Windows Vista includes two firewalls?

I've heard that Windows Vista Ultimate has two different firewalls included; I want to be able to scan both incoming and outgoing data. How do I do that? Does it matter which firewall I use?

Dave's Answer:

It's true; Windows Vista Ultimate does contain two separate, but very different, types of firewalls:

The generic Windows Firewall, which is accessible through the Windows Security Center
The Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, which is available through the Start menu search feature

If you want a true bi-directional firewall, you'll want to use the latter! Finding it can be a bit of a chore; however; you can best reach it by:

Click the Start button.
Type "firewall" in the Start Search box at the bottom of the Start menu.
Select Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.
Click Continue.

The Windows Firewall with Advanced Security appears using a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) window. The center panel displays an overview of your firewall settings. By scrolling down the panel, you can access firewall properties. These allow you determine the firewall's state (on/off, monitor inbound/outbound/all traffic), logging, or settings for each profile as shown below.

In the left panel of the application, there are icons for inbound and outbound rules, connection security, and monitoring. Let's first set up inbound rules for configuring how the firewall manages incoming data packets. To do this:

Click Inbound Rules.
Click New Rule... in the Actions panel; the New Inbound Rule Wizard appears.
Select the Rule Type.
Select the Program.
Select the action to take; either block the connection, allow it, or only allow it if it secure.
Select the Profile to apply (Domain, Private, or Public).
Add a name and description (optional).

Your new rule appears among the list of inbound rules, as shown below.

You can set rules for outbound connections and connection security in a similar manner using these options from the left panel. All of the features mentioned above are unique to the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security; the standard Windows Firewall doesn't let you perform these tasks.

This tip was contributed by Derek Torres, co-author of the splendid new book The Unofficial Guide to Windows Vista. Thanks, Derek!

More Useful Windows PC Help Articles:

✔ What's the easiest way to speed up my Windows PC laptop?

My Dell Windows 7 laptop is starting to drive me crazy. It's so darn slow! I've had it a few years and I...

✔ Can I force a Windows 7 OS system update?

Every so often Windows 7 pops up a window and tells me that there are updates. That's nice, but how can I force...

✔ Fix Google Drive (Gdrive) no longer supported (out of date)?

I'm a big Google fan and have been using Google Drive for quite a while as a cloud storage device. It's a breeze,...

✔ How do I open or unpack a RAR archive on my Windows PC?

I have some ".rar" files on my Windows 8 PC and am curious how to unpack them to see what's inside. From a...

✔ How can I shrink my Windows 8 Desktop file icons?

I've figured out most things in the new Windows 8 interface, except I can't see how to easily reduce or shrink the file...

Let's stay in touch!

Sign up for my weekly AskDaveTaylor Newsletter and you'll receive even more tech and gadget help right to your inbox, along with exclusive news and industry updates. It's good stuff. I promise!

Categorized: Windows PC Help (Article 7047, Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: vista firewalls, windows vista, windows vista ultimate
Previous: Why am I getting bounces from email I never sent?
Next: Can I change an account password in Movable Type?

Reader Comments To Date: 7

Bruce said, on December 6, 2006 4:34 PM:

Really interesting. I thought I had clicked everything in Vista, but I missed the difference here.

Derek said, on December 6, 2006 7:46 PM:

Thanks, Dave, for hosting our book. I hope that our Q&A on Vista will prove useful for your readers. Cheers!

Jim Hamm said, on January 13, 2007 3:09 PM:

Dave, since Vista has a firewall that handles both incoming and outgoing traffic, do you think it is 'strong' enough that a separate firewall is no longer needed? With Win XP SP2 (my present OS), I use the Comodo Firewall instead of the Windows firewall. Thanks for a great newsletter..Jim

Tracy said, on February 26, 2009 10:02 AM:

I have a question about windows fire wall and I also have ca security (free from Time Warner Cable) installed on my pc (vista). My question is that since I installed the ca security I can no longer download games from wild coins or big fish. I use to love to play there. I did everything they all suggested in the firewall settings and still it will not allow me to down load games. Any suggestions? I am not really great at the security part of the pc. I really need help, I would hate to really mess this up.
Thank you for your response, if you will.
Sincerely,
Tracy

Rick said, on April 14, 2009 7:16 AM:

I think Vista really has just 1 Firewall, but there are two interfaces for it. At least that's how I read it on Microsoft's site. Below is a snippet and a link from their Getting Started Guide...

Windows Firewall with Advanced Security is a stateful, host-based firewall that blocks incoming and outgoing connections based on its configuration. While end-user configuration still takes place through the Windows Firewall tool in Control Panel, advanced configuration of Windows Firewall now takes place in a Microsoft Management Control (MMC) snap-in named Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc748991.aspx

Ian said, on April 23, 2009 9:45 PM:

Dave's Answer:
It’s true; Windows Vista Ultimate does contain two separate, but very different, types of firewalls:

That statement is very misleading, it is completely UNTRUE that Vista contains two separate firewalls. Vista contains one firewall with two different ways to access its settings, a basic interface via security consol for users to set up basic rules to block or allow incomming connections, and an advanced interface via mmc for more experienced users to set up rules for both inbound and outbound connections, ip sec and encryption, domain and server isolation etc. Both interfaces access settings in the same firewall.

Valerie said, on February 5, 2010 5:38 PM:

Hi I tried you answer to a solution you provided but it didnt work
I installed Norton and I have Visat have had trouble ever since can you help

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

Windows Vista includes two firewalls?

Reader Comments To Date: 7

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

Check This Out Too...