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Firewall Rule Wizard: Program Page

  • Article

Updated: January 20, 2009

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2

Use this wizard page to specify one of the ways in which Windows Firewall with Advanced Security matches network packets. If this and all other criteria are matched, Windows Firewall with Advanced Security will take the action that you specify on the Action page.

Note

To specify a service by using the wizard, choose the Custom option on the Rule Type page of the wizard.

To get to this wizard page

  1. In the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security MMC snap-in, right-click either Inbound Rules or Outbound Rules , and then click New Rule.

  2. On the Rule Type page, select either Program or Custom.

  3. Click Next through the wizard until you reach the Program page.

All programs

Use this option to match network packets sent or received by any program running on the local computer.

This program path

Use this option to match network packets going to or from a specified program. You can select the program in one of two ways:

  • Type the complete path to the program. You can include environment variables, where appropriate.

Important

We recommend that you do not use environment variable strings that resolve only in the context of a certain user (for example, %USERPROFILE%). When these strings are evaluated by the service at runtime, the service is not running in the context of the user. The use of these strings can produce unexpected results.

  • Click Browse and find the program in the directory.

Note

To specify a service in a firewall rule, use the All programs option, and then select the Programs and Services tab on the Firewall Rule Properties dialog box.

How to change these settings

After you create the firewall rule, you can change these settings in the Firewall Rule Properties dialog box. This dialog box appears when you double-click a rule in Inbound Rules and Outbound Rules. To change the program path, use the Programs and Services tab.