In these days of elevated numbers of cyber threats and cybercrimes, it has become extremely important to use a firewall on your computer. Whenever your computer is connected to the Internet or even any other network, it is prone to attacks through unauthorized access. Therefore, your Windows computer has a built-in security system, known as Pākuena Windows, in order to protect you against any unauthorized access of your computer by filtering out any unwanted or harmful information entering your system and blocking potentially harmful apps. Windows allows its own apps through a firewall by default. This means that the firewall has an exception for these particular apps and will allow them to communicate with the Internet.
When you install a new app, the app adds its exception to the firewall in order to access the network. Therefore, Windows asks you if it is safe to do so through the ‘Windows Security Alert’ prompt.
However, sometimes you need to add an exception to the firewall manually in case it hasn’t been done automatically. You might also need to do so for apps that you had denied such permissions previously. Similarly, you may want to remove an exception from the firewall manually in order to prevent an app from accessing the Internet. In this article, we will discuss how to block or allow apps through the Windows Firewall.
Windows 10: Allow or Block Apps through Firewall
E hōʻoia i ka hana ʻana i kahi hoʻihoʻi i ka wā e hewa ai kekahi mea.
Method 1: How to Allow Apps in Windows 10 Firewall
To manually allow a trusted app through the firewall using settings:
1. Kaomi ma ka kiʻi'ākuhi in the Start menu or press Windows Key + I to open Window Settings.
2.Click on ‘Pūnaewele & Pūnaewele'.
3.Switch to the ‘kūlana'ape.
4.Under ‘E hoʻololi i kāu hoʻonohonoho pūnaewele’ section, click on ‘Pākuena Windows'.
5.The ‘Pū Pūnaewele Haulepa Windows’ window will open.
6.Switch to the ‘Pākuʻi ahi & pale pūnaewele'ape.
7.Click on ‘ʻAe i kahi polokalamu ma o ka pale ahi’. The ‘ʻAe ʻia nā polokalamu’ window will open.
8.If you can’t reach this window, or if you are also using some other firewall, then you can open the ‘Pākuʻi Palekana Windows’ window directly using the search field on your taskbar and then Bus ma 'ʻAe i kahi polokalamu a hiʻohiʻona paha ma o Windows Defender Firewall'.
9.Click on the ‘E hoʻololi i nā koho’ button in the new window.
10.Find the app that you want to allow on the list.
11.Check the relevant pahu pahu against the app. Choose ‘uku' i allow the app to access a private home or work network. Koho 'Public' i allow the app access to a public network.
12.If you can’t find your app in the list, click on ‘ʻAe i kekahi polokalamu ʻē aʻe…’. Further, click on the ‘Nā’ button and browse the app you want. Click on the ‘Hoʻohuiʻomi.
13.Click on ‘OK’ to confirm settings.
To allow a trusted app through the firewall using the command prompt,
1.In the search field located on your taskbar, type cmd
2. Kaomi Ctrl + Shift + Kākau to open an elevated command prompt.
3.Now type the following command in the window and press Enter:
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="inoa_apono" dir=in action=allow program="app_path/app.exe" enable=yes
'Ōlelo Aʻo: Replace the app name and path with the relevant one.
Method 2: How to Block Apps in Windows 10 Firewall
To block an app in Windows Firewall using settings,
1.Open the ‘Windows defender security center’ window by following the same steps as we did above in order to allow an app through the firewall.
2.In the ‘Pākuʻi ahi & pale pūnaewele’ tab, click on ‘Apply an app through firewall'.
3.Click on ‘Hoʻololi i nā hoʻonohonoho'.
4.Find the app you need to block in the list a uncheck the checkboxes against it.
5.You can also completely remove the app from the list by selecting the app and clicking on the ‘wehe iʻomi.
6.Click on the ‘OK’ button to confirm.
To remove an app in firewall using the command prompt,
1.In the search field located on your taskbar, type cmd
2. Kaomi Ctrl + Shift + Kākau to open an elevated command prompt.
3.Now type the following command in the window and press Enter:
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="inoa_apono" dir=in action=block program="app_path/app.exe" enable=yes
'Ōlelo Aʻo: Replace the app name and path with the relevant one.
haawiia:
Using the above methods you can easily Allow or Block Apps in Windows Firewall. Alternatively, you can also use a third-party app like OneClickFirewall to do the same even more easily.