Windows Vista - Using the Built-In Firewall

This document describes how to view the settings for Windows' built-in firewall as well as how to enable and disable the firewall. In Windows Vista, you can customize your firewall settings for the three main network connection types: Home, Work, and Public place.

Windows 9x/2000/XP/Vista UNSUPPORTED
NOTE: Windows 95/98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista are no longer supported by the Help Desk. We can only provide best effort support. If we are unable to resolve your Windows 9x/2000/XP/Vista issue, you may be able to find help in Microsoft's Knowledge Base.

These products are no longer actively supported by Microsoft. No further development will take place on these products and security updates are no longer issued. It is highly recommended that you upgrade to Windows 10 or 8.

  1. Navigate to the Windows Firewall by clicking on the Start menu » Control Panel.

  2. In the Control Panel search bar in the upper right-hand corner, type firewall. Select Windows Firewall from the results.

  3. You should now see the firewall settings for your current network connection type. For more information on the differences between the three network types, see http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/choosing-a-network-location

  4. Click Turn Windows Firewall on or off in the left-hand navigation panel.


Keywords:
windows firewall enable disable vista configuring configure 
Doc ID:
6061
Owned by:
Help Desk KB Team in DoIT Help Desk
Created:
2007-06-25
Updated:
2025-05-30
Sites:
DoIT Help Desk