This wikiHow teaches you how to prevent a program from accessing a Windows computer network by blocking it through the Firewall. In order to access the Firewall and block programs, you must have administrator rights. Keep in mind that blocking a program with a Firewall does not always prevent a program from running on the computer.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Blocking Programs
Step 1. Go to Start
Do this by clicking on the Windows logo in the lower left corner.
Step 2. Run Firewall
Type in Windows Defender Firewall, then click Windows Defender Firewall located at the top of the Start window.
Step 3. Click on Advanced settings
This link is in the upper-left corner of the Windows Firewall window.
Step 4. Click the Outbound Rules tab on the left side of the window
Step 5. Click New Rule… in the top right corner
This will open a new window that can be used to create Firewall rules.
Step 6. Check the box "Program"
This option is at the top of the page.
Step 7. Click Next at the bottom of the window
Step 8. Select the desired program
In order to block a program, first select the program to find its path:
- Check the box " This program path ", then click Browse….
- Click This PC on the left side of the window.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the screen, and then double-click the name of your computer's hard drive (for example OS (C:)).
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Double click the folder Program Files.
If the program you want to block is not here, open the folder where the program is located
- Find the folder where the program is located, then double-click the folder.
- Select the program file by clicking on it once.
Step 9. Copy the path for the program
Click the address bar at the top of the window to select the displayed path, then copy the path by pressing Ctrl+C.
This must be done because Windows will reset the path for the file after you open the file in Firewall. This condition can thwart any exit rules you created. This issue can be resolved by pasting the path for the file manually
Step 10. Click Open in the lower right corner of the window
Step 11. Replace the path in front of the application name with the copied path
Highlight the entire path in the "This program path" text box to the last backslash before the application name, then paste the copied path by pressing Ctrl+V.
- For example, if you want to block Google Chrome in the path "C:\Program Files\Google\Application\chrome.exe", highlight all the text except " chrome.exe " and replace it with the text you copied.
- It is very important to leave the application name and extension at the end of the path. If you don't, the created rule won't block anything.
Step 12. Click Next three times
The button is at the bottom right of the window on each page. You will be taken to the last page.
Step 13. Name the rule you created
Type any word to serve as the rule name into the text box at the top of the page.
For example, if you want to block Chrome on your computer, you can name it "Block Chrome" here
Step 14. Click Finish located at the bottom of the window
The rules created will be saved and applied. From now on until you disable or delete the rule, the program will not be able to access the internet.
Method 2 of 2: Temporarily Disabling Programs
Step 1. Go to Start
Do this by clicking the Windows logo in the lower-left corner or pressing Win.
Step 2. Run Firewall
Type in Windows Defender Firewall, then click Windows Defender Firewall that's at the top of the Start window.
Step 3. Click Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall
You can find this link at the top left of the Firewall window.
Step 4. Click Change settings
It's in the upper right of the window, above the list of programs installed on your computer.
- After doing this, you may have to click Yes in the pop-up window to continue.
- This action will not work if you do not have administrator rights on the computer.
Step 5. Find the program you want to block
The list of programs is in the middle of the page, showing all the programs that Windows Firewall has allowed or blocked. Scroll the screen to find the desired program.
Step 6. Add programs to the list if necessary
If the program you are looking for is not in the list, do the following to add it:
- Click Allow another app… below the list.
- Click Browse….
- Open the location of the program or application file (usually the EXE) that you want to block.
- Select the desired program or application file.
- Click Open, then select the program name in the window and click Add if the program is not added automatically.
Step 7. Click the check mark on the left side of the program
This will remove the checkmark that is there so that the program will be blocked by Windows Firewall.
- If there is no check mark on the left side of the program, it means that Windows Firewall has blocked it.
- Leave the two checkboxes to the right of the program (namely " Home/Work (Private) " and " Public ") as they are.
Step 8. Click OK located at the bottom of the window
Your changes will be saved and the program will not run on your computer.
Tips
- Blocking programs through a Firewall is a good method of preventing the entry of malware (programs designed to infiltrate and damage a computer system) or bloatware (useless applications installed by computer manufacturers) that can slow down computer performance.
- If you don't know where to find the program you want to block, locate it by right-clicking the program shortcut, clicking Open file location, and repeating the steps described above to enter the program folder.
