Emsa Advanced Port Blocker is an internet port blocking utility, connection viewer, TCP monitor and logger.
This program monitors, logs and even blocks access to ports in your computer or remote ports/IP addresses, based on your chosen user configuration. It is not a firewall, but works in a similar fashion.
The purpose of the program is to allow the user to monitor and control internet connections (TCP) being made from/to the local computer. The built-in connection viewer and logging allows user to closely track each and every connection. Then rules can be set to avoid/block unwanted connections and even to permit certain ones. Hostname-based rules allow to automatically detect and block unwanted connections in the future. Note: It is important to read the online documentation provided, in order to use it properly.
This program is an advanced version deriving from our successful standard Port Blocker utility that has been available for over a decade. It is fast by design, lightweight, small in filesize and with low memory usage. We believe in small and efficient software and not the bloatware being often distributed today, so we go to great lengths to always make this happen.
Emsa Advanced Port Blocker has a ton of new features and improved characteristics:
- Improved blocking engine, much faster and with lower CPU usage
- Combined rules, you can now mix Remote IP addresses with local ports to create a combined rule
- Adding ports and to block list by Single Port, List of Ports or Port Range; the same for IP addresses
- Multi-threaded reverse DNS now resolves connections and let you know what websites your computer is connected with
- Largely improved connection viewer, that shows not only connections but also remote hosts and the process that handles the connection
- Block by Hostname – very useful feature where you enter a hostname (e.g. google.com) and all IP’s belonging to that hostname are automatically blocked; wildcards are supported (*)
- Logging feature, logs connections and blocking
- Block ALL connections and Log
- Block only new connections and log while keeping the existing ones
- Save connections and lists to file, export as CSV
- Connections Stats (number of TCP connections, breakdown by port state)
- Freeze connections list – temporarily “freeze” the user interface in order to take a better look at a certain entry or export that particular momentary connection list to file for later analysis. Please note that while interface is frozen, blocking still occurs normally in the background and it is also being logged.
- Manual refresh connection – while the interface is ‘frozen’, a manual “Refresh Connections” button is available to refresh the connections while still maintaining frozen state. In this way the user gets static views over the connections at a specific moment, just like taking a photo snapshot. Useful when there are many connections that keep changing and the user is looking to capture a specific connection that occurs from time to time.
- Delete all log files – cleanup all log files in the program folder (useful so you don’t have to manually select them)
- AutoRun at system startup
You are allowed to use this product only within the laws of your country/region. SharewareOnSale and its staff are not responsible for any illegal activity. We did not develop this product; if you have an issue with this product, contact the developer. This product is offered "as is" without express or implied or any other type of warranty. The description of this product on this page is not a recommendation, endorsement, or review; it is a marketing description, written by the developer. The quality and performance of this product is without guarantee. Download or use at your own risk. If you don't feel comfortable with this product, then don't download it.
Reviews for Emsa Advanced Port Blocker
In addition to having a firewall, you would want to have another way to control and easily monitor your network connections. Emsa Advanced Port Blocker is a program can help you achieve that. Based on its description, this software has many useful options that I tried out and here is my experience.
Overview
The first thing I noted about Emsa Advanced Port Blocker is its utilitarian user interface. However, I did not make my judgment at that point since most network administration programs tend to have similar interfaces. Its tabular approach in implementing the different options and features simplifies things and allows you to jump right in and start using the program.
Pros
Further Customization Options
After installing Emsa Advanced Port Blocker you will have options to determine how it works. To start with, this program implements a minimalist approach in listing and giving you control over your network connections. As such, its resource usage level is impressively low. In addition, the Options tab will let you choose if you want the program to AutoRun during system startup, and whether you want it minimized on startup.
Informative List of Network Connections
The main role of Emsa Advanced Port Blocker hinges on its ability to list all connections available on your computer. In turn, that is exactly what this program provides. For each connection, I was able to know the Local IP, remote IP, State, Hostname, Process ID, and Process Name. In addition to that information, you can have a more comprehensive list by filtering it based on State, that is, Connected or Not, and on IP. If you would like to refer to the Connection List later, you can also save it in CSV format.
Easy Blocking Settings and Rules
After using Emsa Advanced Port Blocker to monitor my connections, it was clear that creating new Blocking Rules or taking advantage of the Blocking Settings were easy steps to undertake. Both options require few specifications regarding the Port number or Host IP that you would wish to block. The good thing about such details is that you can obtain them from Connections list.
If you always use different networks to access the internet, this program will give you an edge when it comes to ensuring you remain safe from malicious connections. In order to do so, you would need to establish your connections then select the Block All New Connections. This option is accessible in the Blocking Settings tab.
Con
No Option to Terminate Processes
The way Emsa Advanced Port Blocker lists connections and processes is similar to the Task Manager. As such, I expected this program to have a straight up way of terminating specific processes when need be. Unfortunately, I did not find such an option.
Verdict
Emsa Advanced Port Blocker impresses with its minimalist approach in delivering great features yet maintain a small installation file. Using the program to monitor you network connections is easy even if you are no network expert. The various controls that it provides makes it a worthy package for download.
Read Replies |
Bonjour, je vais faire court, je suis d’accord pour le verdict car je viens de lire pendant plus de 2H , concernant le travail que peut faire une autre société, il y a plus de 350 personnes jours et nuits de puis 2 ans, qui travaille sur les ” pirates de haut niveau et internationale et c’est pas finit, je ne dévoilerais pas la marque mais je dirais qu’il y en a qui prennent cela au sérieux et cela n’arrète pas ?.
A qui,faire confiance ! , je suis programmeur-analyste avec le temp et il faut toujours être sur la brèche ! , alors ce n’est plus vivre, merci à vous tous.
Alain
Emsa Advanced Port Blocker gives you the power to be in total control of all your network connections without imposing the complexities that come with a firewall. While it might be in a few ways inferior to an all in one firewall, it is a perfect tool in a toolbox geared towards creating a light assembled firewall. A simple glimpse at Emsa Advanced Port Blocker and I had tons of ideas about how I could use it to my advantage.
Design and Overview
A simple and light overlook heralds the true purpose of this application. It’s for serious users who aren’t really interested in looks but are focused on managing connections and dictating what goes through or what doesn’t. I personally don’t have any qualms with the bland user interface as it actually made me feel in more control every time I launched the app.
Pros
A comprehensive list of all connections
A great port or IP blocking campaign begins by understanding each port, IP and hostname. Emsa Advanced Port Blocker gives you all this information and so much more. You cannot only find the hostname but also get the process using the connection together with its process ID. This gives me the extra information I need to understand my connections before deciding what could be a threat and needs be blocked.
Simple and efficient port blocking
The port and IP blocking approach used will either capture a single value, a range or a couple of values. This is quite efficient in cases where you want to consecrate a couple of IPs or ports but do not have the time to enter them manually in list form.
The Combined Rule Approach
A combined rule approach will prevent indiscriminate blocking to ensure that the PC is still usable but still impose a couple of conditional blocks when specific IPs send unwanted or suspicious requests through specific ports.
The Auto Block Hostnames
With Auto block hostnames, you can explicitly disallow a set of websites and prevent the computer or any devices connecting to the internet through it from accessing this website. The wildcard approach can be used to blog the entire website while specific urls can block specific sections of the websites. Think of this as a way to block those websites that you don’t want the PC user to access.
Cons
No Protection from Unauthorized Access
I was thinking of using Emsa advanced port blocker to control websites accessed via a specific computer. The problem is it doesn’t have a password protection hence anyone can tamper with the rules. You can also kill it from the task manager making it a ill deployment to client PCs. You can only use it if you route all your connections through a dedicated firewall PC.
No Way to Export Rules
Creating rules is a long and tiring procedure. Things would have been simpler if the application could export a configuration file that could be imported from another application installed in another PC.
Verdict
Emsa Advanced Port Blocker is a great tool for the disciplined. It will work perfect if you don’t fear someone changing the rules behind your back. It will even be perfect if you have a dedicated firewall PC. Super light and reliable.
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