Some application installers tamper with the Windows Firewall rules. I would like to prohibit such automated modifications of the Windows Firewall rules on Windows 7 machines (which use the Windows 7 version of Windows Firewall).

Is there some setting that would accomplish this, or would it be necessary to resort to hooking the Windows Firewall API? I would like to prevent these modifications from being made at all, rather than backing up the firewall rules before the installation and restoring them afterward.

A TechNet article indicates that there is no way to prevent installers from accessing the Windows Firewall API, but that article pertains to the Windows XP version of Windows Firewall. The Windows 7 version of Windows Firewall is newer and much-improved over the Windows XP incarnation, so it is unclear whether that advice is still pertinent.

A similar SuperUser question had received a couple of responses, but neither response answered the question, likely because they misunderstood that question due to the way it was worded.

I hope that I have explained this problem clearly. Don't hesitate to ask if you need any clarification.