Windows Firewall for Windows 10 and Its Great Alternative

Windows Firewall Explained

If you ask “what does Windows Firewall do”, here is the answer. It helps to filter information from the Internet and prevent potentially harmful programs from entering your system. It can also block most programs that try to communicate through firewalls. 

When you are using a public network, Windows Firewall can also prevent all unsolicited attempts that connect to your computer in order to protect the system. 

Many of you are interested in how to turn on or off Windows Firewall for a variety of reasons. You may want to use different firewalls, or you may accidentally turn Windows Firewall off. Follow the instructions below to learn how to turn your Windows Firewall for Windows 10 on or off.

Turn on Windows Firewall for Windows 10

There is a pre-installed firewall utility in Windows 10, but this firewall may be turned off by default. It’s important for you to turn on Windows Defender Firewall, even if you already have another one in your Windows. Windows Defender Firewall can help protect you from any unauthorized access. Here are the steps to turn on the firewall in Windows 10. 

Method 1: Turn on Windows Firewall via Settings

Step 1: Click the Start button and select Settings to continue.

Step 2: Under Windows Settings section, click Update & Security. 

Step 3: Select Windows Defender and then click Open Windows Defender Security Center. Next, choose Firewall & network protection and choose a network profile. 

Step 4: Under the Windows Defender Firewall section, switch Off to On.

Method 2: Turn on Windows Firewall via Control Panel

Step 1: Type control panel in the search bar and click Control Panel to enter its interface. 

Step 2: Select System and Security to continue and then click Windows Defender Firewall. If Windows Firewall for Windwos 10 is turned off, you can see that Windows Defender Firewall: Off.

Step 3: To turn it on, click Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off in the left navigation panel, then just check Turn on Windows Defender Firewall and click OK. 

After you complete all the steps above, you can see that Windows Defender Firewall: On. That means you successfully turn on Windows Defender Firewall.

Turn off Windows Firewall for Windows 10

A word of caution is that it is not recommended to turn off Windows Firewall unless you are troubleshooting problems or planning to install another firewall. The following part will show you steps to disable Windows Defender Firewall in Windows 10. 

Method 1: Turn off Windows Firewall via Settings

Step 1: Click the Start button and select Settings to continue. 

Step 2: Under the Windows Settings section, click Update & Security. 

Step 3: Select Windows Defender firstly and then click Open Windows Defender Security Center. Next, choose Firewall & network protection and choose a network profile. 

Step 4: Under the Windows Defender Firewall section, switch On to Off. 

After you complete all steps above, you can successfully turn off Windows Defender Firewall and you will see a note that your firewall is off and your device may be vulnerable. 

Method 2: Turn off Windows Firewall via Control Panel

Step 1: Type control panel in the search bar and click Control Panel to enter its interface. 

Step 2: Select System and Security to continue and then click Windows Defender Firewall. If Windows Firewall for Windows 10 is turned on, you can see that Windows Defender Firewall: On. 

Step 3: To turn it off, click Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off in the left navigation panel, then just check Turn off Windows Defender Firewall (not recommended) and click OK. 

After you finish all the steps above, you will receive a message from Security and Maintenance that tells you Windows Firewall is turned off and you can tap or click to turn it on. 

Adjust Windows Firewall for Windows 10 Settings

Allow Apps to Pass Through Windows Firewall

In order to allow a specific application to pass through your Windows Firewall, you have to add it to the list of other permitted applications. Usually, it is Windows Firewall which automatically selects apps that can work through the firewall. 

However, you have to do this work manually in some cases. You can do this by clicking Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall.

If you entirely turn off Windows Firewall for Windows 10, everything will pass through the firewall. You can choose to block all incoming connections including allowed apps, which can be useful in some cases. 

For instance, if you’re in a public place like a hotel or an airport and you want to be more secure when you connect to the network, you can block all incoming connections. You can still use a web browser to browse the Internet, but programs can’t create an incoming connection from a server on the Internet or another computer on the local network. 

Advanced Settings

There is also a function that allows full details of Windows Firewall settings. You’d better be an experienced network administrator if you want to modify these configurations, but that’s no big deal since you can use the Restore Defaults Policy function to restore everything back to where it was when you installed Windows 10 first. 

Administering your home network is unlikely to require modifications to your firewall, but you can still use these tools if you need them. 

Notifications

The default notification settings are good enough for most of you. If you want to change these settings for some reason, you can click Firewall notification settings to modify them.

If you turn on the notification, you will be informed when any triggering event occurs involving unauthorized account access, malware, viruses, or blocked application access attempts. If you don’t want to be notified when these security protections are activated, you can turn off the notification, but you are not recommended to do this. 

Restore Defaults

If you run into trouble after you make any changes of these Windows Firewall settings, you need to click the Restore firewalls to default link. With this function, you can restore all the changed settings you made before back to the default state. 

An Alternative to Windows Firewall to Protect Windows

In addition to Windows Firewall, a great backup software – MiniTool ShadowMaker is also a powerful tool to protect your Windows. 

With MiniTool ShadowMaker, you can make a backup in advance in case you lose data. You not only can back up and restore files, partitions, OS and disks with it, but also can clone the whole hard disk. 

It is also a powerful piece of file sync software that allows you to sync files and folders. In addition, when your computer fails to boot, you can also restore system to a normal state with a created bootable media. 

Right now, you can download MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial Edition to back up your data to prevent your data loss.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

The following part will show you how to back up data with Backup function of MiniTool ShadowMaker. 

Step 1: Choose the Source File

1.Run MiniTool ShadowMaker to enter its interface.

2.Click Connect in Local module to continue.

3.After entering the main interface of MiniTool ShadowMaker, click the Backup tab to continue.

4.Click the Source module firstly and then select the source type you want to back up. Here, you should choose files as backup source to avoid losing data.

Step 2: Choose a Destination Path to Save Backup Files

1.Click the Destination module.

2.Then click a destination where you want to save backup files. There are 5 types of destination paths for you to choose – Administrator, Libraries, Computer, Network and Shared. Click OK to continue

Step 3: Perform Backup Operation

1.Click Backup now to execute the backup operation immediately.

2.Read the confirmation and click Yes to continue. You can also check Shut down the computer when all the running backup tasks are finished.

In addition to Backup, Sync is also a powerful tool of MiniTool ShadowMaker to protect your files. With this function, you can sync files and folders. The following part will show you use this tool briefly. 

Step 1: Run MiniTool ShadowMaker to enter its interface. 

Step 2: Select the sync source and sync destination.

Step 3: Click Sync now to perform this operation immediately. 

After you complete all the steps above, you can successfully sync files with MiniTool ShadowMaker. 

If you want to learn more about sync and get more details of syncing files with MiniTool ShadowMaker, click to read this post – The Best File Synchronization Software – MiniTool ShadowMaker.

By following this post, I can easily turn on/off my Windows Firewall. I also successfully back up my files with MiniTool ShadowMaker to keep my files safe.Click to Tweet

If you need more methods to keep your computer safe, here are some suggestions on Windows 10 antivirus for you. Click to get more information – Is Windows Defender Enough? More Solutions to Protect PC. 

Conclusion

This post has briefly shown you what Windows Firewall is and also taught you how to turn on or off Windows Firewall for Windows 10 with ease. Besides, this post also introduces you a powerful program – MiniTool ShadowMaker which can help you back up data to protect it. 

If you have any problems when you are using our program, please let us know. Or if you have any suggestion, also tell us. Sending an email to [email protected] or leaving a comment below is available.

Windows Firewall for Windows 10 FAQ