You do not want users to have the ability to manage rules or worse, disable the Firewall. If you have an Active Directory environment or Azure with domain joined computers you should centrally manage the firewall settings.

Centrally Manage the Firewall with Group Policy

In the picture above you can see the firewall is on for the public network but not for the private networks. The below command will show the firewall status for all three profiles: netsh advfirewall show allĪnother way to check the firewall status is to click the windows start button and type firewall then select “check firewall status” There are a few ways to check if the Windows Firewall is on. Here is a screenshot from the CIS Security Controls regarding firewalls. Many security organizations such as the Center for Internet Security recommend enabling the Windows firewall. The more layers of security you have the better you will be protected. Even if you have a network-based firewall on the perimeter of your network it is still recommended to have a host-based firewall enabled. Disabling and leaving the firewall off can make your computer more vulnerable to viruses, ransomware, and other malicious attacks. It is considered an Active Directory security best practice by Microsoft and other security professionals. The Windows firewall can help protect your computer from unwanted traffic.

Create Separate GPOs for Specific Rules.

Centrally Manage The Firewall with Group Policy.

I recommend you test and get approval before making changes to production systems. No two networks or organizations are the same, so these settings may not work for you. They took careful planning, lots of testing, and approval. These are the settings I’ve used in the real world.

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