The same thing occurs in Windows Firewall. Some applications need to connect to the internet from time to time. However, the firewall has control over which .exe and .dll files on your PC can connect to the network be it a domain network, a public network or a private network. By default, all application .exe and .dll files are blocked on the firewall. If an .exe file is not allowed on Windows firewall, it will not be able to communicate over the network. This includes games that you can play over the internet or over a network connection. To set your windows firewall preferences, you can: Press Windows Key + R, type firewall.cpl and hit enter then on the window that appears click on “allow a program or feature through Windows firewall.” Here, you can change which programs are allowed, and add new executable files. However, when you need to block or unblock more than one .exe file, and more so, on more than one PC (or if you are developing an app that needs firewall permission), then you will find the repetitive work energy-zapping. In this article we are going to show you how to block and unblock multiple .exe files that are in the same folder. For our demonstration purposes, we are going to assume the program files folder to be our target folder. You are advised to first take a backup of your current Windows Firewall policy incase anything goes wrong. To do this: Press Windows Key + R to open run, type wf.msc and hit enter to open ‘Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.’ On the far right panel, click on ‘Export Policy’ and save the file. If anything goes wrong, you can import this policy.
Block and unblock .exe files from the firewall using a batch file
Through netsh (a scripting tool that allows command line prompts to modify the network settings), you can use command line prompts to change the settings on your firewall, thus allowing you to block or unblock .exe or .dll files. Since the firewall dictates incoming and outgoing connections, we have to disable both the in and out directions for our files. To do this:
You might also want to explore the options of a third party application to add .exe and .dll files; this includes Windows Firewall Controller downloadable from here or TinyWall available here.
How to Attach Multiple Documents and Files to EmailHow to Block Windows Store in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019How to Block Untrusted Fonts on Windows 10?Windows 10 May 2020 20H1 v2004 Cumulative Feature Update To Allow Users Block…
