How to block a program in the Windows 10 firewall: You have just installed a new game for your child on your computer with Windows 10 but, after a few minutes, you realized that it is in multiplayer mode: you don’t like the idea that a child can play with other people through the Internet in no way. For this reason, you are looking for an efficient method that can inhibit access to the Net for that title, without however preventing your child from playing it in “offline” mode.
How do you say? Did I really guess? Perfect, then I really think I have what you need: in this guide, in fact, I intend to explain to you by wire and by sign how to block a program in the Windows 10 firewall , in order to inhibit access to the Net only to certain software: by proceeding in this way, in fact, the program you have chosen will continue to operate according to the expected dynamics, however blocking all those features that provide access to the network and allowing other applications to access the Internet.
So what else are you waiting for? Cut out some free time for yourself, make yourself comfortable and read very carefully everything I have to say on the subject: I am sure that, at the end of this reading, you will be perfectly able to prevent the game downloaded for your child access the Internet, in order to guarantee its security and … your peace of mind. Happy reading and good work!
Block a program in the Windows 10 firewall
Blocking a program in the Windows 10 firewall is not a difficult operation, however it is good to have clear the different types of block available, which are essentially three. The first, which concerns the suspension of incoming connections , provides that the program can only send data on the network but not receive it; vice versa, the interruption of the outgoing connections allows the reception of the data but not the sending.
Finally, to completely prevent a program from accessing the Internet and blocking it completely, you need to set up Windows Defender Firewall to limit both incoming and outgoing connections, or you have to act directly from the Permitted Apps section of the firewall. Below I am going to illustrate all the necessary procedures.
Block incoming connections
To prevent a program from receiving incoming connections and block this type of communication in the Windows 10 firewall, you must first click on the Start button (the flag icon located in the lower left corner of the screen), type the words ” Windows firewall” in the search field and click on the entry Windows Defender Firewall in the search results.
Alternatively, you can achieve the same result in the following way: open the Start menu , press the ⚙ button located inside it, access the Update and security section and click on the items Windows security and Firewall and network protection and, finally, press on the Advanced Settings item .
In the new window that appears, click on the Advanced settings section (on the left), then on the Incoming connection rules item . To add a new rule , click on the option of the same name located on the right, add the check mark next to the word Program and click on the Next button .
At this point, press the Browse … button , go to the path of the program to be blocked using the File Explorer panel shown on the screen and, after selecting the relative executable file (e.g. mioprogramma.exe ) with a double click , press again on the Next button .
Then, put the check mark next to the item Block the connection , press the Next button , choose the type of network for which the block must be active (entire Domain , Public networks or Private networks , you can also select multiple items at the same time), press on the Next button and, to conclude, assign a Name (eg Block my program ) and a Description (optional) to the rule just created and click on the Finish button .
From this moment on, the selected program will no longer be able to receive data from the network or from the Internet.
Block outgoing connections
The procedure for blocking the outgoing connections of a program is very similar to that seen in the immediately preceding section : after entering the Windows Defender Firewall management panel by calling it from the Start menu , click on the Advanced Settings item located on the left and, in the new window, presses the item Rules for outgoing connections .
At this point, select the New rule … item located on the right and follow exactly the same procedure seen previously: once all the steps have been completed, the chosen program will no longer be able to send data over the network or over the Internet, depending on the connection category you have choice (domain, public and / or private).
Block a program completely
If you need to block a program from accessing the Internet, you can proceed in two different ways: first, you can create two rules to block both incoming and outgoing connections for the program you are interested in, putting in practice both the methods seen previously.
The second, however, involves the use of the Allowed Apps section of Windows Defender Firewall: this section is mainly designed to set exceptions for programs, however it can be used equally effectively to block them in a couple of clicks.
How? Very simple: open the Start menu , click on the ⚙ button located on its left side, then on the Update and security , Windows Security and Firewall and network protection sections and, to reach the “Allowed apps” panel, click on the Allow app via firewall .
To unlock the Change of settings , click on the button of the same name located at the top: at this point, identify the program you want to block in the App and allowed features box , remove the check mark from the Private and Public boxes and press the OK button to confirm its blocking in the firewall.
If the software of your interest does not appear in the list, press the Allow another app button and, to add it, press the Browse … button and select the related executable file with the help of the File Explorer window that appears on the screen. Once the program is added, you can lock it by following the instructions I have provided previously.
Unlock a program
As it is easy to guess, it is possible to undo the blocking of a program in the Windows 10 firewall by performing the above steps “in reverse”.
Unblocking incoming / outgoing connections
If you intend to reactivate the reception of data for a specific program, call the section Windows Defender Firewall> Advanced settings> Rules for incoming connections as I have shown you previously and click on the rule you want to cancel (eg Block my program ).
Using the buttons located on the right of the screen, just below the name of the chosen rule, you can decide whether to disable it (you can use it again later, if you wish) or delete it completely.
In an absolutely similar way, you can disable or eliminate the rules for outgoing connections, thus reactivating the sending of data by the chosen program, acting instead from the Outgoing connection rules section , which can be called from the same window.
Full unlock
To completely cancel a block set in Windows Defender Firewall, you can proceed in two different ways: firstly, you can disable or eliminate the rules that block the incoming and outgoing connections set previously, so as to give the program free access to the network.
Alternatively, you can instead act from the Start section > Settings> Update and security> Windows Security> Firewall and network protection> Allow apps via firewall : after opening this section as I explained previously , immediately click on the Change settings button to acquire the modification permissions.
Once this is done, identify the program for which you wish to reactivate the access permissions from the proposed list, affix the check mark in the Private and / or Public box depending on the type of network in which to act and, finally, confirm the changes by clicking on the OK button .
Note : if the program does not appear in the list, you can add it by pressing the Allow another app button .
Restore default settings
How do you say? Do you think you have blocked or unlocked too many programs, so would you like to return Windows Defender Firewall to its default settings? Then I have excellent news for you: your wish can be fulfilled in a few clicks, just know where to put … the mouse!
Before going further, however, let me give you a proper premise: by returning the firewall to the default settings, some programs that need explicit access permissions to the Network will immediately stop working, until the permissions are granted again.
Usually, this occurs during the first “manual” execution of the program, in which Windows allows the user to choose whether (and for which networks) the program must be unlocked. Furthermore, by returning the firewall to its initial state, all the filters created manually will be deleted.
Once this is clarified, you can restore the default settings of Windows Defender Firewall by following these steps: first, open the Start menu , click on the ⚙ button and, from the next panel, access the sections Update and security> Windows security> Firewall and network protection > Restore default firewall settings . To conclude, press the Restore default settings button and wait a few seconds for the operation to be completed.