Want to quickly check whether your Windows Firewall is enabled or disabled? This guide shows you how to use PowerShell to get the status of your local Windows Firewall for each profile.

PowerShell cmdlets follow a standard format: verb-noun. The verb describes the action, and the noun specifies what the cmdlet acts on. In this case, we’ll use the Get-NetFirewallProfile cmdlet to show if Windows Firewall is enabled or disabled.

Steps:
1. Open PowerShell with administrative privileges.
2. Run the following command to check the firewall status for all profiles:

# get local firewall status powershell
Get-NetFirewallProfile | Format-Table Name, Enabled

This command retrieves the firewall status and formats it into an easy-to-read table showing the profile name and whether it is enabled (True) or disabled (False).

The Windows Firewall on this demo computer is enabled, for all profiles. If you want more info on Windows Firewall Profiles, check out this Microsoft Docs link.

Windows Firewall is an essential security feature that protects your system from unauthorized access and threats. If it has been disabled for testing or mistakenly turned off, you can quickly re-enable it using PowerShell.

This guide provides a straightforward process to restore your firewall settings and ensure a secure environment. To enable Windows Firewall with PowerShell, follow these steps:
> Step 1: Understanding Windows Firewall Profiles
> Step 2: Check Current Firewall Status
> Step 3: Enable Windows Firewall

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Step 1: Understanding Windows Firewall Profiles

Before running scripts or commands on a computer, it’s important for us to understand what each step is doing. We are enabling the Windows Firewall for all Profiles:
> Domain: For when you are connected to a Domain Controller (computer connected to AD).
> Private: For your home or private networks.
> Public : For public WIFI locations such as coffee shops etc.

Make sure you understand which profile applies to your scenario before proceeding. You can also manage these settings via the GUI for additional clarity:

Step 2: Check Current Firewall Status

Before enabling the firewall, check its current status using the following PowerShell command:

# get local firewall status
Get-NetFirewallProfile | Format-Table Name, Enabled

This command retrieves the status of all firewall profiles and displays whether they are enabled (True) or disabled (False).

Step 3: Enable Windows Firewall

To enable the Windows Firewall for all profiles, use the Set-NetFirewallProfile cmdlet. Run the following command in PowerShell or Windows Terminal with admin privileges:

# disable local firewall
Set-NetFirewallProfile -Profile Domain,Public,Private -Enabled True

# get local firewall status
Get-NetFirewallProfile | Format-Table Name, Enabled

By enabling the firewall, you significantly improve your system’s defense against unauthorized access and potential cyber threats. However, enabling the firewall may block some desired connectivity, requiring you to create new firewall rules to allow specific traffic while maintaining overall security. For detailed guidance on advanced configurations and creating firewall rules, refer to the official Microsoft documentation on the Windows Firewall.

This post provides a demo on how to disable Windows Firewall with PowerShell on a Windows computer.

⚠ Important: Disabling the Windows Firewall is not recommended as it reduces your system’s security. However, there are scenarios, such as troubleshooting, where temporarily disabling the firewall may help identify if it is the root cause of a specific issue. Before turning it off entirely, try add some open rules on specific ports or adjusted IP’s on rules to avoid unintended vulnerabilities.

Anyhow, disabling Windows Firewall with PowerShell can be done by going through the following steps:
> Understanding Firewall Profiles in Windows
> Get Status of Windows Firewall with PowerShell
> Disable Windows Firewall with PowerShell

Understanding Firewall Profiles in Windows

Before running any command or script on your machine, it’s important for us to understand the 3 Firewall Profiles. In the command below we are disabling all 3 profiles:
– Domain: For networks connected to a Domain Controller (typically found in corporate environments).
– Private: For your home or private networks.
– Public: For untrusted networks like coffee shops or public Wi-Fi.

💡 Tip: While PowerShell is great for this, you can also manage firewall settings through the Windows GUI.
To do this, search for “Windows Firewall” in the Search / Start menu:

Get Status of Windows Firewall with PowerShell

PowerShell cmdlets follow a consistent verb-noun structure where the verb describes the action and the noun specifies the target.

To check the status of all firewall profiles, use the following command:

# get local firewall status
Get-NetFirewallProfile | Format-Table Name, Enabled

In the above screenshot, we’re running Get-NetFirewallProfile with Format-Table.

Disable Windows Firewall with PowerShell

To disable the firewall for all profiles, you’ll modify the cmdlet verb from Get to Set.

This requires elevated permissions, so open PowerShell or Windows Terminal as an administrator.

Set-NetFirewallProfile is being executed below, which disables all Profiles of the Local Windows Firewall:

# disable local firewall ps1
Set-NetFirewallProfile -Profile Domain,Public,Private -Enabled False

# get local firewall status ps1
Get-NetFirewallProfile | Format-Table Name, Enabled

After running the command, we can verify the changes by rechecking the firewall status, as displayed in the screenshot above.

As an experienced admin, it’s always better to implement rule-based actions, even during testing, by creating specific rules for ports and subnets. However, there are times when temporarily disabling the Windows Firewall helps rule it out completely as a blocker. If you need to re-enable the firewall after testing, simply run the command:

# enable windows firewall cmd
Set-NetFirewallProfile -Profile Domain,Public,Private -Enabled True

This ensures you can easily roll back the change while keeping the system secure.

Hope this helps!