How to Open Ports

Computers use ports to interface with networks, including the Internet. Ports act like doors that separate your computer from the rest of the world's network. Your computer's ports can be opened or closed, which respectively allows or disallows data to be transmitted to and from your computer. However, blocked ports can prevent a program from working as intended, and in that case the port(s) must be opened manually through Windows Firewall. Fortunately, learning how to open ports and close ports is very easy and simple! Every program uses its own set of ports, so you'll need to do a little research and find out which ports your program requires so you can open them.

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Steps

For Windows XP

    1
    Click Start and then My Network Places.

        Alternatively, if you have a My Network Places on your desktop, you can right click on it and select Properties.
    2
    Click on View Network Connections.

    3
    Right click on the adapter or device that you use to connect to the Internet and select Properties.

    4
    Click Settings under the Advanced tab.

        Don't see a Settings button? That means that Internet Connection Firewall (ICP) is disabled and all of your ports are already open.
    5
    Open a new port by clicking Add. Input short but useful identifier for the Description, like "(video game name) Port Open".

    6
    Enter 127.0.0.1 for the Name or IP address of the computer hosting this service on your network.

    7
    Enter the port you'd like to open for both External port and Internal port.
    8
    Select UDP or TCP. Your choice will depend on what type of port you need to open, and that will be dependent on the program.

For Windows 7

    1
    Click on Start and open the Control Panel.

    2
    Click on Windows Firewall.

    3
    Click on Advanced Settings.

    4
    Click on Inbound Rules, located in the left column.

    5
    Click on New Rule, located in the right column.

    6
    Select Port as your rule type. Click Next.

    7
    Select UDP or TCP. Your choice will depend on what type of port you need to open, and that will be dependent on the program. Select Specific local ports and enter the port you'd like to open. Click Next.

    8
    Select Allow the connection. Click Next.

    9
    Select all of the checkboxes. Click Next.

    10
    Input a short but useful identifier for the Name, like "(video game name) Port Open". Enter a Description if you want, although it's optional. Click Finish.

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Tips

    As a general rule of thumb, most applications utilize TCP ports. Time-sensitive programs, like multiplayer video games, may utilize either UDP or TCP ports.