Internet Connection Firewalls


The Windows XP Professional Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) provides a solution for both novice and advanced users to protect desktop computers from passive and active Internet network threats while still providing a rich Internet experience and ease of integration for the system within a remote office network.

The ICF functions as a stateful packet. Although the ICF is a stand-alone feature, it is only necessary to run the ICF on the shared adapter to protect your home network. This functionality is included with Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional.

When enabled, this stateful filter blocks all unsolicited connections originating from the public network. To accomplish this, the ICF uses a flow table and validates any incoming flow against the entries in the flow table. Incoming data flows are only allowed if there is an existing flow table mapping that originated from the firewall system or from within the internal protected network. In other words, if the network communication did not originate within the protected network, the incoming data is dropped.

End users employing the Windows XP Professional ICF can feel comfortable that hackers should not be able to scan their systems or connect to their resources. Windows XP Professional provides a simple check box which allows users to easily and safely host Web and FTP servers.

The Windows XP Professional ICF is targeted for use by novice end users. End-user scenarios include:

  • Stand-alone computer in the home. An end user installs the system in the home. The ICF is enabled by default for Internet connections when configured with the New Connection Wizard or the Network Setup Wizard.

  • Computer in a home or small business network. An end user buys a more than one Windows XP Professional based computer. When the network is setup, ICF is enabled by default on the ICS host.




Microsoft Windows XP Professional Resource Kit 2003
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Resource Kit 2003
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2005
Pages: 338

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