Enable or disable ICF

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To enable or disable ICF

  1. Open Network Connections.

  2. Under Dial-up or LAN or High-Speed Internet, right-click the connection that you want to protect, and then click Properties.

  3. On the Advanced tab, under Internet Connection Firewall, do one of the following:

    • To enable Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), select the Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet check box.

    • To disable ICF, clear the Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet check box.

Caution

  • If you clear the Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet check box, the firewall on this connection is disabled. When the firewall is disabled, your computer is exposed to possible external attacks through the unprotected connection.

Notes

  • To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure.

  • To open Network Connections, click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network Connections.

  • You need to enable ICF only on connections that connect to the Internet. You should not enable ICF on virtual private network (VPN) connections or on network client computers because ICF interferes with network activities such as file and printer sharing.

  • If ICF is enabled on two or more connections on a single computer, the ICF settings are global. If you select a setting or change a setting in Logging Options or Services on any one of the connections on which ICF is enabled, that setting is applied to all of the ICF firewalls on that computer.

  • ICF cannot be enabled on the private connections of the Internet Connection Sharing host computer, on Network Bridge, or on the adapters that are included in Network Bridge.

  • Internet Connection Sharing and Network Bridge are not included in Windows Server 2003, Web Edition; Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition; and the Itanium-based versions of the original release of the Windows Server 2003 operating systems.

  • This topic applies only to product features available in the original release of Windows Server 2003.

  • Internet Connection Firewall is included only in the original releases of Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, and Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition.

Information about functional differences

  • Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.

See Also

Concepts

Home and small office networking features
Internet Connection Firewall
Internet Connection Firewall security log
Service definitions for Internet Connection Firewall and Internet Connection Sharing