Evaluate network protection

Applies to:

• Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 1
• Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2
• Microsoft Defender XDR

Network protection helps prevent employees from using any application to access dangerous domains that may host phishing scams, exploits, and other malicious content on the Internet.

This article helps you evaluate network protection by enabling the feature and guiding you to a testing site. The sites in this evaluation article aren't malicious. They're specially created websites that pretend to be malicious. The site will replicate the behavior that would happen if a user visited a malicious site or domain.

Enable network protection in audit mode

Enable network protection in audit mode to see which IP addresses and domains would have been blocked. You can make sure it doesn't affect line-of-business apps, or get an idea of how often blocks occur.

1. Type powershell in the Start menu, right-click Windows PowerShell and select Run as administrator

2. Enter the following cmdlet:

   Set-MpPreference -EnableNetworkProtection AuditMode
   

Visit a (fake) malicious domain

1. Open Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or any other browser of your choice.

2. Go to https://smartscreentestratings2.net.

   The network connection will be allowed and a test message will be displayed.

   

Note

Network connections can be successful even though a site is blocked by network protection. To learn more, see Network protection and the TCP three-way handshake.

Review network protection events in Windows Event Viewer

To review apps that would have been blocked, open Event Viewer and filter for Event ID 1125 in the Microsoft-Windows-Windows Defender/Operational log. The following table lists all network protection events.

Event ID	Provide/Source	Description
5007	Windows Defender (Operational)	Event when settings are changed
1125	Windows Defender (Operational)	Event when a network connection is audited
1126	Windows Defender (Operational)	Event when a network connection is blocked

See also

• Network protection

• Network protection and the TCP three-way handshake

• Enable network protection

• Troubleshoot network protection

Tip

Do you want to learn more? Engage with the Microsoft Security community in our Tech Community: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Tech Community.