In what format are Windows Firewall logs stored?

Windows Firewall logs are stored in the W3C Extended Log format. This format is designed to provide a standardized way to store log data, allowing for flexibility in the types of information logged and the structure of the entries.

The W3C Extended Log format includes various fields, such as date, time, source IP address, destination IP address, protocol, and action taken (e.g., allowed or blocked), making it particularly useful for reviewing firewall activities and assessing security events. This format can easily be parsed by many log analysis tools and supports extensive customization, enabling administrators to select which fields they want to include in the logs.

While other formats, such as plain text, CSV, and XML, have their own merits in different contexts, they are not utilized by default for Windows Firewall logging. For instance, plain text format may lack the structured data representation necessary for effective analysis, and CSV, while useful for tabular data, is less versatile for complex log entries. XML is more structured but is not explicitly used by Windows Firewall logs, which prefer the W3C Extended Log format for its standardization and extensibility.