in allowing them access, then click Allow.

• If you have File Sharing and Printer Sharing turned on, Firewall will automatically give network access to these features. You can review the lists of applications that have been approved for network access.
• The + button means that you can manually add applications which you want the firewall to allow. However, based on my experience and research, you shouldn’t have to manually add applications. You simply approve the ones that ask for connections.
• Checking the “Enable stealth mode” is optional, but it is recommended. Stealth mode means that when an outside computer is trying to get access to your computer network and you deny it, that remote application will not be notified that traffic was denied. This way, the accessing computer will assume there’s nothing there to access.
• Unless you have some particular reason to do so, leave the “Block all incoming connections ” unchecked, and check the “Automatically allow signed software to receive incoming connections“.

Enabling the Firewall on your computer shouldn’t be a problem, especially if you are a home or small-office user. Some Internet routers also offer firewall-like protection to Internet traffic, so that if you link to a website which the router find suspicious, a warning will pop up and ask how you want to proceed.

Let us know if you have enabled the Firewall on your Mac and how well it has worked for you. For Windows users, check out Matt’s article about three free applications, and Steve’s 7 Top Firewall Programs To Consider For Your Computer’s Security.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Using a wireless connection makes security even more important because anyone who gains access to your network can use it to conduct illegal activities without your knowledge.

There are, however, some methods that can be used to keep tabs on the security of your Internet connection. Some are simple, while others are very complex, and no single practice covers all possible security problems. Taking the right steps will reduce the risk of your Internet connection being compromised, however.

Install A Firewall

The worm, a common security threat, typically replicates itself by randomly spamming information at other computers in search of a security flaw. If the flaw is found, the worm can inject itself into a system without the user doing anything. This can lead to your computer being enlisted into a botnet – a series of infected computers that follow commands given by the worm that has infected the system or, in some cases, by the person or persons who created the worm. Botnets are often used to send spam and perform denial-of-service attacks against websites.

Installing a firewall will dramatically reduce the chance that your computer will be infected by a worm and forced into the service of a botnet. A firewall, as you may know, is a barrier that filters out Internet traffic which may be malicious. This prevents many common attempts to hijack or infect a computer via network security flaw. Windows now ships with an acceptable firewall, but you can further enhance your security by downloading a free firewall or purchasing one as part of an Internet security suite.

Use Network Monitoring Software

Home networks are increasingly common as homes that once had only a single computer are adding additional devices. This includes not just new computers but also game consoles, Blu Ray players, televisions and various appliances that feature wireless connectivity.

This array of devices can make it difficult to identify a device that isn’t supposed to be connected if it appears. Networking monitoring software solves this issue by keeping track of your network and shaping the information it gathers into an intuitive display. This makes it possible to analyze the devices on your network and sniff out those that don’t belong. Some network monitoring software also lets you designate certain devices as trusted. If a new device pops up you’ll be given an alert, or the device will automatically have its network access restricted.

Tech-savvy readers will probably note that this same basic functionality can be achieved by monitoring the MAC addresses that show up when you log into your router. For most users, however, network monitoring software will be the better choice.

Try To Crack Your Wireless Internet Password

If you are using a secure wireless connection the only thing that protects your Internet security is the password you’ve chosen for your network. Anyone who compromises this password can easily make full use of your Internet connection. Network monitoring software would likely display the new, unknown hardware connecting to your network, but if you’re not home the damage may be done before you can take action against the intruder.

The best defense against this is a long password that makes use of many different characters. This decreases the chance that a brute-force attack will be able to crack your wireless password. In order to check up on your security you can try to break your password with your own computer. The most popular tool for this purpose is Aircrack, which can be used to attack WEP and WPA encryption.

The only issue with this is the complexity of the program – if you’re not already versed in the technical nitty-gritty of wireless networking you may have trouble using a tool like Aircrack. The geeks who design these programs rarely have accessibility in mind.

Conclusion

As is often the case with computer security, you can’t 100% guarantee that your Internet connection will never be cracked. However, taking these steps can protect you from most threats.  Hackers are clever folk, but they rarely have reason to bang against someone who is taking steps to protect their Internet connection when they can instead pick on your grandparent’s poorly secured connection.

Let us know if you have any other methods for testing the security of your Internet connection.

There are many tools out there to help you manage your firewall’s operations, but there aren’t too many free ones. Putting a list together may help you contrast and compare the decent programs that are out there.

In this article, I am going to cover the top free firewall operations management tools, detailing their key features and where to find them.

1-3. Comodo Internet Security, PC Tools Firewall Plus Free Edition, ZoneAlarm Free Firewall

Last month, Matt wrote about The Three Best Free Firewalls for Windows. The three firewall programs he wrote about are definitely worth revisiting and are a good starting point for this list. Since they were covered previously, I will only briefly cover them here.

Comodo, always a popular choice among our readers (see ’08 poll), has merged its antivirus program with Firewall Pro, creating a free security program for everyone. If you are only interested in the firewall (or antivirus), the installer does let you opt out of either of the components.

PC Tools Firewall Plus is a powerful personal free firewall that protects your computer from hackers and intruders. It can stop Trojans, backdoors, and keyloggers from damaging your computer and stealing your private information.

ZoneAlarm Free Firewall is an excellent tool for replacing the default Windows firewall. It’s always among the top 1 or 2 rated firewall programs and includes better outbound protection, antiphishing guards, and ZoneAlarm’s behavioral detection network.

4. Ashampoo FireWall Free

Ashampoo FireWall Free is an easy-to-use program that lets users control and prevent unwanted connections to the Internet. It has a tabbed interface that is easy to navigate and comes readily configured.

The program provides automatic notifications when an app attempts to connect to the Internet and gives you the power to block or allow such actions. You can also go in and add rules for programs manually, along with viewing connection stats and logs.

With the Internet Cleaner feature, you can erase evidence of Internet activity as well.

5. Online Armor Free

Online Armor has all of the normal features of a firewall, but it also comes with a keylogger guard, tamper protection, script and worm protection, and autostart protection. It can defend you from a wide range of attacks, which can be pretty useful.

The program installs incredibly fast, and offers many initial settings and configurations during the start-up wizard so you can be all set right from the beginning.

6. Agnitum Outpost Firewall Free

Next up on the list is Outpost Firewall. This program offers many advanced features that you would usually only find with commercial software, including proactive protection against malware, control over installed applications’ activity, illegal termination prevention capabilities, policy correction for popular applications, and real-time network statistics.

7. Filseclab Personal Firewall Professional Edition

Filseclab Personal Firewall Professional Edition is another great free firewall. It can block most attacks from worm viruses and Trojans, as well as some main Adware and Spyware.

It supports real-time monitoring, interactive rules creation, password protection, logging, live updates, and privacy protection. Windows Security Center integration, including balloon message alerts, are also among its unique features.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a replacement for the default Windows firewall, there are a lot of great, free alternatives available to you. While features may vary, you will find that all of the programs mentioned are more than capable of handling all of your firewall needs.

What do you think of the list? Did I miss any great firewall apps? Leave your thoughts, ideas, and opinions below!

Image Credit: ruzzilla3000

However, having a firewall on your computer is one thing, using it to its fullest is quite another. You need to configure rules, allow certain applications and deny others. You might also want to forward some ports so that you can use the computer to serve a website or files.

Windows ships with the Windows firewall, which is good and up to the task in most cases, however the interface is not very intuitive to the beginner. Windows 7 Firewall Control attempts to change that and makes configuring and managing the Windows Firewall easier.

Although the name implies Windows 7, the software works on Windows Vista just as well. At a mere 2MB and the option of a portable version, it is definitely worth checking it out. The software doesn’t install any drivers of its own to filter network traffic. Instead it uses the Windows Filtering Platform (or the Windows Firewall) to achieve its objective.

You might ask why anyone might need Windows 7 Firewall Control if all it uses is the Windows Firewall and doesn’t have any fancy acronyms or advanced technology that might make it useful. The answer is because it makes managing firewall rules and zones so much easier that configuration is a snap and you can thus get more out of the Windows Firewall with rules finetuned to suit your requirements.

In addition, you do not require any third party firewall software in the first place if all you need to do is monitor or filter traffic and manage which software can make connections with the outside world. If on the other hand you are on a computer that needs to be protected from hackers than let me warn you, no firewall is safe enough, but in that case, it makes more sense to have a full blown firewall software in place.

Anyhow, it’s time to take a look at some of the features and functionality of Windows 7 Firewall Control. When you run the software for the first time you will get a couple of dialog boxes, asking you if you want to allow a particular network connection or not. Depending upon what it is that has popped up you can either approve or deny the connection, thereby creating a rule for the current session or permanently.

As you move along and approve or deny network connections you can view them in Windows 7 Firewall Control’s user interface accessible via the system tray. The interface looks a lot like the ever so familiar Windows Task Manager. The Programs tab lists the programs on which the rules have been configured for. If any application that is not listed here tries to set up a network connection you will receive a notification asking you if you want to allow or disallow the connection.

The last column in the Programs tab mentions the Zone which is assigned to the program. There is a list of pre-configured zones in the Zones tab and you can create your own if required. A Zone basically groups a set of rules that will be applied to all the programs that are configured to work with a particular Zone.

Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer for example can be configured to run in the WebBrowserZone, making them inherit a set of common rules that you might want to apply to all the web browsers.

In addition to this, Windows 7 Firewall Control allows you to forward ports easily and also syncs these settings with any external router you might be using. The software also displays network activity statistics for all the programs listed under the Program tab. If configuring rules and zones each time an application tries to use the network is too much for you, you can also configure a default zone and tell Firewall Control to disable the popup and put all newly detected applications in the default zone.

Overall, Windows 7 Firewall Control is an excellent piece of software that makes using the existing Windows Firewall features a whole lot easier. Have it running and in a day or two, chances are that you will be having well configured rules and making full use of the Windows Firewall.

How much do you use the Windows Firewall? Do you think Windows 7 Firewall Control would help you use it better?

One way of protecting yourself is, of course, through the use of antivirus program. An antivirus can detect a problem and quarantine the file which is attempting to infect your system. However, antivirus programs can’t catch everything, and they don’t monitor your network connection for unauthorized attempts to access your computer.

That is the job of firewall software. When combined with an antivirus program, firewall software can provide excellent protect against a wide range of threats. Let’s take a look at three best free firewall programs which will help you protect your Windows 7 PC.

Comodo Internet Security

Comodo has long been considered one of the best free firewall tools available. Comodo is now a full Internet security company providing many for-pay solutions, but they still provide a comprehensive free Internet security suite (with firewall) which has been given a five-star rating from CNET. Comodo technically includes an antvirus and a firewall, and the antivirus is quite good. Of course, it is up to you if you want to actually keep the antivirus protection active or you choose to just use the firewall.

Comodo has many advanced features which can help protect your computer if malware does become active on the system. This includes the ability to lock down specific files and registry keys. Comodo also has received praise for being relatively light on system resources, which is commendable for any free product. This makes it the best free firewall for computers which are older and sometimes struggle running firewall programs.

Be aware that Comodo does install the Ask.com toolbar by default, but you can opt out if you desire.

PC Tools Firewall Plus Free Edition

A powerful firewall capable of providing excellent protection for your computer, PC Tools Firewall Free Edition offers a focused feature set well suited for tackling network security issues.

PC Tools Firewall Free Edition has been praised for its great interface which makes it relatively easy to use compared to other free firewalls. Many users have found that the PC Tools Firewall is easier to install than other options and that it has a low rate of false positives, an annoying trait which plagues some free firewalls. PC Tools Firewall also received a four star rating from CNET, placing it just behind Comodo.

PC Tools Firewall will ask to install Spyware Doctor, a free anti-malware program. Spyware Doctor is not a third party program but rather another program made by PC Tools. It is competent, but the free version isn’t a replacement for antivirus software. Overall, PC Tools is a great choice for users who have been confused by firewall interfaces in the past.

ZoneAlarm Free Firewall

ZoneAlarm was one of the first free firewalls available for Windows computers. It has a long history of providing great protection against numerous types of threats. While the basic functions of ZoneAlarm remain the same as ever, ZoneAlarm has been refined significantly over the years.

The free version of ZoneAlarm has many advanced features, such as automatic Wi-FI security, anti-phishing protection, and behavioral threat detection. Many of these extra features are not really the responsibility of a firewall, but it is always nice to have extra protection. The core firewall features of ZoneAlarm Free remain strong, prompting a five-star review from CNET. The outbound protection is cited as being particularly strong. Outbound protection helps ensure that malware attempting to relay data from your computer to another computer will not be allowed to function

ZoneAlarm can appear a be daunting, but it provides the best overall firewall protection and is a good choice for advanced users.

Which is your favourite firewall program? Why is it better than the ones listed here? Tried any of the apps above? Share your thoughts in the comments.