Nobody Can Ping My Computer

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Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista

A common step in troubleshooting connectivity situations is to use the Ping tool to ping the IP address of the computer to which you are trying to connect. When you ping, you send an ICMP Echo message (also known as an ICMP Echo Request message) and get an ICMP Echo Reply message in response. By default, Windows Firewall does not allow incoming ICMP Echo messages, and therefore the computer cannot send an ICMP Echo Reply in response.

Enabling incoming ICMP Echo messages will allow others to ping your computer. However, it also leaves your computer vulnerable to the types of attacks that use ICMP Echo messages. Therefore, we recommended that you enable the Allow incoming echo request setting temporarily, and then disable it when it is no longer needed.

To enable ICMP Echo messages, create new inbound custom rules to allow ICMPv4 and ICMPv6 Echo Request packets.

To enable ICMP Echo Request for ICMPv4 and ICMPv6

  1. In the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security snap-in, click Inbound Rules in the tree, and click New Rule in the Actions Pane.

  2. Click Custom and click Next.

  3. Click All programs and click Next.

  4. For Protocol type, select ICMPv4.

  5. Click Customize for Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) settings.

  6. Click Echo Request, click OK, and then click Next.

  7. Under Which local IP address does this rule match? and for Which remote IP address does this rule match click either Any IP address or These IP Addresses. If you click These IP addresses, specify the IP addresses and click Add, then click Next.

  8. Click Allow the connection, and then click Next.

  9. Under When does this rule apply?, click the active profile, any or all profiles (Domain, Private, Public) to which you want this rule to apply, and then click Next.

  10. For Name type a name for this rule and for Description an optional description. Click Finish.

  11. Repeat steps for ICMPv6, selecting ICMPv6 for Protocol Type instead of ICMPv4.

If you have active connection security rules, it is also helpful for troubleshooting purposes to exempt ICMP from the IPsec requirements temporarily. To do this, in the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security snap-in, in the Properties dialog box, click the IPsec Settings tab and click Yes to Exempt ICMP from IPsec. This step is only necessary if you have active connection security rules on the computer that you are trying to ping.

Note

Only administrators or network operators can change Windows Firewall settings.