Explore the features: Windows Firewall

Windows Firewall

This feature is included in the following editions of Windows Vista:

	Home Basic
	Home Premium
	Business
	Ultimate

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Windows Firewall helps you protect your computer against many types of malicious software.

Properly configured, it can stop many kinds of malware before they can infect your computer or other computers on your network. Windows Firewall, which comes with Windows Vista, is turned on by default and begins protecting your computer as soon as Windows starts. The Windows Firewall Control Panel is designed to be easy to use, with several configuration options and a simple interface.

Windows Firewall helps protect you by restricting other operating system resources if they behave in unexpected ways-a common indicator of the presence of malware. For example, if a component of Windows that is designed to send network messages over a given port on your PC tries to send messages by way of a different port due to an attack, Windows Firewall can prevent that message from leaving your computer, thereby preventing the malware from spreading to other users.

Setting up the firewall.