Apologies. I am not an IT professional. Not a rank neophyte, but not a professional. I've had success with VPN & network shares in earlier versions of Windows but my lick has run out. I have a functioning VPN between home and work (work being a very small entity). The VPN uses Netgear client software. I can use network shares if I disable the firewall at work. The firewall at home does not pose a problem.I can connect to work computers using remote access software.I can ping work computers with both firewalls disabled.All computers at both ends run Windows 7 Professional and are part of the same workgroup. I do not know what I need to allow through my work firewall to make this work, and would greatly appreciate any help. Thank you.

That doesn't make any sense to me. The firewall could block a connection but it should not have any effect on file sharing if you can get the VPN connected. The reason for this is pretty simple. When the traffic goes through the firewall it is still encrypted and encapsulated. The firewall can see the header of the packet but it cannot read the data. The data is only readable after the VPN server decrypts the packet inside the firewall. If the firewall is blocking file sharing I suspect you are making a direct connection through the Internet, not through a VPN tunnel. Bill

Doesn't make any sense to me either. Sorry, I forgot to include in my original post - The firewall referred to here is the Windows firewall for private networks on the work computer; it is the only one that has any affect on making these connectionsTunnel closed, firewall on - no connection of any kindTunnel closed, firewall off - no connection of any kindTunnel open, firewall on - remote access connection, no network sharesTunnel open, firewall off - remote access connection, network shares accessibleKathryn O'Brien

Hi, You can check the firewall rules to check the result. Meanwhile, you can also reset the firewall settings to default and see if it works: ========================================= 1) Click the Start Button. 2) In the search bar type wf.msc and press Enter. 3) Right-click the root Windows Firewall with Advanced Security on Local Computer and choose Restore Defaults. 4) When the promote appears, click Yes. Hope this helps Vincent Wang TechNet Community Support