Reaching the firewall
The Windows firewall (Windows Defender Firewall) is managed from Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Defender Firewall, or more quickly through wf.msc in the search bar.
Opening an inbound port
For a service installed on the VPS to be reachable from the internet, an inbound rule has to allow it explicitly:
- Open Inbound Rules in the left-hand panel.
- Click New Rule.
- Choose Port, then TCP or UDP depending on the service.
- Enter the port number concerned.
- Choose Allow the connection.
- Apply the rule to the appropriate network profiles (Domain, Private, Public).
- Give the rule a clear name so you can find it easily later.
Checking the active rules
The full list of inbound and outbound rules is visible in the main panel, with their state (enabled/disabled) and the network profile attached to them. A rule can be disabled temporarily without being deleted, which is handy for a one-off diagnosis.
Network profiles: Domain, Private, Public
On a VPS, the active profile is generally Public, since it belongs to no Active Directory domain and no trusted private network. The rules you create must explicitly cover that profile to take effect — a rule limited to the Private profile will have no effect on a typical VPS.
Blocking a port explicitly
In the same way as opening a port, a rule can explicitly block one — useful for closing a service you no longer want to expose without having to uninstall it.