Protecting your network from the Internet by using a firewall

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A firewall is a security system that acts as a protective boundary between your local network and the Internet. A firewall can be used for the following:

  • To restrict unauthorized access from the Internet to resources such as folders, files, and printers on your network.
  • To block incoming network traffic from the Internet according to specific rules, such as which network service is being accessed and which user is accessing the local network.

You can use the firewall included with Windows Small Business Server 2003. To configure settings for your firewall, complete the Connect to the Internet task, which follows the View Security Best Practices task on the To Do List. For more information about the Connect to the Internet task, see Connect to the Internet.

Alternatively, if you use a router that provides a firewall as your Internet connection device, you can use that firewall.

Note

  • If you have a firewall device on your network that does not support the UPnP framework, you must manually configure the firewall settings. For more information about firewall settings, see Appendix C, "Network Configuration Settings," of Getting Started (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=46897). For more information about how to configure the firewall device, see the documentation from the device manufacturer.