Windows Defender is a built-in application, which can help you block the Internet access to any programs in Windows 11. Of course, you can also disable the block of Internet access to applications if you want to allow the access to apps again. With this feature, you can better use Windows Defender to protect your Internet access in Windows 11. This article will introduce you the ways to block the Internet access to apps in Windows 11. and also it tells you how to disable application Internet blocking rules on Windows 11.
Check the following step to block apps from accessing the Internet in Windows 11 using Windows Defender Firewall.
Click the Start button, then type windows defender firewall and click the top result in the start menu.
Click Advanced settings on the left of the Windows Defender Firewall window.
Select Outbound Rules from the left panel, then click New Rule under Actions on the right.
In the New Outbound Rules Wizard that opens here, for Rule Type, select Program and click the Next button.
Next, you can choose to block all programs or specific programs. To block a specific application, select the program path and browse to the location of the application’s executable file. After entering the application path, click Next.
Next, make sure Block Connection is checked, then click the Next button.
In the Profile section of the wizard, make sure all three options (Domain, Private, and Public) are selected, then click the Next button.
Enter a name for the firewall rule, such as Block Google, and add a description. The name of the rule is required, but the description is optional. When done, click the Finish button.
With this rule enabled, your app should not be able to access the internet. In this example, Google Chrome has been blocked, preventing access to the Internet when you launch the web browser.
Attempting to access a website using Chrome while the Internet is blocked will result in an error as shown below.
How to Disable Application Internet Blocking Rules on Windows 11?
If you previously blocked an application from accessing the Internet, but want to re-grant access, you need to disable the blocking rule in the Windows Defender Firewall menu you created earlier.
Open the Start menu, type Windows Defender Firewall, and click the best match result.
Click Advanced Settings on the left of Windows Defender Firewall.
In the next menu, press Outbound Rules in the left panel.
Find the name of the rule you created earlier (you can sort by name), then right-click it and select Disable Rule.
You can also select an outbound rule you created and disable or delete it from the Actions pane on the right.
After disabling or removing the outbound rule, the application you created for it will now be connected to the internet.
Protect your Internet Connection with Windows Firewall
The steps above should help you block internet access to apps on your Windows 11 PC. If you decide to restore access, you can disable this rule – this will restore the internet connection. If you delete the rule, you will need to repeat the steps above to recreate it.
Windows Defender Firewall is part of the broader protection offered by Windows Security, an integrated component designed to protect Windows PCs from malware.
