How To Block Windows 10 Programs From Accessing The Internet

There are certain scenarios when you want to prevent a certain software in your Windows 10 computer from going online. The reasons may vary from privacy concerns to preventing the program from being automatically updated. The best way to achieve this is by using the built-in Firewall feature. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will show you how to block windows 10 programs from accessing the internet.

Block a Program From Connecting to the Internet in Windows 10

As stated earlier, the best way to do this is by using Windows Firewall as it is already available on your computer. You can however perform this using a third party Firewall software application as well.
Blocking a program from going online is a preventive measure that ensures your data is not sent out to the internet. It’s also done by users that have a connection bandwidth cap or for those who want to make sure that other applications get to use the full bandwidth.

Time needed: 3 minutes.

Block a program using Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security

  1. Type “Windows Defender Firewall” in the search bar

    This is located on the lower left side of the screen just after the Start button.

    Block Windows 10 Programs From Accessing The Internet

  2. Click on the Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security app.

    This will appear on the menu as the first selection.


    Block Windows 10 Programs From Accessing The Internet

  3. Click on Outbound Rules

    This is located on the left pane.
    Block Windows 10 Programs From Accessing The Internet

  4. Click on New Rule…

    This is located on the right pane.
    Block Windows 10 Programs From Accessing The Internet

  5. Make sure to select Program.

    Do this by placing the dot on Program.
    Block Windows 10 Programs From Accessing The Internet

  6. Click on Next.

    Next. This is the button on the lower right side of the window.
    Block Windows 10 Programs From Accessing The Internet

  7. Browse the the program you want to block.

    Go to the location of the program executable file then select open. In this example I chose the game Two Point Hospital which is installed in my D drive.
    Block Windows 10 Programs From Accessing The Internet

  8. Click on Next.

    This is the button on the lower right side of the window.
    Block Windows 10 Programs From Accessing The Internet

  9. Make sure to select the Block the connection option then click on the next button.

    This will block the program from connecting to the internet.
    Block Windows 10 Programs From Accessing The Internet

  10. Choose when the rule applies then click on the next button

    You can choose Domain, Private, and Public to totally block the program on any connection method.
    Block Windows 10 Programs From Accessing The Internet

  11. Type a name and description (optional).

    This will make it easy to identify the new rule.
    Block Windows 10 Programs From Accessing The Internet

  12. Click on the finish button.

    This will apply the settings.
    Block Windows 10 Programs From Accessing The Internet

After performing the steps listed above you will effectively block Windows 10 programs from accessing the internet. In case the program has several executable files then it’s best to block them all.

block internet access for an app or game

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