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Vista Firewall to be Crippled
UltimaGuy writes "The firewall in Windows Vista will, by default, have half its protection turned off because that is what enterprise customers have requested, according to the software giant. The firewall will be set to only block incoming traffic even though it will be capable of blocking outgoing traffic. Microsoft also claims that configuring the Vista firewall to block outgoing connections from rogue applications and malware will require a varying degree of technical knowledge, depending on each user's security requirements."
So why have 21 different versions of Vista if NOT to have a consumer version with as much protection as possible with as few services running as possible? A business office version you assume will be configured by an IT guy that has difficult to admin - but very flexible and detailed - firewall options. Yes.
But to not a have a 1 button "Protect me on the internets" button for grandma? That's MS effectively selling off its consumer base to big corporations at their request.
=Tod
Bill Gates - Creationist?!?
Actually, I'd say most users know they're supposed to have a firewall. Most don't know what it does or why they need it, but thanks to Norton and McAfee making all these "security suites" which generally break more than they protect, and retailers like Best Buy selling firewall software with a router that has a hardware firewall, people have heard enough FUD that they NEED 12 firewalls per computer.
Right now I get mad props at work for keeping bagel, netsky, and mydoom at bay through attachment and AV blocking, spam filtering, and a little bit of shell scripting. Here I was afraid that those would go away and I'd have to find something else to justify my existence within the next couple years. Now it looks like I'm in good shape til at least 2010. Thanks Microsoft!
ps - Other AV programs probably do this, but in case anyone's interested the firewall built into McAfee VirusScan Enterprise v8 blocks SMTP and IRC communication outbound by default unless the executable firing up the communication belongs to a specific set of known email and IRC clients. Good times...
Yes, my only tool is a hammer. And you're starting to look like a nail.
I work at an ISP doing Tech Support.
On a daily basis, I get calls from users of Norton Internet Security or McAfee Security Center (or whaever "I don't know, whatever came with my computer") who, for some reason, can't get Internet Explorer/Outlook Express to work. They don't know what a firewall *is* let alone how to configure it.
If I suggest they turn of that firewall and try it, everything is suddenly happy again.
Many of them don't understand. "It worked fine yesterday/last week/last year and I haven't changed anything..."
I specifically despise the Norton firewall as it seems to be the most popular problem causer.
I am glad that Microsoft isn't turning this feature on by default because many clueless lusers will accidentally block the programs that they're trying to use and then not understand why it doesn't work anymore.
Frequently these users try to blame us at the ISP, not realizing that it's their own fault. Firewalls are my most frequent frustration, and I'm glad this one will behave the way it will.