The big advantage of Windows Firewall is that it rarely needs some user interaction. From Windows XP and up to Windows 10, the Windows Firewall is located in the Control Panel. Now, Windows Firewall is available in all newer Windows systems and activated by default. However, these viruses did not require the user to run an infected file Due to lack of a firewall, if a computer was connected to the Internet without any antivirus, it was very probable that it would be infected very easily.ĭue to these facts, and many criticisms concerning the protection of users from threats, Microsoft decided to get serious about it, thus significantly improved the functionality and interface of the built-in Windows XP firewall, and decided to activate it by default on Windows XP SP2. In late 2003, another virus, the Worm Sasser, did something similar. In 2003, the Worm Blaster virus infected a large number of Windows computers. This resulted in the firewall to be used very rarely. But it was disabled by default, due to incompatibility concerns.Īdditionally, in order to configure it, someone had to dig deep in order to find the buried network settings, something that most users never did.

In October 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP, which was the first version of Windows that incorporated a somewhat limited firewall.

Your router (possibly) already complements the existing firewall.

Older firewalls which are not supported anymore.

Standalone firewall applications with additional features.

Firewall applications which complement Windows Firewall.

Is the protection provided by Windows Firewall satisfying?.

In this guide we will go through the best free Firewall apps available for Windows, and see their features and functions.

Its responsibility is to control network communication between specific programs.

A firewall is an electronic defense wall.

Sphinx firewall control