vistafirewallcontrol.freeforums.org

do you need to use the standard vista firewall too, alongside vista firewall control?
If the vista firewall is disabled, does vista firewall control filter inbound and outbound by itself?

VFC and the built-in firewall work completely independently, so you can manage the built-in firewall at your option with a notice however.

All VFC versions filter the traffic in the both direction (incoming and outgoing), but
VFC free can not manage system (located in c:\windows\*) applications, only VFC Plus protects all the applications including system ones.
So using VFC Free Windows built-in firewall may be used to protect system applications.


VFC Plus protection:
any app incoming - OK
any app outgoing - OK


VFC free protection
non system app incoming -OK
non system app outgoing -OK
system app incoming - not supported(*)
system app outgoing - not supported(**)

(*) disk sharing, for instance
(**) windows update for instance and all other apps located in c:\windows\*

Just curious - can these deficiencies in the free version be managed in the Windows Administrative Tols?

Starting from Vista all the network protection is actually made by Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) - the security core of Vista and Windows 7.
Windows built-in firewalls (the both: firewall and firewall with advanced security) are control panels to WFP. VFC is (in this regard) a control panel to WFP as well.
So theoretically everything made by VFC can be made by the built-in firewall (with advanced security) excepting:
- Automatic access attempt detection
- Instant security adviser (Plus version)
- One click security management (VFC has predefined rules sets, the firewall requires multiple per-rule configurations)
- Instant blocking events notification
- External uPnP device synchronization (Plus version)
- Automatic security adjustments for portable device based applications

I am running VFC Free. I understand that the free version does not filter system applications. Does the built in Vista firewall filter incoming system applications? Basically am I more protected if I leave the Vista built in firewall on with VFC Free for incoming traffic or do they both not filter system applications (incoming)? I understand that the VFC Plus does but I am wondering about the free version.

So basically.....best protection VFC Free and Vista firewall........or just VFC Free (since Vista firewall is redundant)

Thanks and sorry for repeating the question over (and over) again

There is a brief answer and an optional appendix ….

The brief one:
Vista built-in (*) firewall filters incoming traffic (for any application including system ones), VFC free filters non-system in the both directions. So VFC free + Windows built-in FW is the good junction.
(*) Vista also has a Firewall with advanced security, which acts in the both directions. So, the built-in FW here means the regular windows built-in FW available via ControlPanel, not the FW advanced security.


The appendix regarding incoming connections….
If you are connected to the internet via a hardware connection sharing box, regardless of the box title – firewall, router, modem or so, when several computers can use a single connection to the internet, almost any incoming connection is filtered out by the box and hardly reaches your computer finally.
There are 2 exceptions however:
- applications that explicitly require incoming access (servers launched on your PC if any) or P2P applications. Such applications can arrange incoming traffic delivery to your PC behind the box automatically. However anyway such applications have to be enabled in all the FWs (if any) just to be operable.
-The connection box can not filter incoming traffic from other computer behind the same box.
So the connection box can not prevent an attack from “kitchen” computer. Fortunately, it’s rather theoretical threat…

In all other cases the connection box covers the incoming threats.

I have a question concerning shutting down the windows firewall in Windows 7. If I shut down the Windows Firewall in Windows Vista Security center tells me that WFC is still protecting the computer. But if I shut down the Windows Firewall on Windows 7 it says that no firewall is protecting the system(WFC is still running). The security center in Vista does show WFC while the security center in Windows 7(don't know the name exactly in English) doesn't show WFC. Why is this?

Security Center (in W7 it’s effectively a part of Action Center) acts like a firewall presence panel (even not a presence detector). So the panel just shows what was reported to the panel.
Looks like W7 has a changed (not documented) reporting scheme and the reporting of W7FC can not reach the panel in W7. Anyway the presence panel state can not affect the protection.