With the advent of the Internet in our lives and its broadband access, and of course with its increased data transmission capabilities, the resources for obtaining information and exchanging it have increased significantly. Communication on social networks has become easier and tasks can be solved faster and with better quality compared to dial-up lines.

But we are not immune from scammers who can transmit viruses at the same speed and carry out large-scale hacker attacks on all existing personal computers. Naturally, in order to avoid becoming one of the victims of hackers and their attacks, there are at least a couple of programs that will protect your PC. And one of them is a firewall or, as it is commonly called differently, Firewall.

That is why we propose to consider the very principle of its operation, how it is carried out enabling the firewall, setup and shutdown.

Main types of firewalls

So, the firewall will depend on the type of connection you are using on personal computer, there are two types:

• Hardware. They are built into routers and, of course, into broadband Internet access modems.
• As well as software, they are installed in the OS and can also be downloaded for installation.

The first type mainly manifests itself in a network in which there are several machines. All PCs that are on the network are connected by one router that performs firewall tasks.

It is best to buy routers or routers that already have a firewall built in, so enabling the firewall will help you ensure good security for machines on the network.

But there are cases when the router is not equipped with a firewall, then it is optimal to use the second type (accordingly, this is a software firewall).

Firewall performance and its aspects

Firewalls, and both types of them, function the same. In the selected configuration that the user selects, the firewall detects and compares incoming data with its security policy: either allow or block incoming packets.

Let's imagine for a moment that one PC is an empty package, you, of course, are a firewall, and the World Wide Web will be our supermarket. So you walked in with your wife’s shopping list in your pocket. We will consider this very list as a permission for the firewall. Let's imagine there will be purchases such as: kefir, sour cream, milk.

According to this, on your PC, if you have decided enable firewall, the firewall will begin to block any element that differs from kefir, sour cream and, of course, milk, it simply will not allow it to get into your package, and only those goods that are on the list will pass through. The latter can be conditionally called “white”.

Using this very interesting example, I wanted to show the importance of a good firewall setup, because if the wife suddenly included, say, “sweet water” or “chips” in the list of products for purchase, then they would also be on the white list, and it is logical to assume that that the firewall would never block them. What was described above has its own definition, namely “Packet Filtering”.

Any decision you make regarding security will be perceived by the firewall, but it is not able to provide you with one hundred percent protection, as there are hackers who specialize in infiltrating through built-in security elements, using undocumented features of the Windows OS and other methods.

With this, advanced and experienced crackers can implement their own “products”. For example, “Condensed milk” can be disguised as “Ryazhenka”, which, of course, will comply with the firewall’s passing “rules”, and the “product” will pass as if on a white list. As a result, attackers gain full access to your PC data in order to do their dirty deeds.

That is why it is so important to consider in this publication the question how to enable firewall, All possible ways, and also why this is necessary.

The nuances of using a firewall: which one to choose?

We suggest considering an equally pressing issue before enable firewall: which is better to choose - software or, accordingly, hardware?

It’s not easy to answer, since many “users” are inclined to believe that only one is enough, but it’s optimal to keep both a hardware and a software firewall with you, that is, both.

Let's imagine this situation: there is a software firewall. You install a malicious media program that you downloaded from the Internet, and it has the function of reconfiguring the firewall rules to accept all packets (also malicious).

But with hardware the situation is slightly different, if you want enable firewall of such a type. They can no longer be reconfigured.

However, even if your computer is infected, the malware will not have access to the software and the following devices:

• modems,
• routers,
• also routers.

Should you install an antivirus if there is a firewall?

The answer is actually quite simple. As already written, a firewall works as a connection filter that blocks received malicious data, preventing all these arrivals by closing unwanted ports, but whatever one may say, all the same ports are used by many browsers such as Opera, FireFox, Chrome and your email address, others in other words, they are wide open by default. Otherwise, we would not have gotten to any Internet pages or to the same email. So that viruses that come with SPAM messages on your computer can easily penetrate your personal computer. email address, or they will simply be downloaded from the web resources you visit, since the downloads will not be protected by a firewall, because all data passes through the ports you have open.

This means you don't have to think about how deactivate active firewall to install antivirus. These two utilities can easily get along with each other on one desktop computer or laptop.

Quickly enable the firewall on a Windows PC

On all PCs with Windows 7, such a program is installed by default against malicious access via the World Wide Web and via local network, which has multiple names:

• most often it is called a firewall,
• another option is a firewall
• or finally firewall.

As everyone thinks, this is just a convenient feature and does not require additional settings, but, as we have seen more than once, firewall software has its own special “crashes”, which leads to a complete shutdown of the service.

Therefore, it is logical to analyze how you can configure it again, how to enable firewall on Windows 7. Today there are about five ways, let's look at them.

Method No. 1: enable the firewall using the capabilities of the “Support Center”

• How to enable firewalls in windows 7? First, click on the program access shortcut, which is located on the taskbar.
• Click the computer mouse (right button) to open the “Support Center”;
• A menu will open in front of you, in which we are interested in “Open Support Center”: a pop-up window will immediately pop up. In it we select the “Security” section, and inside it - “Network Firewall”, after which all that remains is to click the “Enable now” button, which is located opposite. As a result, the activation will occur automatically, and the firewall will work fully.

Method number 2: how to enable the firewall through the “Control Panel”

Everything here is quite simple: you need to press the icon on the keyboard to open the menu, and in it click “Control Panel” and click on “ Windows Firewall" Accordingly, a window will open in front of you again, in which we should be interested in “Enable and disable”. So you can enable the firewall for different networks by selecting the items we need, which are located opposite all the tabs and clicking “Apply” so that the firewall starts on the PC.

Method No. 3: debugging through the OS configuration and its settings

Finally, there is a third way, how to enable firewall on windows 7 and debug it, also working. On a PC, if the firewall is already turned on on the PC, but does not want to function in any way, the mode is restored by using the optimal settings made in the system “config”. We do it this way:

“Start” menu - enter “Configuration” in the search engine - select the proposed OS program - select “Services” in the dialog menu - in the list that opens, click on “Windows Firewall” to enable the firewall. It is necessary to check the box next to this item, and then “Apply”.

There are cases where, opposite the firewall, the system shows that everything is working, but you know that it is not. Have you encountered a similar situation? Then we take and disable the firewall, and then enable it again using the same method as described above. But keep in mind: after manipulating the settings, for them to start working, you need to restart the computer.

Method No. 4: Debugging the “Service”

• Click the button in the “Start” menu, then go to the “Control Panel” by clicking on “Administrative Tools”. In the window that pops up on the PC screen, click on the “Services” shortcut;
• The next step is to click on the button we are already familiar with, write “Administration” in the search, then select a program taking into account the system’s recommendations. Then click on the “Services” shortcut.
• “Start”, write “Services” in the search bar and click on the first option offered by the OS;
• We use the combination and R, enter the “Run” utility, enter the command services.msc and press the Enter key. When all of the above points are completed, the “Services” system window will appear. Be sure to look for “Windows Firewall” by clicking the mouse (its right button) to select “Run” in the menu that opens: note that in the “Status” item the status “Running” should be indicated.

Method #5: Debugging through the firewall.cpl command

Configuring a firewall can be done correctly using the “firewall.cpl” command. You can also launch it on your “machine” in 2 ways:

• Using the “Run” utility, to do this, press the combination of buttons and R;
• Using the task manager (as you know, it will open after pressing Esc, Shift and Ctrl): By executing the command “firewall.cpl”, you will see the “Windows Firewall” dialog menu. In order to enable the firewall, clicking on the “Use recommended settings” option is enough. As you can see, there are several effective ways to configure and enable a firewall. All that remains is to put them into practice.

How to deactivate an active firewall on Windows 7?

• Click the "Start" button, select "Control Panel", then click on "Windows Firewall". The system itself will helpfully open several windows in each, we can see the status of the firewall, then we check the “Disable” checkboxes everywhere, but keep in mind that in order to disable the firewall, be sure to disconnect the current Internet connection.
• When you have disabled the firewall, you need to disable another service responsible for launching the application. If you do not do this, the firewall will start itself after each operating system boot.
• Firewall from startup, how to remove it? We go to “Start”, click “Run”, enter “msconfig”, then the “Startup” tab opens, where the user needs to uncheck the firewall.

We hope this simple 3 step plan helps you understand... how to deactivate an active firewall.

As a summary

So we looked at in this article what a Firewall is, how to enable firewall how to turn it off operating system Windows 7. We think each of you has learned something for yourself and expanded your horizons.

What is Firewall?

Translated from English the word firewall, translated as “burning wall.” Many users call it a wall or firewall. People very often call a firewall simply a wall or wall.

Let's figure out what a firewall is and why it is needed. Firewall provides a barrier between the network and the computer, or in other words, it is a filter. This program monitors your computer's connections, analyzes them, and makes a decision whether to allow the connection or not. That is, the program only passes what the user himself has allowed. It is clear that no one can give an absolute guarantee, but if someone tries to hack your computer, the wall will be a tangible barrier for him. Everything will still depend on the experience of the hacker.

In simple terms, a firewall can be compared to your home. The house has doors. You keep all the doors locked, and you really wouldn’t want anyone to be able to come to you through an open door. By analogy, you need to be interested in ensuring that no one else can just enter your computer - control it and obtain various data from it. There are locks on the doors of the house. To let a friend in, you open the lock. Firewall works the same way. It can only access or launch from the Internet those programs that you allow it to do. All other programs will be blocked from access to both Internet input and output.
It turns out that you are placing a guard between your computer and the Internet, which will allow only what is necessary and important for you to pass through, and will delay everything else.

For maximum computer protection, you need to make the correct settings. It is recommended to allow connections only to programs that really need it. And at the same time the program must have access only those ports on which she works. This may seem complicated at first, but firewalls have configuration assistants that provide prompts to make the configuration process easier. The main thing is to carefully read the service messages that will appear during operation.

Firewall has two types of walls - personal and corporate. A personal wall is a program that is installed on a personal computer, and a corporate firewall is installed on the gateway between the Internet and the local network.

The personal firewall has a built-in training mode, which makes it easy to understand how the program works and what to allow for a connection and what to deny. If the program on the computer is not suitable for the firewall, then a system message will appear and the user will be able to decide for himself whether to grant permission to connect or deny it. Today there are a sufficient number of personal firewalls, and among them it is easy to choose the most suitable one. They differ in type, interface, paid and free, but in essence they are practically the same. That is, you choose the program that will be more convenient for you to use.

Corporate firewalls are configured system administrator, which completely protects the entire network from attacks.
You can check the functionality of the firewall program using the LeakTest utility. To do this, you need to run the utility, click “Test” and then you need to answer the firewall request, answer “Allow once”. The program should tell you - “Firewall Penetrated”. This is necessary in order to check the Internet connection and the server that is used for testing. Then click the “Test” button and respond to the firewall program’s request with “Deny once.” The program should give the message “Unable to connect”, which will mean that the firewall has blocked the connection.

Then the EXE file of the LeakTest program should be renamed so that the name matches the name of the browser, if for Internet Explorer, then this is IEXPLORE.EXE, and for Opera – OPERA.EXE, and for other browsers, look at the name in the properties of the shortcut in “Start”. And when you try to start or when establishing a connection, the firewall will give you a warning that the program is not the one for which the rule was created. If there is no such warning and the connection is established, that is, the message “Firewall Penetrated” appears, then any virus will bypass the firewall by simply renaming the file, which means that this firewall must be urgently changed to another.

A check the firewall operation installed on your computer can be found on our website.

With the advent of broadband Internet access and increased bandwidth, the Internet has entered our daily lives where we communicate, exchange information and solve everyday problems faster than on old dial-up lines. However, not everything is so smooth, since the same advantages in terms of speed are also available to attackers. The spread of viruses and hacker attacks on all types of computers (personal, work, corporate) through the network has increased significantly.

To avoid becoming victims of network attacks, there are several types of programs designed to protect the system. And one of these types is a firewall or firewall.

Closing windows and doors

To prevent thieves from entering your home, you lock your doors and windows, install bars and alarms. A firewall performs the same task by "locking down" all of your computer's doors and windows so that only authorized data can come and go. The user has the opportunity to manually open or close the door (port), for example, for the correct operation of the desired program.

In technical terms, a firewall is responsible for controlling data sent to and from your computer over the Internet and other networks, preventing leakage or theft of personal or confidential information, preventing intrusion from outside by intruders, the so-called hackers.

NOTE: A firewall will not replace an antivirus! It works as a customs filter that restricts the passage of data through your computer. An antivirus is necessary because it protects against another type of threat; for example, a user can allow some program to access the network without even suspecting that it is malicious; this is where an antivirus can help.

Types of firewalls

Depending on the type of connection used on the computer, two types of firewall may be used:

• Hardware
• Program

Hardware firewalls are built into broadband Internet routers and modems. We consider software to be one that can be downloaded and installed on the operating system. For example, Windows comes with a built-in software firewall, but you can disable it and with more options and security guarantees.

The big advantage of using a hardware firewall is if your network has more than one computer. All machines on the network will be connected to one router, which will immediately act as a firewall for the machines. Of course, this or that functionality will depend on the model of router you are using, so check this information before purchasing your equipment. Give preference to routers, routers that come with a built-in firewall, this will increase the security of the machines on your network.

If you still have a router, but without a firewall, then all you have to do is use a software firewall. It is possible to customize a security policy on one of your computers and transfer them to another machine by importing/exporting rules.

How a firewall works

Hardware and software firewalls work the same way. Based on user-defined configuration, the firewall compares received data with security policies and either allows or blocks packets. To illustrate how it works, let's imagine that the computer is a shopping bag. You are a firewall, and the Internet is a grocery store. You have a shopping list of things to buy, consider it like firewall permissions. Let it contain such elements as “vegetables”, “fruits” and “bread”.

On a computer, the firewall will block the passage of any item that is different from “vegetables”, “fruits” and “bread”, and will not allow them into your “bag”, but will only allow through what is on the list, such a list is called a white list. Hence the importance of setting up your firewall correctly, because if you whitelist "beer" or "chips", the firewall will not block them.

The method described above is called "Packet Filtering". All data passing through the network is organized into packets.

Just like any other security solution, a firewall will not provide 100% protection, as there are attackers who specialize in penetrating all security elements, using undocumented Windows features and other tools and methods. For example, experienced hackers can present their product “chips” under the guise of “bread”, hiding inside, which naturally complies with the permitted “rules” of the firewall and it will let it through, and then gain access to your machine and do its dirty work.

So which is better to use hardware or software firewall

The answer to this question will be controversial, since many are of the opinion that one of the two is enough, but ideally it is better to have both a software and hardware firewall.
Consider one of the possible cases: You have only a software firewall, you are running a malicious program that was just downloaded from the Internet, and it implements the ability to automatically reconfigure your firewall rules to accept malicious packets. The hardware cannot be reconfigured this way, because even if your machine is infected, it will not have access to software external devices, such as routers, modems, routers.

Do I need an antivirus if I have a firewall?

As explained above, a firewall acts as a connection filter, preventing unwanted data from being sent and received by closing all unwanted ports. However, the ports used by your Chrome browser, Safari, Opera or email are open by default (otherwise you would not be able to access any website or receive email).
This way, viruses from spam messages can get onto your computer. Email, or be downloaded from websites because the download is not protected by a firewall as it goes through open ports.

Thus, a firewall does not replace antiviruses! It is simply necessary. So download and install from our website.

Let's sum it up

What the firewall does:

• Prevents your machine from external intrusions.
• Blocks data transfer from your computer other than what is allowed.

What doesn't a firewall do?

• Does not protect against user-downloaded programs.
• Does not block messages from email programs.
• Unable to prevent the user from creating erroneous exceptions that could put the computer at risk.

The best way to protect your computer is to set your firewall to block everything! This may seem a little strange, but it's just the first step. If you block everything, then obviously nothing will work, but then you consistently allow only what you need to work on the computer, thereby preventing you from missing or forgetting to block any third-party program.

Many users have more than once found such a definition as “firewall” in the help of their computer, on forums, or heard from friends. And you probably wondered - what is a “firewall”? Where does it come from on a computer, what functions does it perform, and, in the end, why is it needed?

A firewall is a set of software network filters that filters network packets entering and leaving the PC. He controls it all according to the rules specified in the program.

Firewall has another definition, which all users have probably heard - firewall (German - “fire wall”). This is the so-called firewall, which allows you to protect your computer from unwanted incoming connections. The principle of operation is simple - the firewall program monitors all network connections (both incoming and outgoing), then checks them against a given list. If the connection is not in the list (especially if it is prohibited), then the firewall blocks this connection and displays a warning on the screen that this *IP*port* connection is blocked. The user has the right to change the list of allowed connections, add and remove permissions for the network connection of certain programs.

In this article we will not consider corporate firewalls with their various methods tracking and complex operating algorithm. I will talk about personal firewalls that are installed on the computer of an ordinary user. The following firewalls are capable of protecting against unwanted network connections only the PC on which it is installed.

What kind of firewalls can you use? There are many such programs, but in this article I will highlight only the most popular and reliable programs. So, let's go through the list:

Agnitum Outpost Security Suite Pro 7.52 (http://www.agnitum.ru/products/security-suite/index.php) - firewall from a well-known Russian company. Peculiarities:

• Scanner for quick detection and removal of viruses.

  A “two-way” firewall protects against both internal and external unwanted connections.

  Interactive user assistance system.

Avast! Internet Security 7 (http://www.avast.com/ru-ru/internet-security) is an equally well-known Czech antivirus with a good built-in firewall. Among the features:

• Blocking all unwanted connections

  Checking all connections against your own database.

Comodo Internet Security 2012 (http://www.comodo.com/home/internet-security) is an interesting American firewall, which, like previous firewalls, comes bundled with antivirus software.

• High-quality blocking of unwanted connections.

  Free to use.

Jetico Personal Firewall 2.1 (http://www.jetico.com/download/) is a Finnish firewall that does a good job of protecting your computer from unwanted attacks. How is it different from competitors?

• Three-level filtering system - monitoring network packets, filtering the work of network applications and filtering the actions of all user processes.

  Convenient control of the connection filtering process.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 (http://www.kaspersky.ru/internet-security) - we almost forgot the world-famous product of Kaspersky Lab. This antivirus software with a built-in firewall has many advantages, including:

• The most complete and effective protection of your computer from external and internal attacks.

  Convenient firewall management.

  Ability to fine-tune network filter parameters.

As you can see, almost all firewalls come with antivirus software. This is convenient, because all modules are in one program and provide comprehensive protection for your PC.

A firewall is not a panacea for all virus attacks. What should you do to make the most of this software? You just need to carefully read all firewall messages, allow access only to those programs that the user really knows and trusts, know exactly the ports that trusted programs use and not allow access through others, and always act on the principle “it’s better not to take risks - ban again rather than allow and be upset by the consequences.” And then the firewall will be able to provide maximum benefit to the person using it.

Firewall- from English “Fiery = fire, wall= wall" Synonym words: Firewall, firewall, firewall, firewall- formed by transcription of the English term firewall. These are hardware units or programs that monitor and filter network packets ( internet traffic) according to specified rules by the administrator/user.

Firewall(from German Brandmauer) - which is an analogue of the English word firewall. Original meaning (a wall that separates adjacent buildings, protecting against the spread of fire).

Any " Firewall», « firewall"or otherwise called " firewall“[I would like to punch the person who came up with such a combination of letters in the face] is responsible for filtering network traffic from unwanted, critical operations at a low level. Like on the level network cards or network protocols, and at a high level, for example, setting access rights for applications. All functions come down mainly to permission or prohibition " incoming" or " outgoing» information packages. That is, before sending or receiving a network packet, the Firewall checks for correctness and security.

« Incoming packages" - these are packets that come to your computer from any computer.

« Outgoing packets" are packets that originate from your computer to another address.

For example, if you allow a program to work, and by default it is always allowed to work with network packets, then accordingly network packets will be passed back and forth without hindrance. But if network packets come from an application that you have not given permission to operate, then the connection will be automatically blocked. Well, accordingly, if any application tries to “ go to your computer"for the first time, then Firewall asks you, they say, " But what should we do with this pepper?“Here it’s up to you to decide whether to allow you to work this application or network traffic or not.

Which Firewall to install

There are both free and commercial products (Firewall) on the Internet, but we will talk about them in a separate article. See the best below.

Firewall protection levels

Typically, there are 3 types of protection levels in a normal Firewall:

Weak level of protection and filtering of network traffic. In this mode, almost all traffic is allowed, with the exception of very suspicious packets, which, as a rule, have already been identified in advance as enemy attacks.

Medium level of protection and filtering of network traffic. Here, as a rule, all ports are blocked, but many known ports are also allowed, through which, by default, supposedly no suspicious traffic can pass, and many applications are allowed to operate, which by default do not raise suspicions of potential danger. By default, Internet Explorer does not cause a threat, which, as practice shows, is often not the case. At this link I have already told you what is wrong with browsers and the holes in their security system.

High level of protection and filtering of network traffic- absolutely everything is blocked, regardless of whether the connection is secure or not. Everything will have to be resolved manually. For beginners, this mode is absolutely not suitable, because you need to be very obsessed with computers to understand what needs to be allowed and what to prohibit. Because with this mode, in the first minute you will be asked at least hundreds of questions.

Firewall also has some other useful properties, for example, identifying and warning about possible upcoming attacks. That is, protection from so-called “scanner” programs.

Scanner programs- these are programs that remote computer, [can also be done locally] one by one, sort through all network ports in order, from 1 to 65532, or selectively scan for “ closedness"and security are those that an attacker needs.

Firewall, firewall, firewall - which one to choose?

How to choose a Firewall? Here, first of all, there is a question about the professionalism and experience of the user. Today, one of the leaders in this area can be safely called OutPost. But it is clearly not suitable for a novice user, due to the abundance of settings. Since it’s easy to go through the settings and click on options, an ordinary user can block the entire computer and network traffic purely. Therefore, the Firewall, first of all, should be easy to use and configure. I won’t talk about the interface and controls; this is a topic for a separate program and, as a rule, there is a lot of information posted on official websites than I can describe here. Therefore, we read about the interface and management on the native sites of well-known firewalls.

The irreplaceable good qualities of Firewall are:

• self-learning ability, so that he can analyze the traffic himself and intuitively suggest what is wrong on the network;
• automatic updating of self-changes and updating of virus attack signatures;
• strict implementation of the prescribed rules, that is, if you need to completely close access to 21 ports, then it must close 21 ports without any exceptions for any programs. Since such a rule is often superficially implemented.

Based on popularity, prevalence and a certain kind of respect for professionalism, I offer my Firewall:

• Panda Firewall is strong, but not everyone, even a semi-pro, will be able to configure it correctly. As Zhvanetsky used to say, “ one wrong move and you're a father", that is, you can easily block the computer completely, right down to the spine.
• Outpost Firewall is strong, but not at all suitable for beginners;
• Kaspersky Firewall - public transport
• Norton Firewall - public transport
• McAfee is the cheapest free solution. In my experience, it is either there or not. That is, the memory does not load, but there is no effect.

So, I briefly introduced you to the concept of Firewall. It is worth noting that today (April 2010), only Panda Software and Kaspersky Antivirus combine two concepts like a firewall. The rest are independent units. And using Firewall separately doesn’t make much sense because its efficiency tends to 0. I’ll try to explain with an example. There are two doors to enter. One door is protected by , and the other by Firewall. Therefore, if one is not covered, is there any point in protecting the other? That is, I strongly recommend using both an antivirus and a firewall.

Let's look at the actions of this sweet couple using one example of an invasion. Suppose absolutely new virus, a Trojan who bloodthirstyly wants to steal from us the keys to payment system WebMoney, where the money is. The first line of defense screwed up and missed the virus because it could not detect the corresponding signature for the new virus in its databases, and therefore could not recognize the threat. Suppose the virus has collected all the information it needs, its goal, of course, is to transfer everything it needs to its owner. Naturally, in 99% of cases, all information is now transmitted via . The program tries to transmit information, but here our Firewall comes into play. It’s clear that if he doesn’t know this program, and he doesn’t have the rule of letting everyone through, then he’ll ask, “Who are you?” There’s a Trojan, “tyr myrk, yes, I’m here, from Gagarin Street, I’m a local, in short,” and Firewall, “right now, wait, I’ll ask the master. Hey master, here is some suspicious person trying to take some garbage out of your kingdom on a cart.” Of course you must answer No and try to figure out where the legs grow from. And take all measures to destroy the foreign body in our beloved computer organism.

Bottom line

As practice shows, it is not so easy to recover from a new and unknown infection that has visited your computer. If you not high level Internet user, I recommend that you urgently update your antivirus. If it doesn’t find anything, try using another antivirus, since now not all antiviruses are equally useful. Well, I think that in this article I more than adequately explained what a Firewall is and why it is needed.

Good luck and safe masturbation on the Internet.