Designating Security for a Zone

To follow are the different security controls that can be applied to a Zone. After each description is the tab name of where the settings reside.

For the preset security levels, the following settings are fixed. For the Custom level, you can change these settings.

Control which standard ports are open to incoming or outgoing traffic. (Defined Ports tab)
For additional ports that you specify, you can determine which ones are open to incoming or outgoing traffic. (Custom level security only - Custom Ports tab)
See a list of all the known attacks that are blocked. (Attacks tab)
When enabled, control the program access based on its IntelliDefense classification. (IntelliDefense tab)
Establish default program permissions. (General tab)
Control broadcast/multicast programs. (General tab)
Control IGMP packets. (General tab)
Control whether the Zone locks when your PC is idle. (General tab)

Provides protection from threats and uncommon communication. Most routine/standard Internet and network functionality is allowed. See the Medium level topic for details.

Provides protection from common threats, but most network and Internet functionality is allowed. See the Low level topic for details.

Select the Turn on security and choose a specific security level option. The window expands to show columns of security levels.
Click on the icon for the preset security level that you want to set for the Zone. Options are Low, Medium, and High.

Low. Provides basic protection. Common threats are blocked, but most network and Internet traffic is allowed.
Medium. Provides intermediate protection. Threats and uncommon types of communication are blocked, but most routine Internet and network traffic is allowed.
High. Provides the strongest protection. Only traffic that is fundamental to basic Internet and network functionality is allowed.

The level that you select will be highlighted and will display at the top of the pane in the Status box.

The security level for the X Zone is Low

The security level for the X Zone is Medium

The security level for the X Zone is High

...where "X Zone" is either the Internet Zone or the Trusted Zone.

Select the Turn on security and choose a specific security level option. The window expands to show columns of security levels.
Click on the icon in the Custom column header to select it. Initially, the custom settings will be same as the default settings. (For the Internet Zone, the default is Medium and for the Trusted Zone, the default is Low.)
The Custom level will be highlighted and Custom will display at the top of the pane in the Status box.

The security level for the X Zone is Custom

...where "X Zone" is either the Internet Zone or the Trusted Zone.

Click Edit Settings. The Edit Custom Level Settings window for the selected Zone opens.
Change the desired options. The window has the following tabs (click on a tab name for details):
Defined Ports. Determine which ports are open to incoming or outgoing traffic.
Custom Ports. For additional ports that you specify, determine which ones are open to incoming or outgoing traffic.
Attacks. View a list of the known attacks that are blocked. (You can turn off the block temporarily for troubleshooting.)
IntelliDefense. When enabled, determine the program access for each IntelliDefense classification. You also have the option of disabling IntelliDefense.
General. Determine various settings, including default program permissions, broadcast/multicast protocols, and IGMP protocols.

Click Save to save your changes and close the window.

Select the Turn on security and choose a specific security level option. The window expands to show columns of security levels.
Click Show security level details. The pane expands to show the settings for some common ports. One of the following displays next to each port name:

Allow. Both incoming and outgoing communication are allowed.
Block. Both incoming and outgoing communication are blocked.
In. Only incoming communication is allowed; outgoing communication is blocked.
Out. Only outgoing communication is allowed; incoming communication is blocked.

Further detailed settings can be viewed by clicking View more at the bottom of any of the Security Level columns. The information on the View windows is read-only and cannot be changed. (To change settings, see Designate settings to create your own security level above.)

Click a link below for more information on the View windows.

View Low Level Settings
View Medium Level Settings
View High Level Settings
View Custom Level Settings. (To edit these fields, instead of View more, click Edit Settings.)

Select the Turn on security and block all inbound and outbound access option.

All the computers in the selected Zone will have no incoming or outgoing access.

The status box at the top of the pane will display a Block All message:

The security level for the X Zone is Block All

...where "X Zone" is either the Internet Zone or the Trusted Zone. The Zone will be locked.

Note: To block access for both Zones, you can click Block all activity on the top of the application window; refer Enable/Disable Security Tools for details.

Select the Turn off security and allow all inbound and outbound access option.

Computers in the selected Zone will have no restrictions for incoming and outgoing communication. (IntelliDefense settings and program policies you have in place will not apply.)

The status box at the top of the pane will display a Security Disabled message:

The security level for the X Zone is Security Disabled

...where "X Zone" is either the Internet Zone or the Trusted Zone.

Designating Security for a Zone – Using the Security Options

To access:

In the Trusted Zone or the Internet Zone section of the Zone Security pane, click View Zone options to expand the list of security options.

What it does:

Zone security allows you to grant Trusted Zone locations a level of access that differs from Internet Zone locations. (More on Zones.) The access you can manage for each Zone includes which ports are open and more.

The preset security levels (Low, Medium, and High) have fixed settings, while the Custom level lets you designate your own settings. You can also block all access or allow all access for a Zone.

Jump to descriptions of each security level:

Instructions - Changing security:

To make changes, go to the Zone section that you want to update (Internet Zone or Trusted Zone) and click View Zone options to expand the list of security options.