Manage Defender Firewall

Use this operation to add or remove firewall rules in Microsoft Defender Firewall.

Role Requirements

Procedure Scope: Administrators

Required Group Membership: Admin.Security

Handbook Reference

Package: Device Security

Domain: Firewall Management

Modifies: Allowed Defender Firewall Traffic, Blocked Defender Firewall Traffic

When to Perform this Operation

As Needed: Proactive or in Response to User/Security

Technical Description and Importance

Managing Defender Firewall rules ensures that only authorized network traffic is allowed, reducing the risk of unauthorized access while maintaining operational flexibility. By explicitly defining allowed and blocked traffic, administrators can enforce network security policies while minimizing disruptions to business processes. Regular updates to firewall rules help mitigate emerging threats and ensure compliance with organizational security guidelines. This proactive management supports a secure network infrastructure while allowing necessary business applications and services to function.

Management Options

• Add a Firewall Rule
• Remove a Firewall Rule

Add a Firewall Rule:

Purpose
Adds a new firewall rule to allow or block specific traffic.
Use Case
A business-critical application requires a new network exception to function properly.

Remove a Firewall Rule:

Purpose
Deletes an existing firewall rule to restrict or stop specific traffic.
Use Case
A deprecated application no longer needs network access, and its associated rule should be removed.

Operation	Action	Target
Add a Firewall Rule	Addition	Allowed Defender Firewall Traffic, Blocked Defender Firewall Traffic
Remove a Firewall Rule	Removal	Allowed Defender Firewall Traffic, Blocked Defender Firewall Traffic

Add a Firewall Rule

This operation adds a new rule to the Defender Firewall to allow or block specified network traffic.

       1. Defender Firewall Rule Addition

Remove a Firewall Rule

This operation removes an existing firewall rule to prevent specific network traffic.

       1. Defender Firewall Rule Removal

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