Checklist: Configuring Basic Firewall Settings

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Essential Business Server, Windows SBS 2003, Windows SBS 2008, Windows Server 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista

This checklist includes tasks for configuring a GPO with firewall defaults and settings that are separate from the rules.

Note

Windows 2000 does not include a built-in firewall, so security group filtering should be used to prevent computers running that version of the operating system from applying the GPO.

Checklist: Configuring firewall defaults and settings

	Task	Reference
	Turn the firewall on and set the default inbound and outbound behavior.	Turn on Windows Firewall and Configure Default Behavior
	Configure the firewall to not display notifications to the user when a program is blocked, and to ignore locally defined firewall and connection security rules.	Configure Windows Firewall to Suppress Notifications When a Program Is Blocked
	Configure the firewall to record a log file.	Configure the Windows Firewall Log