While accessing the Internet in an external environment (i.e. while traveling), a Windows 7 firewall should be set to which of the following?

Blocking both incoming and outgoing connections would prevent all normal internet activity such as browsing and email, rendering the laptop non-functional for the user.

Disabling the firewall on an untrusted public network removes all inbound protection, leaving every open port exposed to other hosts on the same network.

Blocking only outgoing connections would prevent the user from initiating any internet activity while providing no protection against incoming attack traffic.

Windows 7 firewall uses network location profiles; the Public profile - intended for untrusted external networks - blocks incoming connections that have not been explicitly permitted. This prevents remote hosts on the same network from initiating unsolicited connections to the laptop while still allowing the user to initiate outbound sessions.