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

Thank you for the suggestions. I suspect the problem lies in convincing the firewall that my computer is a trusted entity even if it connected to a different network. I've tried a different firewall that allows me to specify trusted networks or computers by IP addresses, and am able to connect to my network shares at home with no problem. We used to have a firewall that allowed computers to be trusted by network adapter MAC address - that would be much more useful as I need to use these shares from places other than home or other work locations - but we don't have that anymore. Any ideas on how to convince Windows Firewall to trust my network adapters, or some other identifier unique to my computer? Or should I just hunt down a different firewall? Thanks.Kathryn O'Brien

Hi, Have you tried to reset the firewall settings to default? Whats the result? Regarding the Windows firewall settings, you can refer to the following: Firewall: frequently asked questions Allow a program to communicate throughWindows Firewall Hope this helps.Vincent Wang TechNet Community Support

Hi, Thanks. I did reset the firewall to default settings. After doing so I was unable to use my VPN client, so had to reinstall that before trying anything (adding it back to the list of allowed programs did not suffice). No improvement. I believe the problem lies not in a program being unable to get through the firewall, but in a need to authenticate my (remote) computer to the file server at work when I am outside the work network. The VPN tunnel I have authenticates my computer to the router, but not to any particular computer. I've found some information on creating a Security Association between 2 computers and am wondering if that is the route I need to pursue. This is unfamiliar territory, and any advice would be welcomed.Kathryn O'Brien

Hi, For the VPN settings you can refer to Virtual Private Networks. Hope this helps.Vincent Wang TechNet Community Support

Thank you, but the link returns a "page not found" message.Kathryn O'Brien

Hi, Sorry for the link, you can refer to the following one: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/network/bb545442 Regards, Vincent Wang TechNet Community Support