The purpose of a firewall is to filter, check and control the inward and outward access to an organization’s network, especially the access trials from outside to inside. There is no point in turning it off ever as its whole purpose will get defeated. Even when the PC/notebook resides within a company domain, there are innumerous chances of attacking the domain by outsiders/hackers via different ports accessible. ================ Think of a medieval castle and all of the defensive/protective boundaries it had to protect the inhabitants. The current information security terminology is layered security or defense in depth. The firewall on a laptop is another protective layer in the defensive strategy of an individual or organization to protect the confidentiality, integrity & availability of the device, information on the device and services it provides. You and your organization have to determine the value of the protective layers and decide what works best in your situation. ++++++++++++++++++++++ For increased firewall performance, I would suggest buying a commercial firewall. It's hardware and software, single purpose, for filtering what goes in and out. Even with that protection, I would NOT turn of Windows Firewall. The more security, the safer you are. Two defenses are better than one.

The purpose of a firewall is to filter, check and control the inward and outward access to an organization’s network, especially the access trials from outside to inside. There is no point in turning it off ever as its whole purpose will get defeated. Even when the PC/notebook resides within a company domain, there are innumerous chances of attacking the domain by outsiders/hackers via different ports accessible. ================ Think of a medieval castle and all of the defensive/protective boundaries it had to protect the inhabitants. The current information security terminology is layered security or defense in depth. The firewall on a laptop is another protective layer in the defensive strategy of an individual or organization to protect the confidentiality, integrity & availability of the device, information on the device and services it provides. You and your organization have to determine the value of the protective layers and decide what works best in your situation. ++++++++++++++++++++++ For increased firewall performance, I would suggest buying a commercial firewall. It's hardware and software, single purpose, for filtering what goes in and out. Even with that protection, I would NOT turn of Windows Firewall. The more security, the safer you are. Two defenses are better than one.