See also:
Flowchart of iolo Personal Firewall process, which provides a graphic presentation of the firewall process.
Setup Wizard, a tool that guides you through configuring basic settings in the firewall.
This topic provides an overview of how to configure firewall settings.
Using Zones, you can grant trusted computers, networks, and Web sites (Trusted Zone) a level of access different from the access for locations you don't trust or know (Internet Zone). Zone security controls which ports are open and more.
To follow are the different security controls that can be applied to a Zone. After each description is the tab name of where the settings reside.
For the preset security levels, the following settings are fixed. For the Custom level, you can change these settings.
Control which standard ports are open to incoming or outgoing traffic. (Defined Ports tab)
For additional ports that you specify, you can determine which ones are open to incoming or outgoing traffic. (Custom level only - Custom Ports tab)
See a list of all the known attacks that are blocked. (Attacks tab)
When enabled, control the program access based on its IntelliDefense classification. (IntelliDefense tab)
Establish default program permissions. (General tab)
Control broadcast/multicast programs. (General tab)
Control IGMP packets. (General tab)
Control whether the Zone locks when your PC is idle. (General tab)
There are two components to setting Zone security (click a link for detailed instruction):
Designate Security for a Zone. You can select a preset security level (Low, Medium, or High), designate individual settings to create your own security level (Custom), block all incoming/outgoing access for the Zone, or allow all incoming/outgoing access for the Zone.
Designate Zone Membership. Add the computers, networks, and Web sites that you trust to the Trusted Zone. There are several ways to add a computer or site, including by using its IP address, using its domain name, or selecting from a list of recently visited sites.
See Zone Security – Overview for more information.
Program Policies and IntelliDefense work together to control the communication of programs/applications with a given Zone. One program can have different permissions depending on whether a Trusted Zone or an Internet Zone location is involved.
Program Policies. For the programs that you specify, you can create policies that control the actions when a program attempts incoming or outgoing communication. The actions can be allow, block, or prompt.
IntelliDefense. IntelliDefense handles all the programs that you don't create a policy for. You can set up the actions you want the firewall to take for a program based on its threat classification. As with program polices, the actions can be allow, block, or prompt.
Additionally, if you don't want to see prompts, you can select Do not show prompts - automatically use default program permissions on the Settings window to have all generated prompts automatically answered by the firewall, rather than requiring an answer from you.
See Overview of Program Controls for more information.
The settings on the Settings window apply to the entire firewall and are not Zone-specific. Some of the functions you can do on this window:
Enable or disable the firewall, IntelliDefense, and other tools.
Turn off or turn on the display of notices and prompts.
Control what displays on the Recent Firewall Events window.
Set up controls for ICMP communication, passive FTP connections, Microsoft Exchange connections, and more.
See Settings Window for more information.
Related topics: