If Defender blocks access
to a protected folder, you
canauthorise programs on
a case-by-case basisAdd and remove as many folders as you like to the ransomware
protection tool. The default folders can’t be removed
Behind the scenes, the Windows Firewall provides lots of control
over the flow of data into and out of your computerProtection for our private
network isn’t active. Click
‘Turn on’ to fix thisWindows Defender tips
DiscussWindowsDefenderatwww.facebook.com/webusermagazine 2 - 15 October 2019 49
You can temporaril y disable Windows
Defender’s antivirus engine if it ’s
stop ping you instal ling or ru nning an
application. To do so, click ‘Manage
settings’ beneath ‘Virus & thre at
protection settings’, then click the
‘Real-time protection’ switch so it slid es
to the left. Don’t forg et to re-enable
antivirus once you’ve performed the
operation it was blocking.
Addransomware
protection
Ransomwareencrypts part or al l
of your hard drive, then holds your files
hostage by popping up an on-screen
demandfor payment, often in a digi tal
currency, such as Bitcoin. In return for
the payment, ransomwaremakers claim
they’ll provide you with the keys to
unlock your file, but there’s no guarantee
that giving in to these demands will get
your data back, and you could end up
both out of pocket and out of luck.
Windows Defendercan stop malicio us
programs meddling with folders
commonly target ed by ransomware.
Open ‘Virus & thre at protection’ and
click the link beneath ‘Ransomware
protection’, followed by the switch
below ‘Controlle d folder access’.
By default, Windows protects your
Pictures, Documents, Videos, Music
and Desktop folders, but you can
supplement these by clicking ‘Protected
folders’ and, on the following screen,
clicking ‘+ Add aprotected folder’.
To remove a folder you added, click
its name, followed by the Remove
button. You can’t remove protection
from the folders included by default.Allow aprogram
access
Windows warns you when a
program tries to access a protected
folder. Click the warnin g to see what
triggered it and, if you want to authorise
the action,
click its
name in the
list of
warnin gs
followed by
‘Allow
access’.
You can
authorise
programs
without
waiting for
an alert by
clicking
‘Allow an
app through
controlled folder access’. Click ‘+ Add
an allowed app’ followed by ‘Browse all
apps’, then navigate to the program you
want to authorise and click Open.Protectyour network
connection
Inboundsecuri ty thre ats may
arrive via remote computers but
outboundthre ats can come from your
own PC, too. Windows Firewa ll blocks
both, as long asit’s properly config ured.
Click ‘Firewall & network protection’ and
you’ll see the firewa ll protects you at the
‘domain’, ‘private’ and ‘public’ network
levels. Domain is primarily relevant to
business, but privat e and public areyour local network and internet
respectively. If the line below any of th e
thre e networks sa ys ‘Firewall is off’, click
the accompanying ‘Turn on’ button.
If the firewa ll is blocking an
application
from
accessing
the internet,
permit it by
clicking
‘Allow an app
through
firewa ll’,
which opens
a Control
Panel
window. Here,
click ‘Change
settings’
followed by
‘Allow
another
app...’. Click
Browse and
navigate to
the program you want to unlock, then
select it and click Add. Only do this for
programs you trust and not just
because a pop-up asked you to grant
access to softwareyou don’t recognise,
because this could be malware trying
to phone home.Adding firewall rules
The firewa ll works by checking
every bit and byte of data
against a set of rules that authorise or
block each item from cominginto or
leaving your PC. To define your own
rules, click ‘Advanced settings’ to open
a sidebar of th e advanced interface and
click either ‘InboundRules’to control
datacominginto your computer or
‘OutboundRules’to managedata
heading out to the network and Internet.
You can tweak the settings for
programs or the ‘ports’ through which
specific traffic, such as web pages,
email and internet telephony pass. In
this instance, we’re going to block port