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As you may all know, Windows XP SP2/SP3 and Windows Vista come with a built in firewall. While the firewall may work well in a corporate environment and allow for seamless integration with policies, it may not be the best option for home use should you want total control over your security with a two-way firewall. A two-way firewall simply means you are protected against both incoming as well as outgoing threats. Windows, up until Vista, which has a “hidden” feature that I am not going to talk about here, includes generally a one-way incoming firewall. Overall, a two-way firewall will help to ensure your data or private information is not leaving your computer without you knowing.
There are many personal firewalls available today such as those by leading vendors McAfee and Norton that cost money and those from Zone Alarm, PC Tools, and Ashampoo that are free for personal use. All of these firewalls provide similar functionality and the key being a total control two-way firewall service that replaces the built-in Windows firewall automatically. The free firewalls offered by Zone Alarm, PC Tools, and Ashampoo are used on millions of PCs daily. I have been using some of these free firewalls for personal use for well over five years now and have recommded them to many users with great success. Here is how you can protect your computer from both incoming and outgoing threats from Internet traffic and from other computers on your network. In this post, I will show a typical Ashampoo Firewall install.

Items To Note:

• Ashampoo is user friendly and the default settings are suitable for most users.
• Ashampoo is a two-way firewall.
• Ashampoo will automatically disable the built-in Windows Firewall if applicable.
• Ashampoo is interactive and will alert you in real-time of both incoming and outbound threats asking for your input. This firewall software can be switched to easy mode, expert mode, and learning mode.
• Ashampoo keeps decent logs of all events relating to security and also displays a visual of incoming and outbound network activity in your taskbar.
• Ashampoo has a small footprint and runs on Windows 2000/XP/Vista.

Installing Ashampoo Firewall FREE

1. Download the latest version of Ashampoo Firewall FREE here. Once the download is complete, double-click the installer to begin the setup process.
2. Select your language and click OK. (pic below)
   
3. Click Next to start the install wizard. (pic below)
   
4. Review License Agreement and select Accept if you agree with the terms. Click Next. (pic below)
   
5. Review the System Requirements screen and click Next to proceed. (pic below)
   
6. Unless you have a specific reason not to, use the default install path and click Next. (pic below)
   
7. Here you may choose not to have either a desktop shortcut or a quick launch icon. Make your selections and click Next. (pic below)
   
8. Click Next to the Ready to Install screen. (pic below)
   
9. To complete the install, choose Yes to restart your computer and click Finish. (pic below)
   
10. Once your computer has restarted, click the Get Free Code button from the Ashampoo screen that automatically launches. (pic below)
    
11. Now, once you click the Get Free Code button, which will launch Internet Explorer, Ashampoo Firewall begins to work right away. You will notice a message box appear at the bottom right of your screen advising that Internet Explorer is attempting to access the Ashampoo website. Now, because this is outgoing and it involves Internet Explorer, we should choose Create Rule/Don’t Ask Again and click Allow. We want to do this to allow Internet Explorer to access all websites on the Internet as that is what it’s primary job is. On the other hand, we may not want to do this for all programs. Ashampoo allows you to choose the behaviour of programs “on the fly”. (pic below)
    
12. Once you are at the Ashampoo registration page, you will need to enter your email address in order to receive the free serial number. The other fields are optional. (pic below)
    
13. Once you submit your email address, check your email and click the activation link provided by Ashampoo. Complete the form and note, most fields are optional, and click OK, Send.
14. Now, re-check your email and you should now have the registration code. Copy the code and return to the Ashampoo splash screen and click the Enter Code button, paste in your code, and click the Check Code button.
15. Now, click Next to start the Configuration Assistant. This will allow you to easily setup and start using the Ashampoo Firewall with the best settings for your PC. (pic below)
    
16. This next screen allows you to set either Easy Mode or Expert Mode. Both options are very different and you will get a better level of protection from Expert Mode but in return, you need a better understanding of network security. Basically, Expert Mode is better however, for this demo, we will choose Easy Mode. Click Next to continue. Please feel free to go directly to Expert Mode if you wish. (pic below)
    
17. At this screen, you can choose the default access for your programs. Typically, allow full access to programs you will be using frequently such as Outlook Express. Note that if you chose Expert Mode, this screen will look different. Make your selections and click Next to proceed then click Apply to store your settings. (pic below)
    

You are now protected by the Ashampoo Firewall in Easy Mode. If you want to browse through the various Ashampoo Firewall settings and check the status, simply double-click on the Ashampoo Firewall icon next to your clock . Although Easy Mode provides good protection, I recommend you switch to Expert Mode, when you are comfortable in doing so, in order to activate the full functionality and advanced features of Ashampoo Firewall FREE. You can do this by clicking the Configuration Tab from the Ashampoo control panel and choose Configuration Assistant.

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