"David D." said:
When I enable "Wireless" on my WinXP laptop, it also enables the Internet
Connection Firewall (ICF).
I was unable to find any information on what it is or how it works. Is it
an application-centric firewall? Is it a port & protocol centric firewall?
What does it allow through and what does it block? Is it configurable? If
so, how?
- David
ICF is part of the original version of WinXP and of the Service Pack 1
version. It's a basic firewall with few configuration options. The
Service Pack 2 version replaces ICF with the more powerful and
flexible Windows Firewall.
You can enable or disable ICF independently on each network
connection.
If a network connection connects directly to the Internet (dial-up
modem, cable modem, DSL modem), enabling ICF on that connection will
protect your computer from incoming access by other Internet users.
Enabling ICF on a local area network connection to other computers
interferes with file and printer sharing. You can manually open the
necessary ports to allow file and printer sharing, but it's better to
disable ICF and use a more flexible firewall.
Here are some web pages with details:
Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/ic_firewall.htm
Internet Connection Firewall Feature Overview
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/plan/icf.mspx
How to manually open ports in Internet Connection Firewall in Windows
XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308127
For more information, go to Start | Help and Support, and search for
the topic "Internet Connection Firewall".
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)
Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
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