Access From the Desktop

• 1). Click the "Start" menu button on the task bar in the lower left corner of the screen. A menu will appear with several options to choose from.
  
  
• 2). Hover the mouse pointer over the "Settings" menu, and another menu will appear.
  
  
• 3). Select the "Control Panel" menu. A new window will open with an alphabetized list of Windows 2003 operating system control applications.
  
  
• 4). Enable and configure the system firewall by double-clicking the "Windows Firewall" application in this new window.
  
  

Access From the "My Network Places" Menu

• 1
  The Windows Firewall application can be accessed through the "My Network Places" menu.network connection image by stresskiller from Fotolia.com
  
  Access the "My Network Places" menu by navigating to the "Control Panel" as seen in Steps 1, 2 and 3 from Section 1.
  
  
• 2). Right-click on either the "Local Area Connection" or "Wireless Network Connection" option under the "LAN or High-Speed Internet" heading menu. A drop-down menu will appear with several options to choose from.
  
  
• 3). Select the "Properties" menu option, and another window will appear. At the top of this new window, one tab is labeled "General" and another is labeled "Advanced."
  
  
• 4). Click the "Advanced" tab. The "Windows Firewall" section of the tab contains a "Settings" radio button.
  
  
• 5). Click the "Settings" radio button to open the Windows Firewall control window.