Could allowing this while installing VPN make my PC at risk somehow?
It’s basically asking if it should be assign a private or public firewall profile.
Yes. Well, they will discover you anyways but yes.
if you want others on your network and yourself to be able to access your pc, then yes, its fine to allow
Is this your own VPN to your network? Or a Public VPN service?
The short answer is no, VPN providers don’t allow users to see other users (outside special cases where you set up devices to talk to eachother over the VPN)
So if i allowed this any pc on my network can access my pc without permission?
Yes, if your PC is hosting services that other PCs on your network can connect to. Most services out of the box cannot be connected to in a meaningful way without administrative credentials, but it is wise to err on the side of caution and treat any network as if it is Public. If your PC is hosting services that need to be accessible elsewhere on your network, you can create Firewall rules to allow such access instead.
no, they still need your username and password to get into your pc when this is enabled
When you click “Yes” and set your network profile to “Private” or “Home,” your PC becomes discoverable within the local network. This means other devices on the same network can see your computer, making it possible to share files, printers, or other resources. This setting assumes a level of trust within the network, like your home or workplace, where sharing is desirable.On the other hand, if you click “No” and set your network profile to “Public,” your PC becomes less visible to other devices. This is a security measure aimed at protecting your computer when connected to public networks, like those in cafes or airports. In “Public” mode, sharing is more restricted to minimize the risk of unauthorized access and potential security threats that can arise in open and less secure environments.
Either way people can’t just “access your pc” by default, it just sets different firewall rules. Even if you intentionally share files with others, they will need your credentials to acces them.
Honestly it doesn’t matter what you click on. Anyone with enough knowledge (aka. a simple IP scanner) can query your network for active clients and get their hostname, any open ports with services running, any file sharing settings, etc… Yes, even if you click “no”.
That’s a legendary explanation, thank you