Firewall on vista home edition

[Theo Carr-Brion]

Does Vista Home edition have full firewall funcionality?

Is it possible to to have it so only administrators can allow any new
program to access the internet and block all programs by default?

Thanks,

Theo Carr-Brion

 

[Guest]

Does Vista Home edition have full firewall funcionality?

yes the whole Vista's core is in all editions.

Is it possible to to have it so only administrators can allow any new
program to access the internet and block all programs by default?

yes

 

[Roscoe]

That's a bit of a loaded question.

I would take out the word "full" and say that it has firewall functionality.

 

[Robert Moir]

Does Vista Home edition have full firewall funcionality?

It has the same quality of firewall as the other Vista editions, so it's a
toy just like any other 'software firewall'.

It is, to be fair, a much improved "toy" over Microsoft's previous attempts,
and, to be fair, Microsoft are honest about the strengths and weaknesses of
this kind of approach.

 

[Theo Carr-Brion]

Does Vista Home edition have full firewall funcionality?

Is it possible to to have it so only administrators can allow any new
program to access the internet and block all programs by default?

Thanks,

Theo Carr-Brion

I have been trying to find out about the firewall setting. I am told the
setting up of the firewall (in terms of which programs can access the
internet) is in the group policy editor. I have also been told the group
policy editor is missing from the home editions. Can any tell me which
is correct on the home editions?

Thanks,

Theo Carr-Brion

 

[Guest]

Robert,

Only if you understood how you have insulted Vista’s Firewall by assigning
the description; "so it's a toy just like any other 'software firewall'.

Vista's Firewall and inherent Security is as different as day and night,
compared to other Firewalls.

Respectfully,

 

[Robert Moir]

Robert,

Only if you understood how you have insulted Vista's Firewall by
assigning the description; "so it's a toy just like any other
'software firewall'.

Vista's Firewall and inherent Security is as different as day and
night, compared to other Firewalls.

Fair point, that wasn't entirely fair of me. Perhaps I should have said
something more like this:

Though the built-in Windows Firewall is implemented very well, firewalls
that are designed to protect the host they are installed and running from
have several inherant weaknesses, regardless of how well they are
implemented.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Because of the better security both between processes running at different
security levels and between users and services the firewall in Vista is much
better than XP. Notwithstanding this I do agree that there is always the
possibility of a software firewall being compromised. An external firewall
is always a better solution.

 

[Robert Moir]

Because of the better security both between processes running at
different security levels and between users and services the firewall
in Vista is much better than XP.

Fair point, and one I already conceded in my reply to 'FireWall2'. Of
course, being judged to be 'better than the XP firewall' is like being
considered 'less weird than Tom Cruise', in the sense that you don't really
need to prepare terribly hard to take that particular prize.

Notwithstanding this I do agree that
there is always the possibility of a software firewall being
compromised. An external firewall is always a better solution.

Agreed. More important than what firewall you use, though, is an
understanding of what they can and can not do for you.