It would help if we knew which firewall you are using. is it a software firewall I.e windows firewall Norton, eset etc etc? Or is it the nat on your router? (assuming you have one)? if so the make and model would help. Once we have that information we can assist you further.
ok, lets proceed on the basis that you are using the built in windows fire wall. if it was just a matter of windows firewall blocking the connection you would not need port forwarding at all. Port forwarding is only necessary if you have a restricted nat on your router and most modern games make use of UPnP to get around the need to port forward at all.
with all that said here is what I want you to try
Step 1 check windows firewall settings to se if swbf2 has an exception added :
step 2 run the game in windowed mode and try to connect to a match if you can't tab out to see if you get a fire wall alert.
if that fails then move on to step 3
Step 3 if you have A router and arnt in collage or something you need to log in to your router and check to see if UPnP is set to on or enabled consult your router manual for specifics.
if all that fails then we can talk about port forwarding but it should not be required.
Are you on a collage network or something?. port forwarding should not be required on a home network. in any case please give me your router manufacturer AND MODEL. then I can help you.
