Share via

Create an Outbound Program or Service Rule on Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2

  • Article

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Essential Business Server, Windows SBS 2003, Windows SBS 2008, Windows Server 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista

By default, Windows Firewall with Advanced Security allows all outbound network traffic unless it matches a rule that prohibits the traffic. To block outbound network traffic for a specified program or service, use the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security node in the Group Policy Management MMC snap-in to create firewall rules. This type of rule prevents the program from sending any outbound network traffic on any port.

Administrative credentials

To complete these procedures, you must be a member of the Domain Administrators group, or otherwise be delegated permissions to modify the GPOs.

To create an outbound firewall rule for a program or service

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console to Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.

  2. In the navigation pane, click Outbound Rules.

  3. Click Action, and then click New rule.

  4. On the Rule Type page of the New Outbound Rule Wizard, click Custom, and then click Next.

Note

Although you can create many rules by selecting Program or Port, those choices limit the number of pages presented by the wizard. If you select Custom, you see all of the pages, and have the most flexibility in creating your rules.

  1. On the Program page, click This program path.

  2. Type the path to the program in the text box. Use environment variables as appropriate to ensure that programs installed in different locations on different computers work correctly.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • If the executable file contains a single program, click Next.

    • If the executable file is a container for multiple services that must all be blocked from sending outbound network traffic, click Customize, select Apply to services only, click OK, and then click Next.

    • If the executable file is a container for a single service or contains multiple services but the rule only applies to one of them, click Customize, select Apply to this service, and then select the service from the list. If the service does not appear in the list, then click Apply to service with this service short name, and type the short name for the service in the text box. Click OK, and then click Next.

  4. If you want the program to be allowed to send on some ports, but blocked from sending on others, then you can restrict the firewall rule to block only the specified ports or protocols. On the Protocols and Ports page, you can specify the port numbers or protocol numbers for the blocked traffic. If the program tries to send to or from a port number different from the one specified here, or by using a protocol number different from the one specified here, then the default outbound firewall behavior allows the traffic. For more information about the protocol and port options, see Create an Outbound Port Rule on Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2. When you have configured the protocol and port options, click Next.

  5. On the Scope page, you can specify that the rule applies only to network traffic to or from the IP addresses entered on this page. Configure as appropriate for your design, and then click Next.

  6. On the Action page, select Block the connection, and then click Next.

  7. On the Profile page, select the network location types to which this rule applies, and then click Next.

Note

If this GPO is targeted at server computers running Windows Server 2008 that never move, consider modifying the rules to apply to all network location type profiles. This prevents an unexpected change in the applied rules if the network location type changes due to the installation of a new network card or the disconnection of an existing network card’s cable. A disconnected network card is automatically assigned to the Public network location type.

  1. On the Name page, type a name and description for your rule, and then click Finish.

If you arrived at this page by clicking a link in a checklist, use your browser’s Back button to return to the checklist.