Windows Firewall is enabled by default in all versions of Windows, but sometimes it gets manually disabled by an administrative user, or maybe disabled surreptitiously by malware without your knowledge. In this Ask the Admin, I’ll show you how to check that Windows Firewall is enabled and working effectively using the GUI and PowerShell.
The Windows Firewall blocks all unsolicited incoming connections and some outbound connections. Even if you are on a private network, or connected to the Internet behind a Network Address Translation (NAT) router, the firewall still plays an important role in making sure that your PC isn’t exposed to other devices that might appear on your local network.
The easiest way to check the status of Windows Firewall is to open the Action Center and make sure there are no related warnings. The Action Center continuously monitors the firewall to check that it is enabled. To open the Action Center:
Open the Action Center using Windows Search:
Once the Action Center has opened, check there are no red alerts pertaining to Windows Firewall.
Open the Windows Firewall settings in the Control Panel to check your protection status:
A new window will open showing you the status of the networks you’re connected to, and a green shield icon if Windows Firewall is protecting the network connections.
If you find that Windows Firewall is disabled, you can enable it from the Action Center by clicking Turn on now in the related warning message. If you chose to use the Windows Firewall settings dialog to check the status:
If you prefer to use the command line to enable Windows Firewall, you can also enable Windows Firewall as follows:
You can omit one or more network profiles (Domain, Public and Private) from the command above, or specify False for the –Enabled parameter.
To get the current status of Windows Firewall using PowerShell, just type Get-NetFirewallProfile in the PowerShell window and press Enter. You’ll be shown a list of all the network profiles, whether Windows Firewall is enabled for each profile and information about various other Windows Firewall settings.