Client Firewall on Windows 10 causing "missing network protocols" error

The Network protocols error is popping up quite a bit, however 90%+ of the users experiencing this error don't actually have the problem the error is referring to.  The normal reason for the error is twofold, either the TCP/IP network stack options have been corrupted in the registry and/or a specific group policy has been configured. 

• It seems the network protocols error on Windows 10 is most likely related to some code within Windows that believes a specific group policy has been set, even though that specific policy is set to it's default, non-configured state.  There seems to be a correlation between third party programs that affect networking, such as VPN software and stateful firewalls, on Windows 10 and this specific error.

There are a minute amount of users who are actually receiving this error on Windows 10 because the TCP/IP network stack in the registry has become corrupted.  Specific users with this actual issue have found exporting the TCP/IP registry keys from Windows 7, then importing into Windows 10 solved their issue... however, unless one is 100% sure they're one of the minute percentage of users with actual corruption within their TCP/IP stack, performing this step is overkill.

First, verify your DNS and DHCP settings are correct for the interface connected.  Try releasing leases and flushing the dns cache via:

1. ipconfig /release
2. ipconfig /flushdns
3. ipconfig /renew
4. ipconfig /registerdns

Most likely, users experiencing the network protocols error aren't actually having an issue with network protocols, but with network settings for their interface(s) (for some reason, and only within specific environments, Windows 10 is changing interface options during third party network software installations).