Troubleshooting NetSecWall: fixes for common problems

Troubleshooting NetSecWall usually starts with matching your symptom to one of the sections below. Each has a short answer and a link to the full fix. The common ones: something stopped working after you blocked it, the Live tab is empty, a banner says another firewall manager is running, a license key won't activate, or the lists aren't updating.

Something stopped working after a block

Almost always a rule you made: an app block, a country or category block that caught a shared CDN, or Block all. No internet after blocking something? has the full walk-through.

1. Open the Rules tab and set Show to NetSecWall rules.
2. Find the rule that matches the broken app or site, select it and press Delete. It stops applying immediately.
3. Restart the affected app. Some programs cache a failure and need a restart to notice.

Can't tell which rule? Protection ▸ Blocked connections (firewall log)… lists recent blocks with the program and address. It relies on a Windows audit setting. If the list is empty, run this in an administrator Command Prompt and open it again:

auditpol /set /subcategory:"Filtering Platform Connection" /failure:enable

The Live tab is empty or shows no rates

Usually NetSecWall isn't running as administrator, and Windows only gives per-process network events to elevated programs. Quit it from the tray and start it again, accepting the elevation prompt. Also check the tray icon's tooltip: "(paused)" means Pause monitoring is on. See the Live tab is empty.

A banner says another firewall manager is running

Two firewall managers overwrite each other's rules, which is the usual reason blocks "disappear". Choose Take over (and set the other tool to stop filtering) or Companion mode, in which NetSecWall only blocks with the Packet filter (WFP) engine. If the red banner says Windows Firewall is off, click Enable Windows Firewall. See the firewall banners.

My rules seem to have disappeared

Besides a second firewall manager:

• NetSecWall isn't running. It removes its own rules when it (or its service) stops and restores them when it starts, so wf.msc shows none of them while it's closed.
• The app moved. Rules are keyed to the executable's path, so after an update into a new folder the old rule no longer matches.
• Another program disabled them. Tick Protection ▸ Protect NetSecWall rules from tampering to re-enable NetSecWall's rules every 20 seconds. It doesn't apply in Companion mode.

A license key won't activate

• Activation needs an internet connection once. A proxy or captive portal can get in the way.
• Paste the whole key, including the NETSECWALL- prefix, under Help ▸ Sign in to NetSecWall… ▸ Have a license key?.
• A revoked, expired or blocked key shows the reason on the lock screen. That text is the explanation.
• Lost the key? Sign in to your account on netsecwall.com and have it emailed again. Help ▸ Open my account in browser… only works if you've already signed in to the app with your account.

See license key errors.

The trial ended and NetSecWall locked

That's intended: there's no free tier, so without an active plan, monitoring and blocking stop. Nothing is deleted. History, rules and settings stay on the PC, and activating a plan picks up where you left off.

Lists aren't updating

Check that Tools ▸ Feeds ▸ Auto-update feeds daily is ticked, then try Tools ▸ Feeds ▸ Update threat feeds now. If NetSecWall asks you to verify this PC, complete the one-click check in your browser. Lists aren't updating covers the rest.

The background service won't start

Open Tools ▸ Background service; the top line says whether it's installed and running. Choose Start, or Install + start (run 24/7)… if it isn't installed, then restart NetSecWall so the window connects to it. Without the service NetSecWall still works, but only while the app is running.

While the service runs, New rule… and Edit… in the Rules tab aren't available. Stop the service, or use Windows Defender Firewall for custom rules.

Getting help

Open a support ticket with your app version (Help ▸ About NetSecWall) and, for license questions, your order reference or key. Support replies Monday to Friday, within one business day.