Firewalls are designed to block unauthorized access to your computer or network, but if they are not set up properly, they can also prevent you from doing the things that you would like. You can uninstall or disable the firewall software, but this will also expose your computer to unsolicited attacks which defeats the purpose of having a firewall altogether. We will give you a few ideas to get you pointed in the right direction.Maybe you are having problems setting up your home network. You have set up the workgroup name on all the machines that you would like to connect together and have enabled printer and file sharing, but still cannot see the files on other computers. This is a common problem that is the result of a firewall that has not been set up properly. A firewall will usually block all access from computers that it does not trust. So, to get things working correctly, you will need to add the computers in your network to the “Trusted Zone” for your router. If your network uses static IP addresses and you know the addresses of the computers that you would like to trust, you can enter them individually. If you have a DHCP network, you may wish to specify a range of addresses to trust. If you do not know where to set the “Trusted Zone” for your firewall, check with the documentation that you have been provided with the software or that can be found on the developer’s website.

Another common problem will often occur when you are trying to run a web server or ftp server that is hidden behind your router. Routers will often have a built in firewall and need to be set up so that this firewall does not block access to these services. There will usually be a “Filters” menu that can be set up using your routers web based menu system. In this section, you will need to select the ports that you wish to open on the router’s firewall and to which computer behind the firewall you want the different requests to be sent to. This will allow you to run different servers behind your router that provide different services. Once again, each router adjusts these settings using slightly different interfaces, so be sure to consult with your owner’s manual if you are having troubles.

Of course, not all problems with a firewall are due to the settings. Some third party firewall programs have been known to have issues when run on Windows XP SP2. If you are in this situation, a visit to the Microsoft website will provide you with an update that should correct your problem. You may also want to check with the developer’s website for updates or patches that they have created for their firewall applications.