I received a popup form Windows Firewall: I checked the Windows Firewal settings: Inbound Rules: Name Akamai NetSession Interface Akamai NetSession Interface Akamai NetSession Interface Akamai NetSession Interface Group Profile Private Public Private Public Enabled Yes Yes Yes Yes Action Allow Allow Allow Allow Override No No No No Program <Path to program> Any <Path to program> Any Local Address Any Any Any Any Remote Address Any Any Any Any Protocol TCP TCP UDP UDP Local Port Any 49163 Any 5000 Remote Port Any Any Any Any Allowed Users Any Any Any Any Allowed Computers Any Any Any Any <path to program. ==> C:\Users\<userid>\AppData\Local\Akamai\netsession_win.exe It is not listed in Outbound Rules at all. The Windows Firewall popup doesn't say whether it has blocked inbound or outbound communications, the protocal being used or the port being used. How dow I find out the above so I can understand what the program was trying to do and why Windows Firewall blocked the communications? (Please note this is a question about Windows Firewall and not netsession_win.exe.) http://www.saberman.com

Hi, I cannot see the picture you uploaded, please check this properly. By default, Windows Firewall blocks all unsolicited inbound network traffic, and allows all outbound network traffic. For network programs on your computer to send information to the network, you typically do not need to do anything. For unsolicited inbound network traffic to reach your computer, you must create an allow rule to permit that type of network traffic. For more information, please kindly refer to the following article: Windows Firewall Is Blocking a Program Alex ZhaoPlease remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

I uplpaded the picture again. Your reply has nothing to do with the question I asked which was: "How dow I find out the above so I can understand what the program was trying to do and why Windows Firewall blocked the communications?" The link you provided also had nothing to do with my question -- it talked about setting up and interpreting rules. I did not mention how to determine what the application was trying to do when it was blocked.http://www.saberman.com

Hi, Did the alert popup again after you click "allow access" for it? If it didn't popup again after that, it is a normal behavior. By default, the windows firewall has not an inbound rule for an application. When you firstly install and use the application, the alert will popup. After you click "allow access" for it, windows firewall will create an inbound rule for the application(The Akamai NetSession Interface rule you listed.) Then windows firewall should always allow it and the alert should not popup again. If you want to audit the windows firewall, you could configure a logging for the windows firewall. It will log all the traffic which is blocked. Please refer to the following articles: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc947815(WS.10).aspx http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754451(WS.10).aspx However, there is no place which could help you to know what the program was trying to do in windows side. Hoping the information could help you. Best Regards Scott Xie

The question is not what is it blocking -- the question is why is it blocking. The Windows Firewall does not provide any information about what the application was doing at the time it was blocked? Was it inbound or outbound? What protocal? What port. To answer the popup question of whether or not to let the application access the internet one needs to know how it is accessing the internet. http://www.saberman.com

Hi It was inbound traffic which was blocked. By default, all outbound traffic is allowed and all inbound traffic is blocked unless there are the rules to the windows firewall. There are many rules in the windows firewall which allows critical traffic by default. However, there isn't the rule which allows the new application. Whenever you install a new application, windows firewall will block its inbound traffic firstly and ask you if you would like to allow it. The behavior is for security. If you allow it, then the rule related to the application would be added into windows firewall. If you want to know the protocal or port about the application, you need to check the rule related to the application. You can get the information you want in the rule. The rule name should be easily recognized. Best Regards Scott Xie

The rules associated with the application were in the post that started this thread. I see no way of determining what the application was doing when the connection was blocked. The first and third rule appear to be specific the executable and allow it to setup an inbound connection for TCP and UDP. The second and third rule are not specific to the executable although the name is that of the application. They appear to allow any program to setup an inbound connection on port 49163 for TCP and port 5000 for UDP. Now, how do I determine what the application was trying to do when it was blocked? What protocal and what port?http://www.saberman.com

Hi, The first and third rules are used to allow all inbound TCP and UDP traffic which is related to the application. The second and forth rules are used to all inbound traffic which destination port is TCP 49163 and UDP 5000. It seems the application need to use the two ports. When the traffic was blocked, there should be some inbound traffic which uses TCP 49163 or UDP 5000 to communicate with the application. However, there is no way to let us know the detailed action about the inbound traffic. Best Regards Scott Xie

The second and fourth rules applay to all applications -- not just the one in the name. Since the first and third rule allow all inbound traffice for the application using TCP and UDP one has to assume that the application was using some other protocal but we have no way of knowing what it was. The Windows Firewall blocked the application based on something the application was doing. Therefore the reason the application was blocked is known to the firewall. It should have been provided as part of the secuirty popup. To simply say it blocked an internet connection and would the user want to allow it without saying why it blocked it is silly.http://www.saberman.com

Hi, Thanks for your reply. By default, the inbound action of windows firewall is set to "block" since windows firewall doesn't know if the new application is safe. It will block it the first time and ask you if you trust the application. Then it will take action depends on your choice. However, the default inbound action could be modified. Here is the steps: 1. Open the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security console. 2. Right click "Windows Firewall with Advanced Security console" and click "Properties". 3. Then in the "Private Profile" and "Public Profile" tab, you can change the default inbound and outbound action to "allow". After you doing that, the windows firewall will no longer block any new application inbound packet. Yes, it is a good suggestion that windows firewall should provide more detailed information about the blocked traffic. I'll forward the suggestion to our product development team. They will take it as a reference when they are designing the next generation product. Best Regards Scott Xie

By default, the inbound action of windows firewall is set to "block" since windows firewall doesn't know if the new application is safe. It will block it the first time and ask you if you trust the application. Then it will take action depends on your choice. However, the default inbound action could be modified. Here is the steps: I don't think it is a good idea to completely open the PC to inbound traffic. Yes, it is a good suggestion that windows firewall should provide more detailed information about the blocked traffic. I'll forward the suggestion to our product development team. They will take it as a reference when they are designing the next generation product. It is helpful to know, before unlocking the front door, whether the fellow outside is holding a flower or a shotgun.http://www.saberman.com

Hello, I know this is an old thread, but I had the same questions. I got the same popup and i researched Akamai. Apparently, it is a company that deals with streaming content and downloads. I checked and it was installed on 9/10. I had read somewhere that it comes bundled with some software so i checked all the software installed on 9/10. I noticed I had installed Autodesk Autocad and Inventor. In addition, I had installed autodesk download manager. i googled autodesk akamai network interface and on the Akamai website, they state they have a partnership with Autodesk. I believe what this program does is allow streaming of content, and in my case, it probably came bundled with Autodesk Download Manager to assis downloading autocad. I would assume you can allow it to access your firewall, but the company website states that the program can be uninstalled anytime. Hope this helps you. krm1897