A lot of people use VPN for their regular internet browsing activities. It safeguards us from the tracking of aggressive marketing firms. Many of the users of Windows 11/10 are reporting that firewall or antivirus is blocking VPN. Let’s see how we can fix it.
There are many good VPN service providers available for users. As the number of VPN service providers is increasing, many of them have poor infrastructure, which jeopardizes users’ privacy and collects a lot of data and stores logs of traffic. In this guide, we have a few solutions that can let you use a VPN without any issues.
Firewall or Antivirus is blocking VPN on Windows 11/10
If your firewall or antivirus is blocking VPN on Windows 11/10, you can follow the methods below and use VPN without an issue.
- Choose a trusted VPN
- Add VPN as an exception
- Turn off SSL port monitoring
- Reinstall VPN
Let’s get into the details of each process.
1] Choose a trusted VPN
Since the VPN market is flooded with hundreds of providers, Windows firewalls and antivirus programs are aggressive in blocking them for the user’s safety. Among the hundreds of VPNs, there are only a few that can be trusted with our data. You have to choose a trusted VPN that will not be blocked by the firewall or antivirus.
2] Add VPN as an exception
Some antivirus programs provide options to add a program as an exception from active monitoring and blocking. Go to your antivirus settings and add your VPN program as an exclusion in the antivirus – maybe also add the VPN as an exception in your firewall. Then, restart your PC and see if you can use the VPN.
3] Turn off SSL port monitoring
VPN on our PC uses the SSL port (443) to interact with its servers. The antivirus programs that come with web activity monitoring features actively monitor this port to detect any suspicious activity. You have to turn off SSL port monitoring in your antivirus program settings.
To turn off the SSL port monitoring, open the antivirus program on your PC and open the antivirus settings. Then, select Web Protection/Network Settings (names change with each antivirus). In the network settings, toggle the button beside SSL Scan/HTTPS Scan (names change with each antivirus). After disabling the SLL port monitoring, see if the VPN is still blocked or working fine.
4] Reinstall VPN
Uninstall the VPN program and its data from your PC. Then, download the VPN program from the official website of your VPN service provider and install it normally. Also, you have to remove third-party firewalls from your PC.
These are the ways to fix a firewall or antivirus blocking VPN on Windows 11/10.
How do I stop firewall from blocking VPN?
There are many ways to stop a firewall from blocking a VPN. You have to remove third-party firewalls, choose a trusted VPN, disable SSL port monitoring, and reinstall the VPN program.
Can firewalls block VPN?
Yes, many third-party firewalls block VPN. Sometimes, even the Windows firewall blocks them. You can fix the block easily with the above methods. We choose a VPN to safeguard privacy and data. It’s better to choose a good one that values that.
Related Read: How to set up VPN in Windows – A Step by Step Guide.
