How to block a program from internet access in Windows 10 Firewall

 
How to block a program from internet access in Windows 10 Firewall

Introduction to Windows Firewall with advanced security

Although it is not usually a problem that an application has access to the internet, and we are usually interested in having it, especially in the case of online games or browsers, among other programs, sometimes there are also occasions when we want to block access to internet of a specific application .


This can be due to several reasons, for example, to avoid the automatic update of an application that does not need internet access for its correct operation , to heal us in health and have greater control over what the application can do out, or even when We use programs obtained in less legal ways, where it is not surprising that we need that the application cannot connect to the internet to continue working.


In any case, in this guide we will show you how to block Internet access for a specific application in Windows 10 , so that we can be sure that it cannot communicate from or to the outside.


Locate the desired program to block Internet access

One of the first things we will have to do is locate the executable of the program to which we want to block internet access, and that is that, although we might think that direct access is sufficient, there are cases in which updates to program are managed by a separate executable , so we will have to take a quick look in the program folder to verify this.


In this case, where we have a shortcut on the desktop, we will right-click on the icon and click on Properties , where a window will open with the properties of the shortcut. Once there, we will click on Open location , and it will take us directly to the folder that houses the executable.


As we can see, it is a simple application that does not have multiple executables , so we can be sure that blocking the main executable will be enough. In the case of programs that have a separate service, we will probably find names that end in "update" or similar , so that if we find multiple executables, we can search for information online to determine which files we want to block. .


In any case we will not close the window, as we will need it later.


How to access and navigate Windows Firewall

Now we will proceed to access the Windows Firewall, something that we can do in several ways, as we will see below.


The easiest thing is to open the start menu and write Windows Defender Firewall , where the option that will appear selected is the one that interests us despite having a longer name. We can also choose to look for the Windows Firewall in the control panel, and once inside, look for the advanced settings, something that will take us to exactly the same place.


Finally, we can also make use of the Windows execution window , because by pressing the Windows + R key combination and typing "wf.msc" in the window that will appear, it will allow us to quickly access the Windows Firewall configuration .


In any case, we are already in the advanced configuration window of the Windows Firewall, something that may seem somewhat intimidating at first, but it is really simple to use.


Block internet access for an application in Windows firewall

At this point is when we can begin to block internet access to our application, something that we will do by applying inbound rules and outbound rules.


The first field will be that of input rules, and as we click we will see how there are a good number of applications that we can recognize having allowed access to the internet over time, something typical when we start a game or program for the first time and request internet access through Windows Firewall.


To create a rule, we will click on the button "New rule ..." in the Actions menu on the right side, and we will select the option "Program" among the options that are given, where by clicking Next we will be asked for the application path.


This is where we can return to the folder where the application is located, where we can see the properties of the program to copy the path where it is located and the name of the application.


By clicking on next again, we can see the options we have for the input rule that we are creating, where we can choose between allowing the connection, allowing the connection if it is secure, or blocking the connection, which is what interests us . We will mark this option and click on Next again, where we will be asked in which networks we want this rule to apply.


By default all options will be activated, although if we have special needs we can make the rule only apply to certain types of network.


Finally, we will give a name to our Firewall rule , and in case some kind of clarification is necessary, we will place it in the description, so that we can know in the future why this rule exists.


In the same way, we will be interested in blocking Internet exits by the application, something that we can do in the same way by entering the Outbound Rules menu, where the steps will be exactly the same as, to block incoming connections from outside, by so there will be no complication for it.


Disable or remove Windows Firewall rules

It can always happen that we want a rule of this type temporarily, so to disable or eliminate a Windows Firewall rule, it will be as simple as entering its configuration, navigating to the input or output sections, searching the rule that we have created and press the corresponding button in the menu on the right side of the screen.


To enable or disable a rule we will not be asked for any type of confirmation, especially since it is something completely innocuous for the rest of the system or that requires reconfirming any type of information, although if we really want to delete a rule permanently, it is it will ask us to confirm the action to ensure that we are not accidentally deleting an important rule.

Post a Comment

0 Comments