simplewall
Definitely for advanced users.
Description:
Simple tool to configure Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) which can configure network activity on your computer.
The lightweight application is less than a megabyte, and it is compatible with Windows 7 SP1 and higher operating systems. You can download either the installer or portable version. For correct working you are require administrator rights.
Nota bene:
Keep in mind, simplewall is not a control UI over Windows Firewall, and does not interact in any level with Windows Firewall. It works over Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) which is a set of API and system services that provide a platform for creating network filtering applications. Windows Filtering Platform is a development technology and not a firewall itself, but simplewall is the tool that uses this technology.
Features:
- Simple interface without annoying pop ups
- Rules editor (create your own rules)
- Internal blocklist (block Windows spy / telemetry)
- Dropped packets information with notification and logging to a file feature (win7+)
- Allowed packets information with logging to a file feature (win8+)
- Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) support
- Windows Store support
- Windows services support
- Free and open source
- Localization support
- IPv6 support
To activate portable mode, create "simplewall.ini" in application folder, or move it from "%APPDATA%\Henry++\simplewall".
Installation:
When install rules, you can choose two modes:
- Permanent rules. Rules are working until you disable it manually.
- Temporary rules. Rules are reset after the next reboot.
Uninstall:
When you uninstall simplewall, all previously configured filters stay alive in system. To remove all filters created by simplewall, start simplewall and press "Disable filters" button.
Command line:
List of arguments for simplewall.exe
:
-install - enable filtering.
-install -temp - enable filtering until reboot.
-install -silent - enable filtering without prompt.
-uninstall - remove all installed filters.
Rules editor:
simplewall have two types of custom user rules rules:
- Global rules: rule applied for all applications.
- Special rules: rule applied only for specified applications.
To set rule applications, open rule and then navigate to "Apps" tab.
Rule syntax format:
- IP addresses
192.168.0.1; 192.168.0.1; [fc00::]
- IP addresses with port
192.168.0.1:80; 192.168.0.1:443; [fc00::]:443;
- IP ranges
192.168.0.1-192.168.0.255; 192.168.0.1-192.168.0.255;
- IP ranges (with port)
192.168.0.1-192.168.0.255:80; 192.168.0.1-192.168.0.255:443;
(v2.0.20+) - IP with prefix lengths (CIDR)
192.168.0.0/16; 192.168.0.0/24; fe80::/10
- Ports
21; 80; 443;
- Ports ranges
20-21; 49152-65534;
To specify more than one ip, port and/or host, use semicolon.
IPv4 CIDR blocks:
Address format | Mask |
---|---|
a.b.c.d/32 | 255.255.255.255 |
a.b.c.d/31 | 255.255.255.254 |
a.b.c.d/30 | 255.255.255.252 |
a.b.c.d/29 | 255.255.255.248 |
a.b.c.d/28 | 255.255.255.240 |
a.b.c.d/27 | 255.255.255.224 |
a.b.c.d/26 | 255.255.255.192 |
a.b.c.d/25 | 255.255.255.128 |
a.b.c.0/24 | 255.255.255.0 |
a.b.c.0/23 | 255.255.254.0 |
a.b.c.0/22 | 255.255.252.0 |
a.b.c.0/21 | 255.255.248.0 |
a.b.c.0/20 | 255.255.240.0 |
a.b.c.0/19 | 255.255.224.0 |
a.b.c.0/18 | 255.255.192.0 |
a.b.c.0/17 | 255.255.128.0 |
a.b.0.0/16 | 255.255.0.0 |
a.b.0.0/15 | 255.254.0.0 |
a.b.0.0/14 | 255.252.0.0 |
a.b.0.0/13 | 255.248.0.0 |
a.b.0.0/12 | 255.240.0.0 |
a.b.0.0/11 | 255.224.0.0 |
a.b.0.0/10 | 255.192.0.0 |
a.b.0.0/9 | 255.128.0.0 |
a.0.0.0/8 | 255.0.0.0 |
a.0.0.0/7 | 254.0.0.0 |
a.0.0.0/6 | 252.0.0.0 |
a.0.0.0/5 | 248.0.0.0 |
a.0.0.0/4 | 240.0.0.0 |
a.0.0.0/3 | 224.0.0.0 |
a.0.0.0/2 | 192.0.0.0 |
a.0.0.0/1 | 128.0.0.0 |
0.0.0.0/0 | 0.0.0.0 |
IPv6 CIDR blocks:
2001:0db8:0123:4567:89ab:cdef:1234:5678
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| ||||
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||128 Single end-points and loopback
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||127 Point-to-point links (inter-router)
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| ||124
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |120
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| 116
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||112
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| ||108
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |104
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| 100
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||96
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| ||92
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |88
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||| 84
|||| |||| |||| |||| |||80
|||| |||| |||| |||| ||76
|||| |||| |||| |||| |72
|||| |||| |||| |||| 68
|||| |||| |||| |||64 Single LAN (default prefix size for SLAAC)
|||| |||| |||| ||60 Some (very limited) 6rd deployments (/60 = 16 /64)
|||| |||| |||| |56 Minimal end sites assignment[12] (e.g. Home network) (/56 = 256 /64)
|||| |||| |||| 52 (/52 = 4096 /64)
|||| |||| |||48 Typical assignment for larger sites (/48 = 65536 /64) - Many ISP also do for residential
|||| |||| ||44
|||| |||| |40
|||| |||| 36 possible future Local Internet registry extra-small allocations
|||| |||32 Local Internet registry minimum allocations
|||| ||28 Local Internet registry medium allocations
|||| |24 Local Internet registry large allocations
|||| 20 Local Internet registry extra large allocations
|||16
||12 Regional Internet Registry allocations from IANA[15]
|8
4
FAQ:
Q: Are internet connections blocked when simplewall is not running?
A: Yes. Installed filters are working even if simplewall is terminated.
Q: What apps are blocked in default configuration?
A: By default, simplewall blocks all applications. You do not need to create custom rules to block specific applications.
Q: Is it safe to use simplewall with Windows Firewall?
A: Yes. You do not need to disable Windows Firewall. These two firewalls work independently.
Q: How can i disable blocklist entirely?
A: Open Settings
-> Blocklist
and then click the radio buttons labeled Disable
.
Q: Where is blacklist mode?
A: Blacklist was removed many days ago for uselessness. But if you need it, you can still configure it.
Solution: Configure blacklist mode in simplewall:
- Open
Settings
->Rules
- Uncheck
Block outbound for all
andBlock inbound for all
options. - Create user rule (green cross on toolbar) with block action, any direction,
Block connection
name and empty remote and local rule. - You can assign this rule for apps whatever you want to block network access.
Q: Why does my network icon have an exclamation mark?
A: When you are connected to a network, Windows checks for internet connectivity using Active Probing. This feature is named as NCSI (Network Connectivity Status Indicator). You can resolve this problem in one of the following ways:
Solution 1: Enable NCSI through internal system rule:
- Open
System rules
tab. - Allow
NCSI
rule (enabled by default).
Solution 2: Disable NCSI through system registry:
Create Disable NCSI.reg
and import it into registry.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetworkConnectivityStatusIndicator]
"NoActiveProbe"=dword:00000001
"DisablePassivePolling"=dword:00000001
Solution 3: Disable NCSI through group policy:
- Launch the group policy editor (
gpedit.msc
). - Go to
Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Internet Communication Management -> Internet Communication Settings
. - Double-click
Turn off Windows Network Connectivity Status Indicator active tests
and then select Enabled. Click Ok. - Open the Command Prompt (Admin) and enter
gpupdate /force
to enforce the changes made to the Group Policies.
Q: How can I disable Windows Firewall?
Start the command line as an administrator, and enter the commands below.
Disable Windows Firewall profiles:
netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off
Enable Windows Firewall profiles:
netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state on
Q: How can I view all filters information?
Start the command line as an administrator, and enter the commands below.
Dump filters information saved into a `filters.xml` file:
cd /d %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
netsh wfp show filters
Dump providers, callouts and layers information into a `wfpstate.xml` file:
cd /d %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
netsh wfp show state
Open it in any text editor and study.
Q: Other questions:
- How to fix Windows Update and Windows Store internet access (temporary solution)
- Windows Security center integration (impossible)
Website: www.henrypp.org
Support: [email protected]
(c) 2016-2021 Henry++