Steps to Block All Outgoing Connections in Windows Firewall [Tutorial]

Windows Firewall is the default software firewall of the Windows operating system. It is automatically enabled after installation unless another firewall has already been installed and taken over.

By default, the firewall is configured for convenience and not for maximum protection. Microsoft has configured the firewall to block all incoming connections and allow all outgoing connections, except those that have default rules.

Most of the time we want our applications to be online and connected to both our local network and the wider Internet. However, there are cases when we want to prevent an application from connecting to the Internet. Read on as we show you how to lock down an application through the Windows Firewall.

Some simple and everyday examples are as follows. You may have an application that insists on updating itself automatically, but notice that these updates break some functionality and you want to stop them. Maybe you have a video game that you enjoy having your child play, but you're not as comfortable with the online (and unsupervised) multiplayer elements. You may be using an application with very unpleasant advertisements that can be silenced by closing the application's Internet access.

Windows comes with a standard firewall application that gives you detailed control over Internet access and also allows you to configure all incoming and outgoing connections. By default, the Windows firewall is configured to allow all outgoing connections unless they are blacklisted, and to block all incoming connections unless they are whitelisted.

Any program for which no outbound rule exists can send data from the local computer to hosts on the Internet.

Programs with Phone Home functionality, whether designed to check for updates or other purposes, are allowed to do this by default.

Windows users may also want to know what is happening in the background on their system regarding outgoing connections, as this can reveal useful information about programs and their behavior.

This tutorial applies to computers, laptops, desktops and tablets running Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 7 operating systems. Works for all major computer manufacturers (Dell, HP, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Lenovo, Samsung).

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