In my opinion it’s one of the greatest success stories in recent years. What I am talking about? Well Windows firewall that’s what. This gem has undergone a radical makeover since Windows XP SP2 to become one of the best in the industry. It’s journey continues in Windows 7 with yet more granularity control. Windows Vista introduced the concept of network profiles. AKA When a rooming user connects to a network connected a prompt asks which firewall profile they wish to use. Home, Work or Public, depending upon the choice, Windows firewall adjusts itself accordingly. In “7”, however users can customize settings based on location. Administrators can also control these options via group policy.

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Above – Windows 7 Firewall including customization for multiple profiles.

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Combine Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 and (Below) one of the big sellers for 2009/10 will be the introduction of Branch Cache for roaming users. Notice these new options fo Windows 7. I will dicuss Branch Cache is a future blog post.

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Windows Vista introduced around 1500 additional group policy settings and now Windows 7 also includes many new options for enhanced security. These of course include the firewall (below) but also AppLocker which is the new and improved version of software restriction policies. Watch out for more on this shortly.

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Yes I know I had a gripe at MS regarding the slider control for UAC, however in terms of a firewall solution for a desktop / laptop machine , this I am delighted to say they have done a good job.