Windows Defender Firewall: Protect all network connections
Verified with Windows 11 25H2 — updated on July 10, 2026
Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional with SP2
Path in the GPO console
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Network\Network Connections\Windows Defender Firewall\Domain Profile Description
Turns on Windows Defender Firewall. If you enable this policy setting, Windows Defender Firewall runs and ignores the "Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Network\Network Connections\Prohibit use of Internet Connection Firewall on your DNS domain network" policy setting. If you disable this policy setting, Windows Defender Firewall does not run. This is the only way to ensure that Windows Defender Firewall does not run and administrators who log on locally cannot start it. If you do not configure this policy setting, administrators can use the Windows Defender Firewall component in Control Panel to turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off, unless the "Prohibit use of Internet Connection Firewall on your DNS domain network" policy setting overrides.
Registry
SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\DomainProfile Value name: EnableFirewall
Enabled: EnableFirewall = 1
Disabled: EnableFirewall = 0
Export Builder
BETAConfigure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.
These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO. ⓘ
.reg file
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Windows Defender Firewall: Protect all network connections
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional with SP2
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\DomainProfile]
"EnableFirewall"=dword:00000001More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)
PowerShell
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Windows Defender Firewall: Protect all network connections
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional with SP2
$path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\DomainProfile'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'EnableFirewall' -Value 1 -Type DWordIntune XML
No direct Policy CSP / OMA-URI mapping for this policy. Use the Intune Remediation tab, or ingest the ADMX in Intune.Intune Remediation
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Windows Defender Firewall: Protect all network connections
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional with SP2
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\DomainProfile' -Name 'EnableFirewall' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Windows Defender Firewall: Protect all network connections
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional with SP2
$path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\DomainProfile'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'EnableFirewall' -Value 1 -Type DWordSCCM scripts
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Windows Defender Firewall: Protect all network connections
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional with SP2
# SCCM Configuration Item guidance:
# Create a Configuration Item of type "Setting: Script".
# Discovery script: use the Detection script below.
# Remediation script: use the Remediation script below.
# Compliance rule: the Discovery script output equals 'Compliant'.
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Windows Defender Firewall: Protect all network connections
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional with SP2
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\DomainProfile' -Name 'EnableFirewall' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Windows Defender Firewall: Protect all network connections
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional with SP2
$path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\DomainProfile'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'EnableFirewall' -Value 1 -Type DWordBuilding a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.