Firewall deny/whitelisting applications with dynamically changing directory names

[Jedis 0]

Hello,

I posted this same issue over 9 months ago (post not archived and can't reply to it) and it never received any attention. 9 months alter, and it's still a huge hassle with Win 10 Music app, Dropbox updats, etc. Dropbox update directories look like this: C:\Program Files (x86)\Dropbox\Update\Install\{9AADEAC8-31BC-4DA6-84A3-9B67958CEA7A}\DropboxClient_57.3.84.exe

Any suggestions? I want to leave the firewall in interactive mode, but allow an exception to the firewall to allow updates from wildcarded directory names.

Quote

 

Hello,

Some of the annoying apps with Windows 10 (Music.UI, Video.UI, etc.) and apps like Adobe Flash and Dropbox all have dynamic directory paths. I have tried adding a whitelist/blacklist rule for the firewall for those applications, but it doesn't seem to work. I used an asterisk in the dynamic part of the directory path, but I am still getting popups asking if the app can use the internet.

As an example, this is what I have set to deny: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.ZuneMusic_10.17072.16431.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\Music.UI.exe I use C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.ZuneMusic_*\Music.UI.exe

However, I still get asked every time it tries to connect to the internet. I want to leave the firewall in interactive mode.

Any suggestions on how to fix it?

 

 

Edited August 29, 2018 by Jedis

[Marcos 5,071]

There's no change. Wildcards in firewall rules are not supported.

[Jedis 0]

Can it get on the roadmap? Seems to be a deficiency.

[Marcos 5,071]

I reckon it was added on the to-do list in the past, however, since resources are generally limited, each requirement/improvement has its priority and severity set and the more important ones are worked out first.

[FeMaster 0]

I literally JUST posted about this subject again myself, Jedis, before stumbling onto your post about it. My gripe focuses more on the C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\ folder where every time an app is updated the folder path changes requiring the manual creation of a NEW firewall rule, and the manual deletion of the old, obsolete rule.

There should be a way to resolve this problem without using wildcards. At the bare minimum, the WindowsApps folder should receive some sort of "special" treatment. I don't know what, but there has got to be SOMETHING that can be done.

I feel your pain, I really do!

[Jedis 0]

I uninstalled the apps and the notifications have ceased. I didn't use either anyway, so it seemed like a fair compromise.

Open PowerShell as administrator. Run each of these:

Get-AppxPackage *windows.photos* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *zunemusic* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *zunevideo* | Remove-AppxPackage

Edited September 16, 2018 by Jedis