How is the firewall configured from the Endpoint Protection administration console?

Information applies to:

The firewall unit monitors all the network connections, blocking or allowing them according to the rules configured. Implements detection and blocking of IDS intrusions.

This protection allows the administrator to configure the firewall performance:

• From the administration console: The administrator defines the settings to be applied on managed computers in the Web administration console.
• From the Panda icon: The end-user configures the firewall. There a series of rules predefined by Panda which establish permissions for common applications. New rules can be created or existing ones can be modified in the local firewall configuration console.
  
  The first thing to select in the Web console is the firewall performance. The options available are:
  • Allow configuration of the firewall by the client: You can configure the firewall through the local console. If you select this option, the rest of the settings will not be accessible to the administrator, since the configuration will be done locally.
  • Apply the following firewall settings: This option allows the administrator to configure the firewall of the managed computers.

From version 6.0 of Endpoint Protection, it is possible to enable/disable the firewall for workstations and/or servers for each profile. The Default profile, for example, is configured by default with the firewall enabled for workstations and disabled for servers.

The firewall settings can be defined from the Endpoint Protection console through four tabs: General, Programs, Intrusion prevention and System.

Firewall settings - General tab

The general firewall settings are established in this section.

• Enable / disable the firewall.
• Select the network type: public network or trusted network. Select the option according to the type of network you are going to connect to.
  

Firewall settings - Programs tab

In this section the administrator can define the connection permissions of the different applications that will run on the network computers. There a series of rules predefined by Panda which establish permissions for common applications.

• Enable Panda rules: The administrator can enable or disable the rules predefined by Panda, but cannot modify them.
• Show: Filter that shows the rules created by the administrator or those created by Panda.
• Add: Allows you to create a rule for a specific program. To create a rule, you must specify the name of the program executable file you want to define the connection permissions of, and select the permission types for each program:
  • Allow inbound connections
  • Allow outbound connections
  • Allow inbound and outbound connections
  • No connection
• Default action: Define the action the firewall should take if a program is run for which the administrator hasn’t defined any rules:
  • Allow access
  • Deny access

Intrusion prevention

In this section the administrator can define the types of intrusions to be blocked.

System

Unlike program rules, system rules affect all network communications. They work at protocol, port and service level, and are more important than program rules.

In this section you can view, modify and delete system rules, or create new ones. Additionally, Panda provides a set of defined rules.

• Enable Panda rules: The administrator can enable or disable the rules predefined by Panda, but cannot modify them.
• Show: Filter that shows the rules created by the administrator or those created by Panda.
• Add: Allows you to create a system rule and configure the options in the following window.
  
  

To save the changes made to the settings (in all tabs), click OK.

The changes will be applied in the next protection update. Updates are carried out every four hours by default. However, the update frequency can be configured in the Updates section of the Windows and Linux tab.

Updates can also be performed on-demand by right-clicking the Panda icon in the Windows system tray and selecting Update.