# Ensure 'Windows Firewall: Private: Logging: Log successful connections' is set to 'Yes'

Necessity: Enabling the logging of successful connections for the Windows Defender Firewall is critical for security monitoring, threat detection, and forensic analysis. This log provides a detailed record of all traffic that is permitted through the firewall, which is essential for establishing a baseline of normal network activity. In the event of a security incident, these logs are invaluable for tracing an attacker's lateral movement within the network, identifying compromised systems, and understanding the scope of a breach. Without this logging, administrators are blind to potentially malicious activity that leverages allowed ports and services, significantly hampering incident response capabilities. Auditing and Remediation: The audit script checks the current configuration of the 'LogAllowed' property for the firewall's private profile. The remediation script uses the `Set-NetFirewallProfile` PowerShell cmdlet to directly modify this setting, enabling or disabling it based on the provided command-line argument. Recommended State Rationale: The recommended state for all security levels (Basic, Moderate, and Strict) is 'Yes'. This is a binary security setting where the only secure option is to have logging enabled. There is no intermediate state of security. Basic: Sets the fundamental requirement for visibility into network traffic. Moderate: Reinforces this requirement as non-negotiable for a standard security posture. Strict: Confirms that even in the most secure environments, comprehensive logging is a foundational control. Maintaining these logs is a best practice recommended by security frameworks like the CIS Benchmarks to ensure a complete audit trail is available for security analysis.

## Recommended State Configuration

| Security Level | Value |
|----------------|-------|
| **Basic** | `['Yes']` |
| **Moderate** | `['Yes']` |
| **Strict** | `['Yes']` |
| **Type** | `ENUM` |

## Audit Script Working

PowerShell script that queries the 'Private' profile of the Windows Defender Firewall. The script must retrieve the current state of the 'Log successful connections' setting and output 'Yes' if it is enabled or 'No' if it is disabled. The script should return only the string 'Yes' or 'No' with no additional text or formatting.

## Remediation Script Working

PowerShell script that configures the 'Log successful connections' setting for the 'Private' profile of the Windows Defender Firewall. The script must accept a single positional command-line argument, which will be either 'Yes' or 'No'. The script will translate 'Yes' to enable the setting and 'No' to disable it. Upon successful application of the setting, the script must return `$true`; otherwise, it must return `$false`.

