Windows firewall is a built-in security feature by Microsoft that filters inbound and outbound traffic and blocks potentially harmful programs requesting access to your Windows system.
Additionally, the firewall blocks certain ports to prevent remote code execution attacks. Occasionally, you may need to allow a program or an application through your firewall so that it can make external connections, for example, a web server or a mail client. In this guide, you will learn how to block or allow a program through a firewall.
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To allow a program/application through the firewall, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Head out to the search bar on the Windows Taskbar and type ‘Windows Defender Firewall‘.
Step 2: On the pull-up menu, click on ‘Windows Defender Firewall‘ option as shown:
Step 3: On the Windows Firewall window, click on ‘Allow an App or feature through Windows Defender firewall‘ option.
Step 4: On the next window, click on the ‘Change settings‘ button. Next, click ‘Yes‘ on the pop-up window
Step 5: The next window displays a list of applications and services. locate the service that you want to allow and check the checkbox on the left to allow it. Additionally, tick the checkboxes on the right to allow the App on Private or public networks.
To disallow the program from accessing network resources, simply uncheck the checkboxes. If the checkbox is not checked, then the firewall is already blocking the application.
If the program you want to allow or disallow is not listed click on ‘Allow another app’ option.
On the next pop-up window, click on ‘Browse‘ and navigate to your App’s location. Select the application and click ‘Open’
Next, click on ‘Add‘
Step 6: Finally, click ‘OK’ to save the changes.
Closing thoughts
In this article, we have demonstrated how you can block or allow a program on the firewall. Bear in mind that blocking an application does not prevent the application from running on your system. It only blocks access to external networks. We hope you found this article informative. Thank you.
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Hey, this is Margaret, a Windows Systems Administrator who’s in love with everything about tech.
