Windows Vista includes the Windows Firewall component that is designed to protect your computer when you are connected to another network. If your computer is connected to a public or untrusted network such as the Internet, it is recommended you enable it. In Windows Vista, the Firewall is enabled by default.

You may want to take this one step further and monitor the type of traffic that is being discarded by your firewall. This can be done by enabling security logging using the steps outlined below.

  1. Click Start | All Programs | Administrative Tools | Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.
  2. Click Windows Firewall Properties.
  3. Select the appropriate profile tab: Domain Profile, Private Profile or Public Profile.
  4. Click the Customize button under the Logging section.
  5. Use the drop down arrows beside Log dropped packets and Log successful connections to select Yes. This will enable logging for the option you select.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Click Ok to save your changes to the firewall configuration./ol>

    Once you enable security logging, information is written to the pfirewall.log file that is stored in the Windows directory.