What is a firewall and how to disable it in different versions of Windows

Most users today install a good antivirus program on their computer with a built-in firewall. In this case, everyone chooses the most suitable option. There are both paid and free utilities. All of them reliably protect the system.

If you installed an antivirus, it is recommended to disable the Windows firewall, as it can conflict with a third-party program, block various applications, and affect the speed of the Internet. But in other cases, the deactivation of the firewall can lead to the penetration of malware into the system, so doing this is highly undesirable.

Next, you will learn what a firewall is and how to disable it, thereby eliminating conflicts with other software if you have it installed.

Why do I need a firewall?

Translated from English, the word "firewall" means "fire wall" (fire - wall, wall). And indeed, this program built into Windows serves as an obstacle for various worms, trojans and other viruses. Firewall (firewall, or firewall) filters Internet traffic and skips only the one that is allowed by the program.

It should be noted that there are free firewalls, which include the built-in Windows firewall, as well as paid firewalls. In principle, the "native" version, especially starting with Windows 7, is able to provide high-quality protection for your computer, but if you want, you can purchase a paid program. In this case, remember that by installing a third-party firewall, you must deactivate the built-in Windows.

About what a firewall is and how to disable it in various versions of Windows, read below.

Deactivating the Windows XP Firewall

Disable the firewall in the "ekspishke" can be as follows. Enter the "Start" menu and select "Control Panel". Here you need to go to the "Firewall" section. On the General tab, select the checkbox next to the Disconnect option and click OK.

By the way, in Windows XP (SP 1), the firewall did not provide normal protection, and many users did not understand that while they were spending time on the Internet, the computer could be attacked by intruders. As a result, there were quite a lot of unpleasant situations, but with the release of SP 2 the situation improved significantly.

So now you have an idea of what a firewall is and how to disable it on Windows XP.

Firewall Windows 7. How to deactivate?

The built in "seven" firewall is much more reliable than its predecessors. However, as mentioned above, many users prefer to install antivirus software that has its own firewall. Most likely, this is the right decision. What is a firewall and how to disable it in the "ekspishke", you already know. But what if you installed the seventh version of Windows? In fact, you do not need any deep knowledge of the computer, because deactivate the firewall in the "seven" as easily as in Windows XP.

Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Select "Small Icons" in the view options. Go to the "Firewall" section. On the left, look for the link "Enable or disable the firewall" and go to it. Set the checkboxes next to the options that deactivate the firewall.

As you can see, having learned what a firewall is and how to disable it on Windows 7, you can do this procedure after spending just a minute.

Disabling the firewall on the G8

If you have Windows 8 installed on your device, in order to deactivate the "native" firewall, follow these steps:

• While on the desktop, click "Start" PCM;
• A context menu will open where you will have to go to the "Control Panel";
• Select the section "Firewall" (before this, set "Small icons");
• In the menu on the left, click on the link to enable or disable the firewall;
• Set the checkboxes next to the desired option.

Now you know what a firewall is and how to disable it on Windows 8.

Some useful recommendations

Do not disable the built-in Windows firewall if you do not have another program that will protect your computer from malicious programs. Of course, the firewall sometimes hinders, blocking some applications, but it is configured in such a way that the risk of being attacked by an attacker tends to a minimum.

If you have a good antivirus that has its own firewall, then necessarily disable the native Windows firewall, since conflicts can arise.

You can install a third-party firewall, if the standard one is in doubt (which is very rare). However, remember that downloading such programs from sites with a dubious reputation is highly undesirable.

Conclusion

So, you learned what a firewall is and how to disable it in popular versions of Windows. As you can see, the sequence of actions is almost identical. Regardless of which OS is installed, you can do this yourself.