program to block internet access of a certain file/program

[crazyfabiboy]

Hey there,
as the topic already tells, I'm searching a program which allows me to block internet access of a certain file.
I don't want a full firewall, that's just too much. All I want to do is to restrict some programs from time to time from connecting to the internet.

Do you know such a program?

Best Regards

[f0dder]

I don't know of any such apps, although running in a virtual machine (vmware, virtualpc, whatever - perhaps some of the sandbox apps as well) could do the trick. But that would be heavier on your system, and more bother, than just getting yourself a firewall.

[Lashiec]

NetLimiter?

[Veign]

What do you have against a firewall? 

What you are asking for is what a firewall is for, from what I can tell.  With a firewall you will get a clear picture of what is trying to connect (and what it trying to come in) and gives you full control over how and when it connects.

This is a free firewall that I use and like:
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

[mouser]

i agree with veign -- what you are asking for is a firewall.. you may be able to find a program that does an ok job of just what you want and not other more general things, but i wouldnt be surprised if it wasnt less efficient and buggier than a true firewall.

[lanux128]

i hope by mentioning "a full firewall", you had meant a security suite with AV, anti-malware, etc thrown-in because there are a lot of firewall apps that are unobtrusive & light-weight. check out these threads where firewalls have been discussed before..

• Firewalls - please, i can't be bothered.
• Seeking opinions about combination antivirus/firewall products
• Best free firewall for Windows?
• What's wrong with XP's built-in firewall?
• The Great Firewall Hunt ... frustrating ...

[crazyfabiboy]

Thank you for your answers.
Well, I was actually talking about a program more lightweight than a full firewall. I am already using Comodo, but as it's permanently running and taking 20k, and bothering me really often, I was just hoping for something more lean.
I personally don't have the feeling I need a firewall, as I'm sitting always (at work, at university, at home) behind a IPCop-Router, which I trust more than a personal firewall. But on the other hand, I'm not really into this whole firewall-thing, so my trust could be a bit naive :-)

Anyway, thanks again for your answers.

[Veign]

With Comodo it will step in if an application is launched by a process.  So if you click a link in an email which causes Outlook to start Firefox, Comodo will step in even though you have given access to Firefox.

To fix this:
- Go to Security (from toolbar)
- Click Application Monitor in the sidebar
- Right click on an application and select Edit
- Select the Skip Parent Check option

See if that helps you. 

Also, 20K is really nothing.

[tranglos]

Also, 20K is really nothing.

OP probably meant 20 MB But in a way it *is* nothing. I used Outpost for a very long time, but it was taking up 47 megs RAM, freshly installed. I finally said goodbye to it after it randomly stopped letting ftp traffic through (one day it worked, another day it did not), and several cycles of reinstalling and carefully reconfiguring the rules weren't helping.

With Comodo I've had a different problem recently. It was preventing a LAN connection between my desktop (where Comodo was running) and laptop. There was nothing I could find to tweak that would let the connection go through, and only disabling Comodo helped. So out it went.

As recently as a year ago, and certainly 2 years ago, I never had firewall-related issues, even though I was using ICS. But recent versions of all the firewalls I've tried seem to have become too complex for their own good, and there is always *something* that doesn't work and cannot be configured quite so. I had some hopes for Avira Security Suite (www.avira.com/en/produkte/avira_premium_security_suite.html), but it was giving me three blue screens a day.