Hi, Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community Forums. Based on the description I understand that you would like to block a program from accessing internet connection. This is very simple- use a firewall with a deny all rule, and then add specific allow rules for the domains and ports you want to allow. For example, for website access all you want to allow are ports 80 and 443 for that website, as normal website access is on those ports.
First of all, I must apologize for a rather lengthy question – this is just to provide more clarity to my problem, so your kind patience is requested. Thank you.
Until now I never had the need or interest to change the settings for my Windows Firewall which has been running at its recommended default setting [presumably] protecting my computer. The system is a freshly installed Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (Version 6.1.7601 SP1 Build 7601) and connected to a private home LAN served by an ADSL router. Only wired connection is in use for what is described below. Microsoft Security Essentials is installed, updated, system drive scanned, and with current status indicating as Protected. No other virus protection in use.
I have just acquired video editing software (Cyberlink PowerDirector 9, 64-bit application) and while this software is good in video editing, it has some annoyance with its built-in adware which advertizes related products and upgrades – a shameless act by Cyberlink for fully paid for software! The software is a retail version on CDROM (bought from Amazon) and NOT a download or Trial version.
In an attempt to block this program from accessing the Internet, I observe something quite interesting and intriguing and hope someone can shed a light on this.
Here is what I did to block the program with the path:
C:Program Files CyberLinkPowerDirectorPDR9.exe
Control Panel => Firewall =>Advanced Settings[this brings up the management console]
Click on Inbound Rules in the left pane
Click on New Rules under Actions in the right pane Typing program for the mac for the blind.
Rule type Form shows up with Program radio button selected. I click Next
This Program path: radio button selected, and click on Browse button and I select the program, which is %ProgramFiles%CyberLinkPowerDirectorPDR9.exe
and then click Next
I choose the Block the connection radio button for the desired action and click Next
On next page I choose the Profiles to apply the action to, I selected all the check boxes (Domain, Private, Public) and clicked Next
On next page I name my rule as appropriate as “Cyberlink PowerDirector Adware Block” and finish the procedure.
Now all is fine and I can see my rule listed in the Inbound Rules with all column values as expected (such as Profile: All, Enabled: Yes, Action: Block; Override: No; Protocol: Any, etc).
At this point, I even rebooted my computer to make sure that the rule sticks as defined which indeed is the case as it’s listed in the Inbound Rules after the reboot.
Next I opened Fiddler to view http conversation and then started PowerDirector 9.
It appeared activity stopped for a few secs and then the adware communication is still there, also confirmed by Fiddler.
Curiously, I noticed something important in the list of Allowed programs and features for Windows Firewall. You can navigate to this list as:
Control Panel => Windows Firewall => Allow a program or feature through Windows Firewall
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Contrary to what I want to do, the list shows that the rule I just defined is indicated as having all the permission for both Private and Public profiles, indicated by checkboxes. Hmmm….
When I uncheck Cyberlink Powerdirector Adware Block in the allowed list (to exclude it from the allowed list) I note the rule in Inbound Rules (which I originally defined) changes without my authorization. What used to be an All Profile rule now splits into two: Domain Profile with the firewall rule enabled and a Private Profile with the rule disabled. Which means that the adware communication is still possible.
Before attributing this strange behavior to the video editor program, I repeated the procedure with another program. For this I picked c:windowsnotepad.exe (yes, this is ridiculous as notepad doesn’t use networking but only to demonstrate the procedure).
The moment I define the Block the connection rule in the Inbound Rules, the same rule pops up in the Allowed programs and features with the opposite action. As indicated above, unchecking the defined rule in Allowed programs and features, modifies the defined rule the Inbound Rules, in effect negating what I want to do. This step indicates that the firewall rule changing from the expected setting has nothing to do with the video editor software, rather Windows Firewall behavior which I am still to understand (as things are not as intuitive).
The above made no difference and the adware comms still alive and kicking.
Wow, 'Block all incoming connections, including those in the list of allowed programs' has a whole new meaning??
I tested the Windows Firewall behavior on another Windows 7 Ultimate (64-it) machine with exactly the same result.
Am I missing something here? I’m baffled. Your help is much appreciated.
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Added after 13 hours: Okay, here is a short version of the above question: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Block Internet Connection
When I define a Windows Firewall rule in Inbound Rules, why is my rule negated in the Allowed programs and features list?
Likewise, when I negate the negated rule in the Allowed programs and features why is my originally defined rule negated in Inbound Rules ?
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How To Block Internet Connection For Coreldraw
It is as if Windows Firewall doesn't want me to define a rule for blocking a connection. I also tested the same with Group Policy for configuring the Firewall and, as described above, a negated rule pops up in Allowed programs and features.
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