Page 698 - Windows 10 May 2019 Update The Missing Manual: The Book That Should Have Been in the Box

a specific communications channel, or port. Ports are numbered tunnels for

certain kinds of internet traffic.

The firewall blocks or permits signals based on a predefined set of rules.
They dictate, for example, which programs are permitted to use your
network connection or which ports can be used for communications.

You don’t need to do anything to turn on the Windows Defender Firewall.
When you turn on Windows, it’s already at work. But you can turn the
firewall off.

Tip
It’s perfectly OK to use both Windows Defender Firewall and another company’s firewall
software. If you’re a supergeek, you can assign each to handle different technical firewall
functions.

Here are the settings available to you.

Domain network, Private network, Public network

You can turn the firewall on or off independently for these three kinds of
networks. A domain network is the one at a corporation, maybe where you
work; a private network is your home network (Figure 11-2, top); and a
public network means the kind at a coffee shop or airport.

For each kind, you can turn the firewall on or off. There’s very little reason
to turn it off, though, even if you decide to install another company’s
firewall; its installer turns off the Windows Defender Firewall if necessary.

Note
If you really are on a domain (Chapter 19), then you may not be allowed to make any changes to
the firewall settings, because that’s something the network nerds like to be in charge of.

You also might be tempted to turn off the firewall because you have a

router that distributes your internet signal through the house—and most