Windows Firewall Control 6.4

Despite its undisputable utility, Windows Firewall is not the easiest tool to manage and configure. That is why many Windows users have turned to Windows Firewall Control to customize its different layers of protection. This free utility not only makes it easier to deal with the technicalities of your Windows Firewall, but it also enhances its functionality with a set of useful features.

The interface itself is much more user-friendly than that of the native Windows Firewall. First of all, it displays a useful Dashboard where you can see at a glance the status of your Firewall, the inbound and outbound connections, and the nature (public or private) of your Internet connection. From here, you can move to a set of tabs where you can easily customize your profiles, notifications, rules, security options, etc.

The program offers three levels of filtering, from High – which blocks all your inbound and outbound connections – to no filtering at all, with a recommended Medium Filtering option (based on the rules you have set up for your connections) and a Low Filtering one, with more permissive rules for outbound connections. These rules will let you define a set of outbound and inbound conditions that applications and locations need to meet not to be blocked. The Notifications area will display (or not) those outbound connections that have been blocked as per your conditions, which includes a list of exceptions to specific programs and folders. more