Change the Active Windows Firewall Profile

The Windows Firewall uses three different profiles: 1) Domain, 2) Private, and 3) Public. The system will assign a profile based on the network it is connected to. The Domain profile is only used when the computer is a member of a domain and a domain controller can be reached. The Private profile is intended for trusted networks, such as at home or in a work environment where there is not a domain. The Public profile is for use on untrusted networks, such as in public places. Each profile has a slightly different default set of rules and can be customized individually.

The Windows Firewall with Advanced Security on Local Computer properties window shows the status of each firewall profile and which profile is currently active.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to use the GUI to change the active profile. To do that, we'll use Powershell. Too see the active firewall profile, run:

> Get-NetConnectionProfile

Name             : Network  2
InterfaceAlias   : Integrated
InterfaceIndex   : 8
NetworkCategory  : Public
IPv4Connectivity : Internet
IPv6Connectivity : NoTraffic

To change the network profile, you'll have to run Powershell as administrator.

> Get-NetConnectionProfile | Set-NetConnectionProfile -NetworkCategory Private

The Windows Firewall with Advanced Security on Local Computer properties window now shows the Private profile as active.