Use this wizard page to specify the profiles to which this rule is applied. Select any combination of profiles that meet your security goals.

This version of Windows supports multiple simultaneously active profiles. Each network adapter card attached to a network is assigned one of the following profiles based on what is detected on the attached network. This means that different firewall and connection security rules can affect network traffic, depending on which network adapter receives the traffic.

To get to this wizard page
  1. In the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security MMC snap-in, right-click Inbound Rules or Outbound Rules, and then click New Rule.

  2. Click Next through the wizard until you reach the Profile page.

Domain

The domain profile applies to a network when a domain controller is detected for the domain to which the local computer is joined. If you select this box, then the rule applies to network traffic passing through a network adapter connected to this network.

Private

The private profile applies to a network when it is marked private by the computer administrator and it is not a domain network. Newly detected networks are not marked private by default. A network should be marked private only when there is some kind of security device, such as a network address translator or perimeter firewall, between the computer and the Internet. The private profile settings should be more restrictive than the domain profile settings.

Public

The public profile applies to a network when the computer is connected directly to a public network, such as one available in airports and coffee shops. The public profile settings should be the most restrictive because the computer is connected to a public network where the security cannot be as tightly controlled as it is in an IT environment.

How to change these settings

After you create the firewall rule, you can change these settings in the Firewall Rule Properties dialog box. This dialog box opens when you double-click a rule in either Inbound Rules or Outbound Rules. To change the profiles to which the rule applies, select the Advanced tab.

Additional references