This application only uses existing Windows features, enabling some of them when first launched:

  • Enables the Windows embedded firewall
  • Sets the firewall to block both inbound and outbound connections for which no rule exists
  • Enables the default Windows firewall inbound connection notification
  • Enables the Windows firewall outbound connections logging (disabled by default)
  • Creates a scheduled task linked to the Windows firewall event log entries, allowing Windows Firewall Notifier to be launched when needed only

How to:

Once enabled (after a first launch), the application will show a notification balloon when an application attempts an outgoing connexion while not being allowed to do so. A click on the notification will display a dialog box, allowing the user to:

  • temporarily allow the application
  • create a rule for the application, so that it will always be able to connect
  • block the application once only, after what other notifications may (will) appear
  • always block the application (no notification will therefore be displayed afterwards)

Installation:

The application can be unzipped in the folder of your choice (usually c:\Programs\WindowsFirewallNotifier), knowing that it must not be moved once activated (unless you actually want to remove it).

When launching version 1.6 for the first time, I advise to remove any svchost.exe firewall rule you may have created using the previous versions since the services management logic has been way improved.

What's New:

  • new layout and animations for the Notifier popup.
  • modifications to allow using Windows's high contrast mode (and alike) for people suffering from eye disorders
  • to "celebrate" the release of WFN 1.8.0, the software is now Open Source
  • modified the task creation for the current user so that it works properly on Windows 8
  • modified the task creation for accentuated user accounts names
  • fixed rules name/description resolution
  • minor improvements
  • added a simple update button in the WFN console (only shown when an update is available)
  • fixed the logical application path resolution (could lead to improper rules creation in some specific cases)