How to Check Firewall Settings

Your computer’s firewall plays an important role in blocking incoming connections that could potentially harm your computer. You can view and adjust the firewall settings on your computer, but don’t forget that the firewall application is best applied on the PC; Usually Mac users do not need to enable or use the built-in firewall program.

Table of Contents

Check your PC’s firewall settings

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Open the Start menu. The default Windows firewall program is located in the “System and Security” folder of the Contrp Panel application, but you can easily access the firewall settings using the Start menu search bar.

You can also press the ⊞ Win key to open the Start menu.

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Type “firewall” in the search bar. The matching desktop application will be automatically found.

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Click the “Windows Firewall” option. This option will be at the top of the search window.

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Look through the firewall settings. There are two sections here: “Private networks” and “Guest or public networks” with the green shield icon on the left showing that the firewall is active.

Click on either of these, a menu will drop down with information about the current public or private network.

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Click the “Advanced Settings” option. This option is on the left side of the main menu; when you click it, an advanced settings menu opens with the following items for you to view or adjust:

“Inbound Rules” – Automatically allow incoming connections.
“Outbound Rules” – Automatically allow outbound connections.
“Connection Security Rules” – Basic rules about what connections the computer will allow and block.
“Monitoring” – Overview of basic firewall monitoring rules.

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Exit the Advanced Settings menu after using it. You’re done checking your PC’s firewall settings!

Note: you can also click “Turn Windows Firewall on or off” in the same Advanced Settings options menu. However, be careful if you disable the firewall, especially when the computer is connected to a public network.

Check Firewall Settings on Mac

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Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen. To access the firewall settings, you need to open the firewall menu from the Apple menu.

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Click “System Preferences”. This option is in the Apple menu drop-down list.

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Click the “Security & Privacy” tab. This tab is in the list of system preferences at the top of the System Preferences screen. ^{[1] X Research Source}

This option may be named “Security” depending on the OS version you are using.

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Click the “Firewall” tab. This tab is in the row of options (for example, “General”, “FileVault”, etc.) at the top of the Security menu.

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Unlock the Firewall menu. Since the firewall is potentially responsible for the security of your Mac, you’ll need to provide administrator information before viewing or adjusting firewall settings. Please proceed as follows:

Click the clock icon (in the lower left corner of the menu).
Enter the administrator name.
Enter the administrator password.
Click “Unlock”.

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Click “Turn On Firewall” to turn on your Mac’s firewall. Mac’s firewall is disabled by default because Macs don’t have the same default security flaws as PCs.

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Click the “Firewall Options” button. Sometimes this button is called “Advanced”. You can customize the firewall settings here with options:

“Block all incoming connections” – Click here if you want to decline all requests to share content such as screens or files. Apple’s basic functional applications are still adopted.
“Automatically allow signed software to receive incoming connections” – Add all Apple-certified apps to the “Allowed incoming connections” list at the top of your Advanced menu firewall.
“Enable stealth mode” – Prevents the computer from responding to “probe” requests.

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Add the program to the firewall’s block or accept list. When added to the accept list, these programs are automatically passed when requesting launch permission. You need to do the following:

Click the “+” sign below the incoming connection window.
Click the name of the application that you want to allow.
Repeat the operation with the applications you want.
You can also click the “-” sign for selected apps to remove from the accept/block list.

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Click “OK” once done selecting. The Firewall Options menu will close and the changes will be saved!

Advice

When the firewall is active, the computer will usually ask you to allow (“Allow”) or deny (“Deny”) access each time a program is launched.

Warning

Adjusting the firewall can have serious security consequences. You should refrain from changing your firewall settings, unless you know what you’re doing.

Steps

Check your PC’s firewall settings

Check Firewall Settings on Mac

Advice

Warning

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