Windows firewall - does it firewall IPv6 traffic?

[MelkorF]

Hi all,

I got a new PC with a new OS that I know .... little about, so much is very different from my familiar XP Pro, even the UI. So, I got lots of questions, and while most are easy to Just Google It, this is one I haven't found a clear answer to yet:

do the Windows 7/8/10 firewalls handle IPv6 traffic just like it handles IPv4 traffic, firewalling it properly? Or is the firewall just gonna let IPv6 stuff through like it had a get out of jail free card and compromise security?

I used the Windows firewall on XP and was happy with it, and I've been hoping I can do so on Win 8 as well, but I'm not sure about the IPv6 thing...

Thanks!

- MelkorF

 

[Alejandro85]

Yes, the 7's fiewall fully supports IPv6 and properly filters its traffic whenever you setup it in a rule. When chosing the protocol it will ask about TCP/TCP6/UDP/UDP6 where you can chose the proper IP version for each program. "firewalling it properly" depends entirely on the rules you set, the default ruleset is almost equivalent to no firewall at all, but once configured it does a good job.
The XP firewall is a complete joke, with little support for fundamental features, notably outgoing filters. This has been added to 7.

 

[MelkorF]

Thanks for the reply!

So, if I set firewall rules manually, IPv6 filtering is perfectly doable. That is good. But, what if I don't create any manual rules, just enable the firewall in the Control Panel and go with the default settings? How does it behave with IPv6 in that case? I don't really have the expertise or the patience to start creating detailed firewall rules, I always just wanted the unsolicited incoming traffic solidly blocked and did not worry with outgoing stuff.

I was aware the XP firewall lacked granular controls for rules and all outbound filtering, but that never really bothered me, because I thought the outbound rules were an endless swamp of complications There's so many ways a nasty program could use completely legit applications to get online through firewalling that the outbound rules would have to be very specific indeed to really be helpful, and creating those would be rather taxing on my limited patience and skills - so I just concentrated on trying to keep evil stuff out in the first place, so evil stuff won't be connecting out because it won't be there (knocking on wood here). It seemed to work well enough on XP - never any sign of infection or compromise.