Nozza Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Is there really a lot of point in having Windows Firewall enabled on workstations in the school network bearing in mind the net connection is firewalled and proxied by us and the county?
FN-GM Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 The only reason i would use it is for laptops that are used on a home network connection.
leco Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Agree with FN-GM Workstations have firewall turned off - teacher laptops automatically get firewalled when not connected to our network.
MatthewL Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Our's have it turned off, and when off the network is turns it's self on and puts in various rules for what we need access to.
localzuk Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 We have it enabled for one reason - to prevent the spread of viruses. Why disable it? Shouldn't it be on by default, with exceptions. ie. a secure base to work on.
EduTech Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Firewall is turned off on all workstations, laptops have it turned off when not on the network. But i do agree with Localzuk, If you have it turned on and just configure the exceptions via GPO it cant do more harm than good.
cookie_monster Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 We have it turned on on all stations and then configure the ports we require, your perimeter firewall is useless if someone brings an infected laptop or USB drive in and plugs it into your network. I've never had any issues with the windows firewall, it's free and doesn't really have any overhead so why not use it it's just another layer of defense available to you.
localzuk Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Firewall is turned off on all workstations, laptops have it turned off when not on the network. But i do agree with Localzuk, If you have it turned on and just configure the exceptions via GPO it cant do more harm than good. Turned off when not on the network? Doesn't that mean that when they plug in to their own, poorly protected, home network they end up with a laptop open to the elements??
EduTech Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Turned off when not on the network? Doesn't that mean that when they plug in to their own, poorly protected, home network they end up with a laptop open to the elements?? Sorry i probably should of re-worded that, when the staff take the laptops home they have to logon locally and the firewall is turned on and i just stop them via the local group policy turning it off.
Nozza Posted May 3, 2009 Author Posted May 3, 2009 The reason I ask is that we get sporadic problems with firewalls suddenly losing the exception for the rmsmartcache client ident server which means workstation cannot access the net. I have to go around and add the exception. It occurs to me that the firewall is doing nothing of any use on a workstation sat behind adequate protection on the network.
meastaugh1 Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 The reason I ask is that we get sporadic problems with firewalls suddenly losing the exception for the rmsmartcache client ident server which means workstation cannot access the net. I have to go around and add the exception. It occurs to me that the firewall is doing nothing of any use on a workstation sat behind adequate protection on the network. You mentioned a firewalled and filtered internet connection, but what about attack/risk from inside the school?
theriver Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 The reason I ask is that we get sporadic problems with firewalls suddenly losing the exception for the rmsmartcache client ident server which means workstation cannot access the net. I have to go around and add the exception. It occurs to me that the firewall is doing nothing of any use on a workstation sat behind adequate protection on the network. Hi. Do you manage the exception via Group Policy? This should be pretty reliable . . . . And for info, we have all firewalls up all the time, to protect clients from each other.
cookie_monster Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 @ Nozza As stated above your perimeter firewall is useless if someone brings an infected laptop or USB drive in and plugs it into your network
localzuk Posted May 4, 2009 Posted May 4, 2009 The reason I ask is that we get sporadic problems with firewalls suddenly losing the exception for the rmsmartcache client ident server which means workstation cannot access the net. I have to go around and add the exception. It occurs to me that the firewall is doing nothing of any use on a workstation sat behind adequate protection on the network. You shouldn't be going around to any machines, it can and should be done via group policy. Adding a rule is a single line of text, and takes a few seconds.
cookie_monster Posted May 4, 2009 Posted May 4, 2009 Deploying Windows Firewall Settings With Group Policy
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