Firewall control with multiple profiles

• US 20080282336A1
• Filed: 08/10/2007
• Published: 11/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Diaz Cuellar, Gerardo, Abzarian, David
• Granted Patent: US 7,941,838 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/11
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0263 Rule management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227

Abstract

A networked computer with a software firewall that may be configured for any of a number of network contexts may be quickly configured with an appropriate set of rules for a current network context. The computer has multiple profiles, each containing rules applicable to a different network context. When a change in network context is detected, a difference between the profile for the current context and the profile with which the firewall was previously configured is determined. These differences are applied to quickly reconfigure the firewall without blocking, even temporarily, communications that are allowed in the previously configured and current profiles. Additionally, when the networked computer is connected to multiple networks simultaneously, an appropriate profile may be selected.

Claims

1. A method of operating a computing device connectable to a network, the computing device comprising a set of firewall rules applicable when the computing device is connected to the network, the method comprising:

in response to an indication that the computing device is connected to the network, determining a difference between the set of rules and rules upon which the firewall is configured to operate; and

altering a configuration of the firewall based on the difference.

2. A method of operating a computing device connectable to a plurality of networks, the computing device comprising a plurality of sets of firewall rules, each set of rules defined for use when the computing device is connected to a network having a type, the method comprising:

in response to an indication that the computing device is connected to a network of the plurality of networks, selecting a set of the plurality of sets of rules; and

configuring a firewall with selected set of rules.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein selecting a set of rules comprises automatically selecting the set of rules.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein automatically selecting a set of rules comprises changing the firewall rules applicable to an application without executing the application with administrative privileges.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein, when the networked computer is connected to two or more networks, selecting a set comprises selecting a set of rules defined for use when the computing device is connected to a least secure of the two or more networks.

6. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, perform a method comprising:

identifying differences between a new set of firewall rules and a current set of firewall rules; and

altering the configuration of firewall using the identified differences.