Windows Firewall options are grayed out
TheGeek
Symptom
When you open the Windows Firewall applet (firewall.cpl) in Windows XP
Service Pack 2, it may read as For your security, some settings are
controlled by Group Policy at the top of the applet. If this happens to
a stand-alone system, then you may use the instructions below to reset
the firewall Policy settings to defaults.
Note that there are a plethora of Viruses which disable the Windows
Firewall settings through Policy / registry settings, even in Windows
XP Home Edition. Therefore, it's a good idea to run a complete Virus
scan in your system.
Resolution
Method 1:
Click Start, Run and type Regedit.exe
Navigate to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ WindowsFirewall
Backup the key and then delete the WindowsFirewall branch.
Close Regedit.exe and restart Windows.
Method 2: (for Windows XP Professional)
Click Start, Run and type Gpedit.msc
Navigate to the following branch:
Computer Configuration
=> Administrative Templates
==> System
===> Network
===> Network Connections
====> Windows Firewall
=====> Standard Profile
Set the following options to Not Configured (defaults)
Windows Firewall: Protect all network connections
Windows Firewall: Do not allow exceptions
Windows Firewall: Define program exceptions
Windows Firewall: Allow local program exceptions
Windows Firewall: Allow remote administration exception
Windows Firewall: Allow file and printer sharing exception
Windows Firewall: Allow ICMP exceptions
Windows Firewall: Allow Remote Desktop exception
Windows Firewall: Allow UPnP framework exception
Windows Firewall: Prohibit notifications
Windows Firewall: Allow logging
Windows Firewall: Prohibit unicast response to multicast or broadcast
requests
Windows Firewall: Define port exceptions
Windows Firewall: Allow local port exceptions
Exit the Group Policy editor.