The Windows 7 firewall will block the connection if the application has not been configured previously in the Windows Control Panel. The configuration can be strenuous especially in the beginning right after the first start of the operating system.

That’s where the Windows 7 Firewall Control steps in. The free version of the software program adds those application prompts to Windows 7. It displays a prompt whenever an unknown application tries to connect to the Internet.

This gives the user in front of the computer the option to enable or disable all traffic or enable only incoming or outgoing traffic. The selected setting will be stored in the program’s main interface only. This is one weakness of the program as it does not sync the settings with the Windows 7 Firewall. This is problematic as it means that the configured settings will be gone if the Windows 7 Firewall Control gets uninstalled. The reason for not syncing is that Windows 7 Firewall Control works independently from the Windows 7 Firewall. It does grab the configuration at startup but does not communicate with the firewall after that.

A pro version of Windows 7 Firewall Control is available offering additional features. Both versions can be downloaded at the developer’s website. (via Windows 7 News: Windows 7 Firewall Control)

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Hank (thanks a lot) send a tip via email that explained who to enable or disable the Windows Vista Firewall with a simple shortcut, or better two shortcuts. He was using this approach to disable the firewall at home where a hardware firewall was protecting the PC and to enable it while on the road with his notebook.

To create the shortcuts right-click the desktop in Windows Vista and select to create a new shortcut. Name the first shortcut Firewall OFF and the second Firewall ON. Use the following two commands to enable or disable the firewall.

Windows Vista Firewall OFF:

%systemroot%\System32\netsh.exe firewall set opmode disable

Windows Vista Firewall ON:

%systemroot%\System32\netsh.exe firewall set opmode enable

A click on Firewall OFF would turn the Windows Vista Firewall off immediately and a click on Firewall ON would enable it again. To get rid of the command line window in the background right-click the shortcut and select to run the command minimized like in the screenshot above. The default setting is normal window.

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I’m not a huge fan of software firewalls as you can tell from my previous posts on the subject. Still, if you rely on it and use it you might find this information useful. There are basically two methods of reseting the Windows Firewall.

My favorite one is by using the command line and the command netsh firewall reset which is all you need. The firewall will be reset which makes sure that any malicious changes to it are gone. All of your rules and changes are gone as well but that is the price you have to pay.

The second possibility would be to open the control panel, click on the Windows Firewall icon, there on the Advanced tab and finally on the Restore Defaults button.

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