In Windows Vista, how do I enable or disable the firewall?

Note: The Windows Vista Start menu and Control Panel are different from the Windows Classic View (e.g., in Windows 2000). Therefore, navigating to certain items can be different. In the interest of broad applicability, most Knowledge Base documents assume you are using the Classic View. For information about switching your Windows Vista default view to Classic View, see In Windows Vista, how do I switch to the Windows Classic Start menu or Classic Control Panel?

In Vista, to enable or disable the Windows Firewall:

1. From the Start menu, select Settings, and then Control Panel.
   
   
2. Double-click Security Center, and in the resulting window, click Windows Firewall.
   
   
3. If the status reads "Your computer is not protected: turn on Windows Firewall", then the firewall is disabled. To enable it, click Change settings, and then select On.

   If the status reads "Windows Firewall is helping to protect your computer", then the firewall is enabled. To disable it, click Change settings, and then select Off.