windows firewall
Posts tagged “windows firewall”.
How to block a country on Windows
Windows has no country switch, so you block the country's IP ranges with firewall rules. NetSecWall does it with one right-click; geolocation is approximate, and CDNs and VPNs blur borders.
How to block a program in Windows Firewall, two ways
Create an outbound rule for the program's .exe in Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security, set to Block the connection. Or right-click the program in NetSecWall and choose Block.
Cutting telemetry without breaking Windows Update
Use Windows' own diagnostic data settings for Windows, and block telemetry one app at a time for everything else. Blocking svchost.exe or Microsoft domains wholesale is what breaks Update.
Keep the app, cut its internet: blocking without uninstalling
Block the program's outbound connections instead of removing it. The app still opens and works offline; it just can't reach the internet until you lift the block.
Why you need a firewall and an antivirus, and what each one misses
An antivirus judges files and program behavior; a firewall judges connections. Each misses what the other sees, from a clean-looking tool phoning out to malware that never touches the network.
Inbound and outbound connections, in plain English
A connection is outbound when your PC starts it, inbound when another machine does. Your router and Windows Firewall stop most unsolicited inbound traffic, so outbound is where apps phone home.
Windows Firewall allows outbound traffic by default: why that matters
Out of the box, Windows Defender Firewall blocks unsolicited inbound connections but lets every program connect out. That keeps things working, and it means nothing stops an unwanted app phoning home.
What is the Windows Filtering Platform?
The Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) is the engine inside Windows that decides whether network traffic may pass. Windows Defender Firewall is built on it, and so are many VPNs and security tools.