Tutorial on Verifying Firewall Restrictions to Avoid Interference with Network Services

Tutorial on Verifying Firewall Restrictions to Avoid Interference with Network Services

Straight-Up: Checkin' Your Blocked Sites on Windows

Wanna know why that sweet website you've been eyein' ain't loadin' up on your Windows computer? Might be your firewall sittin' on it. Here's how to check and adjust firewall settings on your Windows machine.

Bit ya Gotta Know

• Your firewall may be blockin' a website, app, or port on your Windows machine.
• To see if your firewall is blockin' somethin', check the Outbound rules in the Windows Firewall settings.
• Even if your firewall ain't blockin' it, your router or network admin might have a block in place.

Steps

Peepin' Blocked Websites (Windows)

1. Open up Windows Defender Firewall. You can do it by clickin' the Start menu and typein' or usin' these steps:
2. Click the Windows Start menu.
3. Type .
4. Click System and Security (or Windows Defender Firewall).
5. Click Windows Defender Firewall.
6. Open the Advanced Settings. Click this option in the left-hand pane. You might need to enter an administrator password.
7. Check Outbound Rules for blocked IPs. Click Outbound Rules in the left-hand pane.
8. If a website is blocked, it'll show up in the list as a red symbol next to the words "Blocked IPs" or "IP block."
9. If there are no blocked IP rules, but you still can't access a site, the organization that runs your network (like your job) probably has an external firewall set up. You can't change these settings from your machine.
10. Find the website's IP address using Command Prompt. To do so:
11. Click the Windows Start menu and type "CMD."
12. Open the Command Prompt. Type the following command exactly as it appears, but use the URL of the website you suspect is blocked in place of "our website" (without the "www."): You should see "Reply from" followed by a string of numbers. This is the IP address. Write it down.
13. Disable any rules blockin' that IP address. Go back to the list of Outbound Rules and click an IP-blockin' rule. Select Properties on the right pane to see which IP addresses are blocked. If the IP address you wrote down is listed, select it, then click the "Remove" button to its right.
14. If you wanna block a website instead, make a new Outbound Rule by selectin' New Rule underneath Actions in the right pane. Follow these steps in the rule creation window:
15. Click Custom, then Next.
16. Click All Programs, then Next.
17. Leave the Protocol settings alone and click Next.
18. Under "Which remote IP addresses does this apply to?", select "These IP addresses:"
19. Click "Add" to the right of the lower text field. In the pop-up window, enter the IP address you wrote down into the "This IP address" field. Press OK, then Next.
20. Select "Block the connection," then Next.
21. Check all three boxes if you'd like to block the site on all networks. (If you'd only like to block it while connected to unsecured public WiFi, check only Public instead.) Click Next.
22. Type in a name for your rule so you remember what it does. Click Finish.

Checkin' Blocked Apps (Windows)

1. Search for "allow an app" or "allow a program." To do so, click the Start menu and type "Allow an app through Windows Firewall" (Windows 10 & 11). Select the matchin' result that shows up.
2. Look for the app that might be blocked. The apps are listed in alphabetical order. Scroll through them and look for the name of the application you're concerned about.
3. Click "Change settings." This button is near the top right corner of the window. You might need to enter an administrator password.
4. Check or uncheck the boxes to change this setting. If you want an app to be allowed through the firewall, check the box to the left of its name. If you want the firewall to block the app, uncheck the box.
5. Apply this setting to Private and/or Public networks. The two checkboxes on the right let you choose different settings for Private networks (like your home network) and Public ones (for coffee shops, airports, and so on). You're more vulnerable to security threats on a public network, so you might want to uncheck the "Public" box for apps that deal with sensitive info.
6. Try removin' and re-addin' an app. Some users have had issues with these settings not workin' correctly. If an app is marked "allowed" but you're still havin' connection issues, try manually removin' it from the list by uncheckin' the box next to its name. Add it back again with the "Allow another app" button on the bottom right and see if it works now.

Checkin' Blocked Ports (Windows)

Note: Don't do this unless you've tried some easier methods first. It's more technical, and messin' up here can cause issues with security or function.

1. Check for blocked programs before tryin' this method.
2. Open the Windows Firewall. It's called "Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security" on Windows 10 or just "Windows Firewall" in earlier versions. You can search for this in the Start Menu or locate it inside Control Panel under System and Security > Windows Defender Firewall.
3. Select "Advanced Settings" on the left menu. You might need to enter an administrator password.
4. Click Properties. This is under the "Actions" header in the right-hand panel, or in the top Actions menu.
5. Select the tab that matches your network. Windows Firewall uses different settings for different networks. In the top row of tabs, select "Private Profile" if you're on a home network or "Public Profile" if you're on public WiFi. (The "Domain Profile" is for secure networks with a domain controller, mostly in corporate settings.)
6. Customize your loggin' settings. Under the "Logging" headin', click "Customize". In the window that opens, select the drop-down menu next to "Log dropped packets" and set it to "Yes". Make a note of the file path at the top, next to "Name". Hit "OK" twice to close the windows and save your settings.
7. Test the application that's havin' issues. Run the application or feature that you think might be runnin' into your firewall. This should record the attempt in your firewall log so you can see what's goin' on.
8. Open the firewall log. To see your firewall activity, go to the file path location shown in your loggin' settings. By default, this is your home directory (for instance, C:\Windows) followed by \system32\logfiles\firewall\firewall.log.
9. Look for port info in the log. Use the Fields line at the top as a guide for how to read the log entries (for example, the Fields line starts with "date time", so the first two items in each entry are the date and time of the event).
10. "Action" lists the firewall's behavior. "ALLOW" means the traffic went through. "DROP" means it was blocked.
11. "Protocol" typically lists either TCP or UDP.
12. "dst-port" stands for "destination port" - most likely what your firewall is lookin' for
13. "src-port" stands for "source port"; this is not relevant in most cases.
14. Use this info to edit your firewall rules. Return to the advanced settings window for your firewall. Use the actions in the left pane to create a new rule:
15. Click "Outbound Rules" to alter how your programs are allowed to connect to the network. ("Inbound Rules" affect how other systems connect to you; change these only if you know what you're doin').
16. Click "New Rule".
17. Select "Port", then "Next".
18. Select "TCP" or "UDP" and enter the port number you'd like to allow or block. (This is the info you got from your log.)
19. Choose "Allow," "Allow if it is secure," or "Block," depending on what you'd like your firewall to do.
20. Choose the Profile type(s) of the networks you want the rule to apply to.
21. Name your rule and save it.
22. Check whether the new rule worked. Repeat the action that you've been havin' problems with (for instance, openin' an application, runnin' a program, or visitin' a website). If it now works as intended, you're done. If not, open the log again and double-check that you've used all the right info and that no other issues are bein' recorded (such as additional undesired blocks on other ports).
23. Turn off loggin' once you're done troubleshootin'. Return to the Windows Firewall advanced settings. Select the profile tab you changed before, click "Customize" under Loggin', and turn off dropped packet loggin'. This will help prevent slowdowns that can happen from constant loggin'.

Checkin' Firewall Settings (Mac)

1. Open your Mac firewall. Use the followin' steps:
2. Click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner.
3. Click "System Settings".
4. Click "Network" in the sidebar to the left.
5. Click "Firewall" on the right.
6. Toggle the firewall on or off. By default, the Mac firewall is turned off. You can click the toggle switch next to "Firewall" at the top to toggle the firewall on or off. If the firewall is off, then this firewall isn't blockin' nothin'.
7. Click "Options." It's below the Firewall box. This button won't be available unless the firewall is turned on.
8. Use the "+" and "-" buttons to change the rules. If the firewall has any application-specific rules, these are displayed in the large white field in the center of the window. You can easily change 'em:
9. To allow or block a new application, click the small "inking" pencil next to this field. In the pop-up window, locate the application, select it, and hit "Add".
10. Once the application is listed, click "Allow"... or "Block"... to the right of its name to open a drop-down menu and switch between the two settings.
11. To remove a rule you don't need, select the application, then click "-".
12. Turn "Block all incoming connections" on or off. At the top of the Options page, there is the option to block all incoming connections. Click the toggle switch next to this option to turn it on or off.
13. Automatically allow built-in software to receive incoming connections. If you click the toggle switch to enable "Automatically allow built-in software to receive incoming connections," all apps that come pre-installed on your Mac will be added to the list of allowed apps.
14. Automatically allow downloaded signed software to receive incoming connections. If you click the toggle switch to enable "Automatically allow downloaded signed software to receive incoming connections," all downloaded apps that are signed by a valid certificate authority will be added to the list of allowed apps.
15. Enable or disable Stealth Mode. If you click the toggle switch next to "Enable Stealth Mode," your Mac will not respond to probing requests (such as a ping) that can reveal its existence. However, it will still respond to requests from authorized apps.

• To enhance cybersecurity for your home gadgets and data-and-cloud-computing activities, you can learn how to check and adjust firewall settings on your Windows machine. This can help in identifying and managing blocked websites, apps, or ports.
• If you're concerned about a specific website being blocked, you can find the website's IP address using theCommand Prompt, then disable any rules blocking that IP address in the Outbound Rules section of the Windows Defender Firewall settings.
• In addition to checking blocked websites, you can also learn how to check and adjust firewall settings to manage blocked apps on Windows. This involves searching for "Allow an app through Windows Firewall" and toggling the blocks on or off for the app you're concerned about.

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