Windows 7 / Networking

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Creating and Configuring Connection Security Rules

You can create and configure connection security rules on targeted computers using Group Policy. Connection security rules force computers to authenticate before they are allowed to establish a connection, and they use IPsec to protect the data passed between the computers once a connection has been established between them. For information concerning the types of connection security rules you can create, see the section titled "Understanding Connection Security Rules" earlier in this tutorial.

To create a connection security rule on targeted computers using Group Policy, right-click the Connection Security Rules node under the firewall policy node in your GPO and select New Rule. Doing this starts the New Connection Security Rule Wizard, which walks you through the steps of creating a connection security rule by selecting the type of rule you want to create and specifying the rule conditions needed for the rule. Note that different pages may be displayed in the wizard depending upon the options you select on each page.

For more information on creating connection security rules, see the following sections of the TechNet Library:

• "Understanding Connection Security Rules" at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-ca/library/dd448591.aspx
• "Creating Connection Security Rules" at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc725940.aspx
• "Connection Security Rule Wizard" at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd759064.aspx

Once you finish creating a new connection security rule, the rule is automatically enabled. To disable the rule, right-click it and select Disable Rule.

After you have created a connection security rule, you can further configure it if needed. To do this, double-click the rule to display its properties sheet, which exposes all configurable rule conditions for viewing and modification.

For more information on configuring connection security rules, see the following sections of the TechNet Library:

• "Understanding Connection Security Rules" at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd448591.aspx
• "Connection Security Rule Properties Page" at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-ca/library/dd421705.aspx