Import and Export Windows Firewall Configurations

Windows Firewall is very important part of all Microsoft Operating Systems. It provides extra protection layer frommalware, viruses and other unwanted threats. Firewalls also blocks prohibited programs from accessing the system and networks. Only per-defined and authorized applications are allowed to communicate between networks

Most organizations that use clients running Windows 7 apply firewall rules through Group Policy. In the event that you need to support a number of stand-alone clients running Windows 7, you can replicate complex firewall configurations using the WFAS Import Policy and Export Policy options. 

Importing and exporting policy also allows you to save the current firewall configuration state before you make changes to it. Exported policy files use the .wfw extension. Exported policies use a binary format, not Extensible Markup Language (XML) format like many other Windows 7 configuration files. You can also export and import firewall policies in the same .wfw format using the netsh advfirewall export or netsh advfirewall import commands.

Configure TCP/IP from the Command Prompt

Netsh.exe is a command line utility that allows you to, either locally or remotely, display or modify the network configuration of a computer that is currently running.


You can use the Netsh.exe tool to perform the following tasks:

• Configure interfaces
• Configure routing protocols
• Configure filters
• Configure routes
• Configure remote access behavior for Windows-based remote access routers that are running the Routing and Remote Access Server (RRAS) Service
• Display the configuration of a currently running router on any computer
• Use the scripting feature to run a collection of commands in batch mode against a specified router.

The following command configures the interface named Local Area Connection with the static IP address 192.168.0.100, the subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, and a default gateway of 192.168.0.1:

""netsh interface ip set address name="Local Area Connection" static 192.168.0.100 255.255.255.0 192.168.0.1 1""

IExpress Technology

IExpress is a technology designed to simplify creation of a setup program. Using the step-by-step IExpress Wizard, you can create self-extracting files that automatically run the setup program contained inside. The setup program can be an .inf file or an executable program. IExpress technology automatically removes the setup files after installation, saving the user time and frustration.

IEXPRESS.EXE is used to create a single self-extracting package from a set of files. Such packages can be used to install applications, executables, drivers, other system components