Windows Firewall is a program designed to protect your PC from unauthorized
users and applications. If you are using Windows XP or Vista you can access the
Firewall from your Control Panel. When you install the Windows XP for the first
time, by default Windows firewall gets activated. You can choose to switch off
your firewall. However, your computer will be prone to vulnerabilities.
Windows Firewall works by way of taking stock of all the applications running
your computer. It will then allow you to set exceptions for specific programs
and windows services. Once the firewall is activated, it will display a visual
notification to the user if it blocks a specific program. You have the choice of
allowing or denying the same at your discretion.
A Firewall is best suited for blocking unwanted computer viruses and Trojans
from reaching your PC. However, one thing worth noting is that it may not be
very effective against disabling or removing the computer viruses. However, if
you have a quality up to date antivirus program it can work well with the
Firewall to provide you the best results.
Windows Firewall generates a security log which will be useful for
troubleshooting purposes. This log will contain information about unauthorized
access attempts to your PC. Once you have this information, you can further
strengthen your computer security.
If you are using your Windows Firewall, you will notice that the applications
are taking little more time to open. This is due to the Firewall analyzing your
application against the setting to make sure that it is safe. However, this is a
small trade off when you are considering your computers safety.