How can I add programs to Windows Firewall Exceptions list in Windows XP / Vista / 2008?

• Click “Start”, click “Run”, type “gpedit.msc”, and then “OK”
• Under “Local Computer Policy” expand “Computer Configuration” > “Administrative Templates” > “Network” > “Network Connections” > “Windows Firewall”, and then click “Domain Profile”
• Right-click “Windows Firewall: Allow local program exceptions”, and then click “Properties” or simply double-click it
• Click “Enabled”, and then “OK”

That’s it.

Note: You can also use the “Windows Firewall: Define program exceptions” setting to configure local program exceptions.

To add the program to the “Windows Firewall Exceptions” list, follow these steps:

• Click “Start”, and then click “Control Panel”
• Double-click “Windows Firewall”, and then click the “Exceptions” tab
• Click “Add Program”
• Locate the file iadvisor.exe (in the program folder, inside “Program Files”), and then click “OK”
• Click “OK”
• Locate the file piaservice.exe (in the program folder, inside “Program Files”), and then click “OK”
• Click “OK”. This was needed to add the service of the software to the exceptions list.

You can also type the following command in command prompt to add a program to the Windows Firewall Exception list:

netsh firewall add allowedprogram path_to_the_program_folder\iadvisor.exe NetworkInventoryAdvisor ENABLE

and

netsh firewall add allowedprogram path_to_the_program_folder\piaservice.exe NetworkInventoryAdvisorSVC ENABLE