Windows 7 Firewall

Windows 7 OS does not get updated thru MSE/Office 07,those are add-on software.To update the OS,run windows update,or windows update catalog,follow the link.As for malicious software,that would be kb890830 this gets updated every 2nd Tuesday of the month.

http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Search.aspx?q=890830

The firewall has no update/upgrade after Win 7 OS SP1.Only Windows Defender has reg.updates,open control-panel/defender/Help tab/check for updates,run the new update.Youre post has a good meaning,firewall & the OS can only run 1 firewall,one must be disabled if you install 3rd party firewall...

Thank you for responding. For the record, I am indeed using MSE and Windows Firewall and have been doing so successfully for the past 3 years, without any infections. 

My question, actually, was whether or not Windows Firewall needs to be updated by Microsoft in order to keep up to date with new threats.  The updates I am currently receiving from Microsoft focus on MSE and Microsoft Office and make no mention of Windows Firewall. 

Perhaps WF doesn't need to be updated, in which case please confirm that. 

I am aware that I can change the settings in Windows Firewall to block or allow programs access to my computer, but that is not what I am talking about. My concern is whether or not Windows Firewall needs to be updated by Microsoft in order to protect my computer from harmful intrusions. 

Please keep in mind, we are talking about Windows 7 that, theoretically, is no longer supported by Microsoft. Thanks in advance for your advice.

1. Buy and install a top-rated antivirus product.
2. Do not use any firewall but the one built-in to Windows 7.

Any really good antivirus product will not disable the Win7 firewall

Which Antivirus product to choose?

This is a controversial topic.  I suggest you visit this web site to get a sense of which AV software does the best job, depending on what kind of user you are:   http://www.av-comparatives.org/   This is a non-profit that has been around for a long time and I trust their results.   Their latest report:  https://www.av-comparatives.org/comparison/

When you interpret these results, keep in mind the difference between a product that detects 95% and another 99% of infections, is actually 5 times more likely to allow an infection.

I am speaking from a great deal of experience.  I support 130 client computers.  I have been doing this for 17 years.  My clients NEVER have infections.

The only products I will use or recommend are ANTIVIRUS-ONLY products.  Any product that is called complete protection, Internet security or deems itself to be a comprehensive security product is prohibited on my client computers.

I have good reason for this. Over the years and hundreds of PCs, I’ve learned a lesson well.  That it is very difficult to diagnose and fix the problem(s) when components of an Internet Security product are actively working to prevent that diagnosis.  The software sees the technician (me in this case) as a threat.  I discovered that if I uninstalled that software, I am able to much more likely and quickly discover an fix the problem.  Antivirus ONLY products do not behave like this.

The other components in these IS products (other than the AV itself) cause more problems than any benefit they bring and mostly work by shutting down the Windows component that does a very good job of that particular task anyway.

It is the Antivirus software that you need.  It is actually allthat you need with Windows 7.

Most of the big name suppliers much prefer to sell their all-in products because they can sell them for a higher price.  Some do not offer an antivirus-only product.  Some push their all in ones and still sell the AV only product, but you may have to look for them.  There is at least one and it is either the best or close to it.

Beware of products that try to actively engage you in the security process by asking your permission to run a program named xd43_45d*.exe, or the like.  Also look out for products that report a lot of false positives, misleading you into believing you have an infection when in fact, you do not.

Do not use any product that claims to make your computer run better.  Virtually all of them are either bogus, themselves an infection, or put your computer at risk. Remove everything that claims to be there to prevent infections or claims to make your computer run better, with the singular exception of just one antivirus product.

Note well.  You should never have more than one protection product installed.  Always ensure that you completely remove any and all protection software packages before installing a new one.  That includes software that may have come pre-installed on your computer when new.  Some products will conflict with one another, causing yet more problems.

You cannot fully remove most any AV software by simply using the standard Windows 7 uninstall tool.  Most of the majors also publish a “removal tool” that gets the rest of it.  If you do not completely remove it, it will cause very hard to understand and diagnose problems.

The “Security” software installed on your computer may be causing problems that can not be diagnosed or fixed.  Try removing it temporarily.

I am persevering with using Windows 7, for reasons that are unimportant, and thankfully receiving definition updates from Microsoft for MSE and Microsoft Office 2007, along with current versions of their Malicious Software Removal Tool.

However, I am not receiving definition updates for the Windows Firewall preinstalled on my computer and I am wondering if I should exchange it for a product supported by a third party vendor. My router has a built in firewall but I would still like to have the extra protection of a software firewall and would appreciate any recommendations as to how you think I should proceed. Thank you.

Disregard that "advice" you got to open Defender and update it.

You are using MSE.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/forum/protect_start/windows-defender-and-microsoft-security-essentials/5309cb8d-02e1-40e8-974f-0dcedb9ab9fd

**Q: Does installing Microsoft Security Essentials (XP/Vista/7) disable Windows Defender?A:**Microsoft Security Essentials should disable Windows Defender on Vista and Windows 7 and uninstall it from XP. In some cases, this does not happen automatically.

**Q: What happens if I do not disable or uninstall Windows Defender if I am using Microsoft Security Essentials (XP/Vista/7)?**A: If Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Defender are both running, your system may experience performance degradation and other problems caused by the conflict of two services providing real time protection simultaneously.