Microsoft Defender Firewall helps prevent hackers and malicious software from gaining access to your PC through the internet or a Domain, Private, or Public network. An organization might require you to turn it on before you can access their network resources from your device.
The Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security MMC snap-in is more flexible and provides much more functionality than the user-friendly Microsoft Defender Firewall interface in the Control Panel or Firewall & network protection interface in Windows Security.
Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security is a host firewall that helps secure the device in two ways. First, it can filter the network traffic permitted to enter the device from the network, and also control what network traffic the device is allowed to send to the network. Second, Windows Defender Firewall supports IPsec, which enables you to require authentication from any device that is attempting to communicate with your device. When authentication is required, devices that cannot authenticate cannot communicate with your device. By using IPsec, you can also require that specific network traffic be encrypted to prevent it from being read or intercepted while in transit between devices.
It’s important to have Microsoft Defender Firewall on, even if you already have another firewall on. It helps protect you from unauthorized access.
This tutorial will show you how turn on or off Microsoft Defender Firewall for Domain, Private, and/or Public networks in Windows 10 and Windows 11.