How to turn on/off firewall on Windows computer

Microsoft has included firewall features in its operating systems such as Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

1. How to turn on firewall in Windows 10

To turn the firewall on or off on Windows, you need to log in to the computer with Admin rights.

Note: Windows Firewall is enabled by default in Windows 10. You should not turn off Windows Firewall unless you have installed and enabled a third-party firewall. Turning off Windows Firewall can make your computer (and network, if applicable) vulnerable to unauthorized access.

1.1. Turn on/off firewall in Control Panel

Step 1: Enter Windows Defender Firewall in the search box > click on the result that appears with the Control Panel line below. Or Open Control Panel > Windows Defender Firewall

Step 2:  Click Turn Windows Firewall on or off on the left panel:

Step 3: Check the Turn on Windows Defender Firewall option to turn on or Turn off Windows Defender Firewall to turn off the firewall for Private and Public networks respectively, then click OK.

1.2. Turn on the firewall in Security and Maintenance

1. Open Control Panel > Security and Maintenance
2. In the Security tab , under Network firewall , click Turn on now .

1.3. Turn on/off firewall in Command Prompt:

Please refer to the detailed instructions in the article: Instructions for activating/disabling Windows Firewall using Command Prompt

1.4. Turn on/off Windows 10 firewall in Windows Defender Security

Open Windows Defender Security Center > Firewall & network protection > click Private (discoverable) network or Public (non-discoverable) network , depending on which network's firewall you want to turn off or on, then just switch to On or Off below. Windows Firewall section is fine. To be more careful, you can choose to block/unblock incoming connections in the Incoming connections section .

1.5. Turn on firewall from notification

Click the notification (if available) from Windows Firewall to enable Windows Firewall for all network profiles.

2. Turn on/off firewall in Windows 7

Next, we will guide you through configuring a firewall in Windows 7:

Step 1:

You must log in to the computer with administrative rights, access the path Start > Control Panel > System and Security .

Step 2:

In the System and Security window , click Windows Firewall .

Step 3:

In the left column of the interface, select Change notification settings to adjust the firewall settings.

Step 4:

Here, you can optionally adjust Firewall on or off for both Private and Public network modes

Step 5:

To install according to Windows' recommended settings, you can click Use recommended settings .

Or to return to the original default, select Restore default and click Yes when the confirmation message appears

Step 6:

If you are an expert, you can use Advance Setting to configure the firewall for inbound and outbound information flows depending on your needs.

Step 7:

When you click Inbound Rules on the left, you will see a list of Inbound Rules displayed. You can enable or disable any connection you want by right-clicking and selecting Enable Rule / Disable Rule

Do the same for Outbound Rules for outgoing information flows.

3. Turn on/off firewall in Windows 8/8.1

Click on Control Panel on the screen, if not there, move the mouse to the upper right corner until the magnifying glass icon appears as shown:

Enter Control Panel and click on the icon that appears below to open Control Panel. If you want to pin it to the Start menu or Taskbar, right-click on the Control Panel icon and select the corresponding option.

In the Control Panel, go to and click on Windows Firewall, the Windows Firewall window appears with the same options as on Windows 7 (picture in step 3 above), you can follow the instructions in the wall toggle section. Firewall on Windows 7 to turn firewall on and off in Windows 8, as well as change related firewall settings.

Good luck!

Jessica Tanner

Update 03 June 2024