How to block network access for an app with Windows Firewall prompt?

[daerragh]

Please explain to me one thing about Windows Firewall. I deleted all rules for utorrent and then launched utorrent. Now I get the WF prompt, like the one below. How can I block access with this prompt? Because when I untick private AND public networks in the prompt, the "Allow access" button gets greyed out and the only active button is "Cancel". Why the hell there's no "Block access" button? When I click "Cancel", utorrent happily gets network access (I checked). So I can only block an app manually in the advanced Windows Firewall settings and NOT with the prompt? This is weird.

EDIT: After clicking the X button in the prompt, Windows Firewall creates 2 inbound blocking rules, one for TCP and one for UDP (no outbound rules were created, only inbound) but then I can still download with utorrent - it has network access. Shoudn't it have no network access?

I know that Windows Firewall allows all outbound connections by default, but how come utorrent is still downloading if inbound access has been blocked?

 

[Solaris17]

This is weird.

No its not, thats not the function of the prompt.

 

[daerragh]

No its not, thats not the function of the prompt.

What's it function then?

 

[Solaris17]

To allow some of the blocked communication on specific network types

 

[daerragh]

But it created inbound blocking rules for utorrent. How come ut is still downloading?

 

[windwhirl]

I know that Windows Firewall allows all outbound connections by default, but how come utorrent is still downloading if inbound access has been blocked?

Because that's not exactly how it works. "Inbound connections" means connections that were initiated from the outside, and all the data sent and received is considered inbound if the initial connection came from another machine. utorrent can download stuff because outbound connections are not blocked.

 

[daerragh]

Because that's not exactly how it works. "Inbound connections" means connections that were initiated from the outside, and all the data sent and received is considered inbound if the initial connection came from another machine. utorrent can download stuff because outbound connections are not blocked.

This clarifies it then. Thanks.

 

[windwhirl]

Since we're on this topic, and because I definitely need to brush up a bit (a lot, actually) on networking, @Solaris17 I have a probably silly question to ask: if I open a listening port, all the data sent and received through it should be considered outbound? Bittorrent clients usually open a listening port through which they receive peer requests, so I was left wondering about that detail...

 

[Solaris17]

Since we're on this topic, and because I definitely need to brush up a bit (a lot, actually) on networking, @Solaris17 I have a probably silly question to ask: if I open a listening port, all the data sent and received through it should be considered outbound? Bittorrent clients usually open a listening port through which they receive peer requests, so I was left wondering about that detail...

I do not know the technical answer. In the case of listening ports, I would make the educated guess that you are right. Given that even though a remote host has to send the syn request to initiate the service into action (the service listening does not generally transmit) the process going through listening services are inherently trusted because the service allowed to listen is trusted. (from a system perspective not a mental one)