by Bob Smyk

Created on: April 27, 2008

For many standard users the concept of a firewall is one of those types of computer black magic that just cause fear and trepidation to creep in. This tends to result in either ignoring the settings completely or in perhaps compromising your security too much. This latter issue is a great danger that many users run into when confronted with a message that something they want to do is being blocked by the firewall. Now they are presented with a conundrum. I don't know how to work with the firewall, but I really want this thing I am trying to do to work. So what do they do? They turn the firewall off. Now while this choice may be acceptable for a short time to get something quick done, if you choose to leave the firewall off or forget to turn it back on, you have now turned your need to do something into a potential nightmare as you expose your machine to much more risk than you need to.

To avoid this, what you need to do is set an exception for the item you need. This allows you to perform the tasks you desire while leaving the firewall active to do its job of protecting your machine on all other levels. This article will help you walk through the potentially intimidating world of firewall exceptions. So take a deep breath, and don't worry. We'll get through this together.

To find the area to set exceptions you first need to find the firewall. To do this click on the Start button (the circle with the four color Windows logo in it usually on the bottom left of your screen). Then look for Control Panel. This is off on the right side, usually near the bottom. If you have your machine set to the Vista default you can look for Security and there will be a link titled "Allow a program through Windows Firewall". If you prefer Classic View just look for the icon titled "Windows Firewall". Double click that icon and then select the Allow link from the vertical menu on the left side of the screen. At this point you will be at the screen you need to work with.

You will now be looking at a screen titled "Windows Firewall Settings" with three tabs, and the middle tab, "Exceptions", will be selected. At this point you need to be familiar with what exactly you are trying to allow through your firewall. This will determine if you just need to check a box or which Add button to use.

The first possible solution will be the check boxes for standard Windows programs. Some of the options many people need checked are Microsoft Outlook and Windows Live Messenger, but there are other things

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