Sometimes we want to block a specific program from accessing the internet due to some reasons, that can be like preventing from updates, blocking the ads or any other reasons that make us think of blocking a program from accessing the Internet. Here is How to Block a Program from Accessing Internet In Windows 10.

Block a Program from Accessing the Internet

1. In order to block a program from accessing the Internet, you need to create a windows firewall rule. Go to Firewall by Clicking Windows 10 Start Button and search for Windows Firewall and Open Windows Firewall

2. That will guide you the main Windows 10 firewall screen.

3. Click on  Advanced Settings from the column on the left side. and you will be guided to the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security Section.

4. From the Column left Click on Outbound Rules to go to Advanced Outbound Rules Section.

5. From the right column under the Action area, Click on New Rule to Create new Outbound Rule.

6. Herein rule type choose Program click next button to continue the process

7. Choose your program path from This Program Path Area and click Next. 

Note: Open the .exe file of any program you want to block, here as an example I will block the photoshop program which the directory in my computer is as below

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2017

8. From the action steps, Choose the Block the connection and Click Next to continue. 

9. In the profile section, tick all of them (Domain, Private, Public) to block the program in all connectivity conditions whether you are using a private or public network.

10. We are almost there to block a program completely from connecting to the internet.  As you are seeing in the picture below its time to write down a name and description for this rule. Name your Rule and if you would like to write down a short description for this rule and click Finish.

Block a Program from Accessing Internet – Video

Here is the video guide of how to block a program from accessing the Internet.

Read more about computer network firewall protection on Wiki Firewall.

The post How to Block a Program from Accessing Internet In Windows 10? appeared first on TECHNIG.

Manage Windows Firewall Using PowerShell

There are many network security PowerShell cmdlets in Windows PowerShell and working will all of them are a bit difficult. I’m trying to explain the most used and important in this PowerShell articles.

1. Try to run PowerShell as administrator and type the “Get-command *Firewall*” then press enter to list all Windows Firewall PowerShell cmdlets.

Copy-NetFirewallRule                               
Disable-NetFirewallRule                            
Enable-NetFirewallRule                             
Get-NetFirewallAddressFilter                       
Get-NetFirewallApplicationFilter                   
Get-NetFirewallInterfaceFilter                     
Get-NetFirewallInterfaceTypeFilter                 
Get-NetFirewallPortFilter                          
Get-NetFirewallProfile                             
Get-NetFirewallRule                                
Get-NetFirewallSecurityFilter                      
Get-NetFirewallServiceFilter                       
Get-NetFirewallSetting                             
New-NetFirewallRule                                
Remove-NetFirewallRule                             
Rename-NetFirewallRule                             
Set-NetFirewallAddressFilter                       
Set-NetFirewallApplicationFilter                   
Set-NetFirewallInterfaceFilter                     
Set-NetFirewallInterfaceTypeFilter                 
Set-NetFirewallPortFilter                          
Set-NetFirewallProfile                             
Set-NetFirewallRule                                
Set-NetFirewallSecurityFilter                      
Set-NetFirewallServiceFilter                       
Set-NetFirewallSetting                             
Show-NetFirewallRule                               

It’s just simple Windows Firewall PowerShell cmdlets. You can combine other networking and security cmdlets with Firewall PowerShell commands.

Enable/Disable Firewall with PowerShell

Enable Firewall with PowerShell is perform with “Set-NetFirewallProfile” command. You can specify the Firewall profiles when disabling Firewall. Read about changing network profiles with PowerShell.

1. In order to disable the Windows firewall with PowerShell, type “Set-NetFirewallProfile -Enabled false” and press enter. It will disable Windows Firewall on all three profiles.

2. Do the same to enable Windows firewall with PowerShell. Just change the status of -Enabled parameter to True and press enter.

3. For displaying the status of Windows Firewall profiles type “Get-NetFirewallProfile” and press enter. It shows the status of all Windows Firewall profiles.

To see the exact profiles, categorize with -Profile parameter. For instance “Get-NetFirewallProfile -Profile Private” then hit enter. It shows that the Enable is equal to False.

4. Type the “Set-NetFirewallProfile -Profile Private -Enable True” and press enter to enabled Windows Firewall for Private profile.

Do the same for disabling Windows Firewall on Private profile. But remember that do not turn off Windows Firewall on the network. It’s just an example to turn off Windows Firewall with PowerShell.

Create Windows Firewall Rules with PowerShell

Let’s create and manage Windows Firewall rules with PowerShell. Create new protocol rules and rules for software.

To see all Windows Firewall rules with PowerShell, simply type “Get-NetFirewallRule | Measure” and press enter.

It counts and shows the amount of Windows Firewall rules. But let’s see how many of these rules are enabled. Type “Get-NetFirewallRule -Enabled True | Measure” and press enter to list enabled rules.

Good, all works perfectly. So let’s create a rule and enable it with “New-NetFirewallRule” command.

To enable Ping with PowerShell type “New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName “ICMPv4” -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Protocol icmpv4 -Enabled True” and press enter.

Do the same for other protocols to enable or disable them with PowerShell. And to remove the created rule with PowerShell, type “Remove-NetFirewallRule –DisplayName “ICMPv4” and press enter.

To create a new rule for an app or software, do it like the bellow command. For instance, blocking Internet Download Manager.

New-NetFirewallRule -Program “C:\Program Files\IDM\idm.exe” -Action Block -Profile Domain, Private -DisplayName “Block IDM” -Description “Block Internet Download Manager” -Direction Outbound

That’s not all to manage Windows Firewall using PowerShell, but enough for this post. If you have any question about configuring Windows Firewall with PowerShell, feel free to ask through the comment section.

The post How to Manage Windows Firewall with PowerShell? appeared first on TECHNIG.

Network discovery is a network setting that enables network computers’ names to be discoverable from the network. It works like a Bluetooth system. When you enable it, your device will be found by another device. Enabling network discovery via group policy is the best option to enable network discovery for all network machines through a Windows server. The same task can be used to disable network discovery on all network clients with group policy.

In this post, I will apply this policy to enable network discovery via group policy using Windows Server 2016 on Windows 10 clients. It works the same on Windows Server 2019, 2025, and Windows 11.

What is Network Discovery?

Before we start to apply the network discovery policy to the network clients, we should know about network discovery features and settings. For all Windows systems, the three network discovery states are:

• On: This state allows your computer to see other network computers and devices and allows people on other network computers to see your computer. This makes it easier to share files and printers.

• Off: This state prevents your computer from seeing other network computers and devices and prevents people on other network computers from seeing your computer.

• Custom: This is a mixed state in which some settings related to network discovery are enabled, but not all of them. For example, network discovery could be turned on, but you or your system administrator might have changed firewall settings that affect network discovery.

Network discovery requires that the DNS Client, Function Discovery Resource Publication, SSDP Discovery, and UPnP Device Host services are started, that network discovery is allowed to communicate through Windows Firewall, and that other firewalls are not interfering with network discovery. If some but not all of these are true, the network discovery state will be shown as Custom.

How to Enable Network Discovery via Group Policy?

Let’s configure and enable network discovery via group policy on Windows Server 2016 to Windows Server 2025. This method works the same on all other Windows servers. In my testing lab, the server is Windows Server 2016 and the client machines are Windows 10.

The following are the step-by-step instructions in a real-world scenario:

1. Log on to the Windows Server and open the Group Policy Management console by typing gpmc.msc in the Run dialog box.
2. Expand the Forest and Domains nodes, and then right-click the domain name. Select Create a GPO in this domain and link it here.

3. Name the new GPO Network Discovery or whatever you want. It’s better to name all the new GPO you have created with a meaningful name and must be related to the tasks you want to apply via the group policy template.

4. Right-click the created Network Discovery GPO and click Edit. Now you are going to edit this group policy template to enable network discovery via group policy.

5. On Computer Configuration, expand Policy – Administrative Templates – Network and select Link-Layer Topology Discovery. Right-click the first policy “Turn on Mapper I/O (LLTDIO) driver” and enable it. Tick the checkbox of Allow operation while in domain.

Note: LLTDIO allows a computer to discover the topology of a network it’s connected to. It also allows a computer to initiate Quality-of-Service requests such as bandwidth estimation and network health analysis.

6. Now enable Turn on Responder (RSPNDR) driver also. Do the same settings for Turn on Responder (RSPNDR) driver as above screenshot.

Note: The Responder allows a computer to participate in Link Layer Topology Discovery requests so that it can be discovered and located on the network. It also allows a computer to participate in Quality-of-Service activities such as bandwidth estimation and network health analysis. It enables Network Discovery via group policy.

7. Network Discovery enabled via group policy. Now type “gpupdate /force” to update the group policy on Windows Server. Execute the command on the client’s computer as well or it will apply automatically when the system restarts.

Everything is done successfully on the Windows server. The network discovery policy is now enabled for all client computers that are joined to the domain. To verify that the policy is working correctly, you can open the Network and Sharing Center on a client computer and check the Network Discovery setting. The setting should be On.

Enable Network Discovery via Windows Firewall

It is the second method to turn on network discovery via Windows Firewall. It also must be applied through group policy. So we already have a created GPO and try to edit it for enabling network discovery via Windows Firewall.

1. Open the previews created by GPO and edit them with the following steps. Navigate to Computer Configuration – Windows Settings – Security Settings – Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.

2. Now try to create a rule from Inbound Rules. Select Inbound Rules and right-click to create a New Rules.

3. So on the new New Inbound Rules Wizard page, select Predefined and choose Network Discovery.

4. On the Predefined Rules window, do nothing and click Next. These rules are predefined rules for network discovery and network monitoring, and network troubleshooting.

5. Finally, select Allow the connections and click Finish. The network discovery rules must be enabled successfully.

6. The result should be like the below screenshot. Next, you can disable network discovery with a Windows firewall from here. And disable network discovery via the preview section.

7. Close the Group Policy Management Editor page and run “gpupdate /force” command again to update the group policy.

Turn on Network Discovery on Windows 10

Let’s check the result of enabling network discovery via group policy on a Windows 10 client machine.

1. Open the Network from Windows 10 desktop. Bring Windows 10 desktop icons on the desktop, if you already don’t have them.

Here you see, the network discovery is turned off and the network computers are not showing from Network.

2. Open the command prompt and run “gpudpate /force” command to update group policy on Windows 10.

Now the network discovery has been enabled successfully on your all network servers and client machines. Try to work with group policy and get to learn more about settings and options. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate and ask us via comment.

Related Queries: Enable Network Discovery via Group Policy

Network discovery group policy Windows 10
Disable network discovery GPO server 2012
Network discovery GPO not working
Enable network discovery GPO server 2012
GPO turns on network discovery and file sharing
Group policy advanced sharing settings
Turn on the network discovery server 2016
Turn on the automatic setup of network-connected devices group policy

The post How to Enable Network Discovery via Group Policy? appeared first on TECHNIG.