IBM SPSS Statistics does not launch when using a firewall

You may encounter the following error upon launching IBM® SPSS® Statistics:

Attempt to connect to a remote server failed. INET:LOCALCOMPUTER:0.

The error is the result of firewall software that prevents the SPSS Statistics user interface from communicating with the SPSS Statistics backend engine.

The issue can be resolved by configuring the client firewall to allow the stats.exe and spssengine.exe processes to accept network connections.