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Windows Firewall

Here's a simple and practical tutorial for using netsh advfirewall in Windows — useful for managing the Windows Firewall via the Command Prompt (CMD).

🔧 What is netsh advfirewall?

netsh advfirewall is a command-line tool that allows you to configure Windows Firewall rules, profiles, and settings directly from CMD or scripts.

✅ Basic Command Format

netsh advfirewall <context> <action> [parameters]

🔥 1. Enable or Disable the Firewall

Enable firewall for all profiles:

netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state on

Disable firewall for all profiles:

netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off

For specific profiles:

netsh advfirewall set domainprofile state on
netsh advfirewall set privateprofile state off
netsh advfirewall set publicprofile state on

🧱 2. Add a New Firewall Rule

Example: Allow inbound port 8080 for TCP

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Allow Port 8080" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=8080

Example: Block outbound port 21 (FTP)

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Block FTP Out" dir=out action=block protocol=TCP remoteport=21

🗑 3. Delete a Firewall Rule

netsh advfirewall firewall delete rule name="Allow Port 8080"

You can also specify direction and port for more specific deletions:

netsh advfirewall firewall delete rule name="Block FTP Out" dir=out protocol=TCP remoteport=21

📋 4. Show Firewall Rules

Show all rules:

netsh advfirewall firewall show rule name=all

Show specific rule:

netsh advfirewall firewall show rule name="Allow Port 8080"

🔄 5. Export and Import Firewall Rules

Export rules to a file:

netsh advfirewall export "C:\backup\firewall-config.wfw"

Import rules from a file:

netsh advfirewall import "C:\backup\firewall-config.wfw"

🛡 6. Reset Firewall to Default

netsh advfirewall reset

⚠️ Warning: This will remove all custom rules and restore defaults.

📚 Tips

  • Always run Command Prompt as Administrator.

  • Use quotes " " around rule names and file paths.

  • Test rules carefully when working on remote systems to avoid locking yourself out.