To protect your computer from intruders, Windows Vista Firewall must be turned on and set the right way. Let's see how!

The same way previous Windows versions had a firewall built in, the Windows Vista Firewall is present for the same purpose - to protect you from the outside world. Unless you use a Virtual Private Network (VPN), your firewall, together with your antivirus software will shield your computer from incoming threats.

What is a firewall?

A firewall is a software application that acts like a barrier between your computer and the outside world - the local area network and, of course, the Internet. Firewalls can be built into your operating system, like Windows Vista Firewall (which we're going to talk about today), or installed as additional programs.

How to use Windows Vista Firewall

Using Vista’s built-in firewall is not hard at all, but the start seems to be the hardest part, as always, so let us guide you...

• Open your computer's Control Panel, and choose Check This Computer's Security Status
• The Windows Security Center windows opens, and the Firewall is the first item to be noticed in the upper area; be sure that the Firewall is marked as On
• If the firewall is off, click the Windows Firewall link located in the left pane and then choose Change Settings
• In the Windows Firewall window that opens, select the On button and press OK

You are now sure that the your computer is protected from unwanted network connections.

To take care of things the right way, you should create exceptions for the programs you want to allow to connect to the network or Internet and don't have predefined exceptions already.

How to Create Exceptions

Creating exceptions can be done in 3 ways:

1. click Unblock when Windows Vista Firewall blocks a program and asks you what to do
2. set up a program exception in the Exceptions tab
3. open a port in the Exceptions tab in the firewall.

The easiest way is to let the program ask you what to do, but sometimes you need to set the exception manually first, so let's see how this can be done.

• Open Control Panel and click on "Allow a program through Windows firewall" under the Security section
• make sure the Exceptions tab is selected and click Add Program
• Once the Add A Program dialog box appears, choose the program for which to allow connections, or simply click Browse and select the program from your computer
• Click Change Scope and select the range of computers allowed to connect to yours

A lot of complaints exist about the reliability of the Windows Vista Firewall, and no matter how accurate these reports may be, we know there's always something better than what you get with your operating system, and we'll show you an alternative really soon. In the meantime, feel free to learn the basics of using a firewall with Windows Vista’s build-in firewall!

Related Articles:

• Protect your computer from spyware with Windows Defender
• About viruses and Windows Vista Antivirus
• Protect your network using user accounts