Windows Firewall Exceptions

Overview:

The personal firewall that is included with Windows can help prevent many attacks. This lab will help to demonstrate this.

Summary of tasks:

1. Download nmap binaries from http://www.nmap.org
2. Install nmap
3. Configure Windows Firewall.
4. Scan Target machine.
5. Submit your results and reflection.

What You Will Need:

Any two computers running Windows 7 on a LAN, with Internet access. One of these machines can be one of the Virtual’s that you created in LAB #2. You need administrator privileges. This project does not require doing anything very dangerous to your machines. The most dangerous part is turning off your firewall temporarily.

Choosing Two Computers:

1. Choose one computer to be the Scanner. The other one will be the Target.

Downloading and Installing the Nmap Security Scanner:

1. Nmap is a port scanner. It sends packets to the target and monitors the responses to discover what network services are listening on that computer. It is a favorite tool for security professionals worldwide.
2. On the Scanner computer, open a Web browser and go to nmap.org
3. In the upper center of the window, click Download.
4. In the next screen , scroll down to the “Windows (NT/ME/2K/XP/Vista) binaries” section.
5. In the “Latest release self-installer:” line, click “nmap-5.00-setup.exe“. The version number may be larger.
6. Save the installer file. Run it and install the software with the default selections.

Setting the Firewall to On, Allowing Exceptions

1. On the Scanner computer, click Start and type in FIRE.  In the Search results, click “Windows Firewall“.
2. In the Windows Firewall window, on the left side, click “Turn Windows Firewall on or off“.
3. In the “Customize Settings” window, make sure both the “Turn on Windows Firewall” buttons are selected, and both the “Block all incoming connections…” boxes are clear, as shown to the right on this page.  Click OK

   

Finding the IP Address – Do This on the on Both the Scanner and Target Computers

1. On the Scanner computer, click Start and type in CMD.  Press Enter.
2. In the Command Prompt window, type this command and then press the Enter key: IPCONFIG | MORE
3. Find the IP address that starts 192.168.1 and write it in the box as shown to the right on this page.

   

4. Repeat the process to find the IP address of the Target computer.

Running a Nmap Port Scan – Do This on the Scanner Computer

1. On the Scanner computer, click Start and type in NMAP.  In the Search results, click “Nmap – Zenmap GUI“.
2. In the Zenmap window, in the Target box, type in the Target IP you wrote in the box above on this page.  Click the Scan button.
3. In the results, scroll up and look for green text.  You should see some open ports, as shown to the right on this page.  If you all ports filtered, check your firewall settings.

   

Saving the Screen Image

1. Press the PrntScn key to copy the desktop to the clipboard.  Open Paint and press Ctrl+V.  Save the image with the filenameYour Name LAB3a.  Select a Save as type of PNG or JPEG. 

Leave Zenmap Open

1. Don’t close the Zenmap window. 

Running a Nmap Port Scan – Do This on the Scanner Computer

1. On the Scanner computer, Zenmap should still be open, with the Target IP in the Target box.  Click the Scan button.
2. You should see the message “All 1000 scanned ports are filtered“, as shown to the right on this page.

   

Capturing the Screen Image

1. Press the PrntScn key to copy whole screen to the clipboard.  Open Paint and paste in the image.  Save it as a JPEG, with the filename Your Name IS211 – LAB 3.

Reflection

1. What are your thoughts about your results?  Does this cause you any concern? What do you feel you should do to improve your online presence? Include this in your lab document.

Turning in your Project

1. Include these things with your file:
   • Your lab document
   • The image you captured above, as attachments
2. Submit to the dropbox, save a copy for yourself.