Windows Defender firewall rules accumulate

Issues related to Enigma Virtual Box
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hsparks
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2022 3:43 am

Windows Defender firewall rules accumulate

Post by hsparks »

First of all, thanks for creating and sharing this wonderful program!

Back in March 2020, there was a question posted here with the subject:
windows10 restart create temp exe and new firewall rule to validate
I'd like to revive this question and emphasize that it is not a rare or trivial problem.

I have an network application I'd like to package with VirtualBox. Currently it runs from a directory that contains the .exe along with many configuration files, DLLs, etc. A perfect application for VirtualBox or Enigma Protector.

If I package it with VirtualBox, the customer will nagged by a Windows 10 Security Alert every time they run the program:

Code: Select all

Windows Defender Firewall has blocked some features...
The user can press the "Allow access" button and the program runs.

The reason this decision isn't remembered by the operating system is the fact that the temporary executable file name changes:

First run:

Code: Select all

C:\users\myself\appdata\local\temp\evba2d0.tmp
Second run:

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C:\users\user\appdata\local\temp\evb7510.tmp
etc.

In the earlier thread, this reply was given:
...I mean this is very specific option and not sure if other users will use it...
It seems to me that delivering a networking application is impossible without annoying the customer every time they run the program and eventually bogging down their operating system with hundreds or even thousands of firewall rules. Each time they "Allow access" a new rule is added.

Suggestion: Always use the same temporary file name for a given package. The user will have to "Allow access" the first time only.

Thanks for any insights or alternatives.
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