When your Windows Firewall shows port 80 as open but still blocks Apache HTTP Server (2.2/2.4) connections, you're facing a classic networking permission conflict. The symptom - working locally but failing remotely - indicates a deeper configuration issue than simple port blocking.

First, let's confirm the firewall rules with PowerShell:

Get-NetFirewallRule | Where-Object {$_.LocalPort -eq 80} | Format-Table Name,Enabled,Profile,Direction,Action
Get-NetFirewallApplicationFilter -AssociatedNetFirewallRule $(Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Apache HTTP Server")

The issue often stems from one of these scenarios:

• Port 80 rule exists but applies to wrong network profile (Public/Private/Domain)
• Apache executable isn't in the allowed programs list
• Inbound vs outbound rule confusion
• Conflicting rules from third-party security software

Here's how to properly configure the firewall for Apache:

1. Create Application-Specific Rule

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Apache HTTP Server" dir=in action=allow program="C:\Apache24\bin\httpd.exe" enable=yes

2. Verify Network Profiles

Check which profile is active:

netsh advfirewall show currentprofile

Then apply rules to correct profile:

netsh advfirewall set currentprofile firewallpolicy blockinbound,allowoutbound
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="HTTP" protocol=TCP localport=80 action=allow dir=in

3. Advanced Configuration

For complex setups, consider these additional steps:

# Allow ICMP for testing
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="ICMP Allow" protocol=icmpv4:any,any dir=in action=allow

# Enable logging for debugging
netsh advfirewall set currentprofile logging filename %SystemRoot%\System32\LogFiles\Firewall\pfirewall.log
netsh advfirewall set currentprofile logging droppedconnections enable

After configuration, verify with:

telnet your_server_ip 80
curl -I http://your_server_ip

If standard methods fail, try adding Apache to Windows Defender's exclusion list:

Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Apache24\bin\httpd.exe"

• Both program and port rules exist
• Rules apply to correct network profile
• No conflicting third-party firewall
• Windows Defender isn't blocking silently
• Apache binds to 0.0.0.0:80 (not just 127.0.0.1)

I recently encountered a frustrating scenario where my Windows 7 machine running Apache 2.2 couldn't serve web pages externally, even though:

• Windows Firewall had an explicit rule allowing all traffic on port 80
• Local access worked perfectly (http://localhost showed pages correctly)
• Disabling Windows Firewall completely resolved the issue

The root cause appears to be how Windows Firewall handles application permissions. Even with port 80 open, Apache needs explicit permission as an application. Here's what's happening under the hood:

# Typical Windows Firewall rule that WON'T work alone:
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="HTTP" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=80

To properly configure both port AND application access, you need these steps:

1. Create an inbound rule for Apache executable:

   netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Apache HTTP Server" 
   dir=in action=allow program="C:\Apache2.2\bin\httpd.exe" enable=yes

2. Verify service permissions:

   sc qc Apache2.2
   sc sdshow Apache2.2

3. Check binding configuration in httpd.conf:

   Listen 0.0.0.0:80
   ServerName yourdomain.com:80

If the issue persists, try these diagnostic commands:

# Check active firewall rules:
netsh advfirewall firewall show rule name=all

# Test port accessibility:
telnet your.server.ip 80

# Monitor real-time connections:
netstat -ano | findstr :80

• Windows Firewall rules are processed in specific order - ensure no blocking rules precede your allow rules
• For production systems, avoid disabling the firewall completely
• Consider adding explicit outbound rules if your application needs to make external connections