Windows 10: Windows Defender only allows inbound app traffic even with outbound app traffic specified.

Hi Everyone thanks for looking in,I would welcome any help in finding a resolution to this :I have the latest Microsoft Windows Professional again now installed oddly the Windows Defender even when its set to all out bound traffic does not seem to allow app outbound traffic to the websites. I have created rules in Outbound Rules but when I look at Advanced >Monitoring >>Firewall it only lists inbound traffic suggesting no app can get out . How do I change this. I am not even sure if this is the app blocking them but it is a new install with no other anti virus products or firewall.T

:)

 

Microsoft Defender firewall list of allowed apps and functions

The "list of allowed apps" refers to inbound connections, not outbound.

Inbound connections for LoL game would be blocked ex. if you host your game server, however to play multplayer games this is all about outbound traffic which is by default allowed.

 

Viewing traffic on Windows 10 Mobile Maps app

I used to use the Nokia HERE and that app showed traffic enroute using green, yellow, or red bars along the route of traffic indicating traffic conditions. This was a great feature as it allowed me to see the traffic as I was driving. The Windows 10 Mobile
Maps app allows me to see traffic before I start driving but afterwards the route is overlaid with a purple bar, not a color-coded traffic status. There is no way to see traffic when driving. Is this the intent or there a setting that I am not seeing allowing
for traffic to be viewed on the map while driving?

 

Why does Windows Firewall allow inbound connections by default for all modern apps?

To continue my initial question that was posted
here, I would like to understand why the Windows Firewall allows by default incoming connections for any modern app.

A few observations:

In Windows Firewall with Advanced Security there are two sets of rules: inbound and outbound.

Outbound rules allow programs and apps to communicate to the internet. Inbound rules allow unsolicited connections (as I have understood so far, random not user or app provoked connections) to the computer from the internet.

Since Windows Firewall's outbound scanning is disabled by default, outbound rules are useless due to this "allow everything" policy (unless there is an explicit outbound block rule).

Regular apps (non servers), such as browsers, can work just fine by having outbound allow rules (or by the default "allow everything" Firewall setting). They can still receive incoming data if they are allowed to communicate to the internet (outbound) even
if there is no allowing inbound rule or even if there is a blocking inbound rule!

For example, launching Google Chrome and typing an address, will make the browser send a request (outbound) to the website's server and receive info (to display the webpage) -- all this with no inbound rule enabled.

I understand that unsolicited inbound connections are required when, for example, sharing files or printers on a PC network. A remote PC on the same network can send a request to get access on some resources (media file, printer etc.).

Based on all the above, I do not see the purpose of having inbound allowing rules for all apps installed on the PC. Apps can work just with the outbound allowing rules or policy. Very few apps actually need to receive unsolicited inbound connections to work
properly (server apps). Why then allow all apps to do so? Isn't that kind of a risk, if say, a malicious inbound connection exploits a vulnerability?

Thanks in advance,

John