How can I access the windows firewall logs?
I am going through some event logs (in event viewer), and noticed I can't seem to find any firewall logs. Windows Defender provides the firewall. How do I get to the firewall logs that should be generated by Windows Defender, or are they not even generated? I have searched through event viewer, the Windows Defender firewall GUI, and google searches have been unsuccessful Applies to
Windows 10
Windows Server 2016
To configure Windows Firewall to log dropped packets or successful connections, use the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security node in the Group Policy Management MMC snap-in.
Administrative credentials
To complete these procedures, you must be a member of the Domain Administrators group, or otherwise be delegated permissions to modify the GPOs.
To configure the Windows Firewall log
Open the Group Policy Management Console to Windows Firewall with Advanced Security (found in Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Windows Firewall with Advanced Security).
In the details pane, in the Overview section, click Windows Firewall Properties.
For each network location type (Domain, Private, Public), perform the following steps:
Click the tab that corresponds to the network location type.
Under Logging, click Customize.
The default path for the log is %windir%system32logfilesfirewallpfirewall.log. If you want to change this, clear the "Not configured" check box and type the path to the new location, or click "Browse" to select a file location.
Important: The location you specify must have permissions assigned that permit the Windows Firewall service to write to the log file.
The default maximum file size for the log is 4,096 kilobytes (KB). If you want to change this, clear the Not configured check box, and type in the new size in KB, or use the up and down arrows to select a size. The file will not grow beyond this size; when the limit is reached, old log entries are deleted to make room for the newly created ones.
No logging occurs until you set one of following two options:
To create a log entry when Windows Firewall drops an incoming network packet, change "Log dropped packets" to "Yes."
To create a log entry when Windows Firewall allows an inbound connection, change "Log successful connections" to "Yes."
Click OK twice.
- Applies to
- Windows 10
- Windows Server 2016
To configure Windows Firewall to log dropped packets or successful connections, use the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security node in the Group Policy Management MMC snap-in. Administrative credentials To complete these procedures, you must be a member of the Domain Administrators group, or otherwise be delegated permissions to modify the GPOs. To configure the Windows Firewall log Open the Group Policy Management Console to Windows Firewall with Advanced Security (found in Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Windows Firewall with Advanced Security). In the details pane, in the Overview section, click Windows Firewall Properties.
- For each network location type (Domain, Private, Public), perform the following steps:
- Click the tab that corresponds to the network location type.
- Under Logging, click Customize.
The default path for the log is %windir%system32logfiles irewallpfirewall.log. If you want to change this, clear the "Not configured" check box and type the path to the new location, or click "Browse" to select a file location. Important: The location you specify must have permissions assigned that permit the Windows Firewall service to write to the log file. The default maximum file size for the log is 4,096 kilobytes (KB). If you want to change this, clear the Not configured check box, and type in the new size in KB, or use the up and down arrows to select a size. The file will not grow beyond this size; when the limit is reached, old log entries are deleted to make room for the newly created ones.
No logging occurs until you set one of following two options:
To create a log entry when Windows Firewall drops an incoming network packet, change "Log dropped packets" to "Yes."
To create a log entry when Windows Firewall allows an inbound connection, change "Log successful connections" to "Yes."
Click OK twice.