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Create an Inbound Program or Service Rule on Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2

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Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Essential Business Server, Windows SBS 2003, Windows SBS 2008, Windows Server 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista

To allow inbound network traffic to a specified program or service, use the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security node in the Group Policy Management MMC snap-in to create firewall rules. This type of rule allows the program to listen and receive inbound network traffic on any port.

Note

This type of rule is often combined with a program or service rule. If you combine the rule types, you get a firewall rule that limits traffic to a specified port and allows the traffic only when the specified program is running. The program cannot receive network traffic on other ports, and other programs cannot receive network traffic on the specified port. To combine the program and port rule types into a single rule, follow the steps in the Create an Inbound Port Rule on Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 procedure in addition to the steps in this procedure.

Administrative credentials

To complete these procedures, you must be a member of the Domain Administrators group, or otherwise be delegated permissions to modify the GPOs.

To create an inbound firewall rule for a program or service

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console to Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.

  2. In the navigation pane, click Inbound Rules.

  3. Click Action, and then click New rule.

  4. On the Rule Type page of the New Inbound Rule Wizard, click Custom, and then click Next.

Note

Although you can create rules by selecting Program or Port, those choices limit the number of pages presented by the wizard. If you select Custom, you see all of the pages, and have the most flexibility in creating your rules.

  1. On the Program page, click This program path.

  2. Type the path to the program in the text box. Use environment variables, where applicable, to ensure that programs installed in different locations on different computers work correctly.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • If the executable file contains a single program, click Next.

    • If the executable file is a container for multiple services that must all be allowed to receive inbound network traffic, click Customize, select Apply to services only, click OK, and then click Next.

    • If the executable file is a container for a single service or contains multiple services but the rule only applies to one of them, click Customize, select Apply to this service, and then select the service from the list. If the service does not appear in the list, click Apply to service with this service short name, and then type the short name for the service in the text box. Click OK, and then click Next.

Important

To use the Apply to this service or Apply to service with this service short name options, the service must be configured with a security identifier (SID) with a type of RESTRICTED or UNRESTRICTED. To check the SID type of a service, run the following command:
sc qsidtype <ServiceName>
If the result is NONE, then a firewall rule cannot be applied to that service.
To set a SID type on a service, run the following command:
sc sidtype <Type> <ServiceName>
In the preceding command, the value of <Type> can be UNRESTRICTED or RESTRICTED. Although the command also permits the value of NONE, that setting means the service cannot be used in a firewall rule as described here. By default, most services in Windows are configured as UNRESTRICTED. If you change the SID type to RESTRICTED, the service might fail to start. We recommend that you change the SID type only on services that you want to use in firewall rules, and that you change the SID type to UNRESTRICTED. For more information, see Vista Services (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=141454) and the “Service Security Improvements” section of Inside the Windows Vista Kernel (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=141455).

  1. It is a best practice to restrict the firewall rule for the program to only the ports it needs to operate. On the Protocols and Ports page, you can specify the port numbers for the allowed traffic. If the program tries to listen on a port different from the one specified here, it is blocked. For more information about protocol and port options, see Create an Inbound Port Rule on Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2. After you have configured the protocol and port options, click Next.

  2. On the Scope page, you can specify that the rule applies only to network traffic to or from the IP addresses entered on this page. Configure as appropriate for your design, and then click Next.

  3. On the Action page, select Allow the connection, and then click Next.

  4. On the Profile page, select the network location types to which this rule applies, and then click Next.

Note

If this GPO is targeted at server computers running Windows Server 2008 that never move, consider applying the rule to all network location type profiles. This prevents an unexpected change in the applied rules if the network location type changes due to the installation of a new network card or the disconnection of an existing network card’s cable. A disconnected network card is automatically assigned to the Public network location type.

  1. On the Name page, type a name and description for your rule, and then click Finish.

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