Portmaster

Many of the advancements in the tech industry come with certain caveats that are becoming more and more apparent in the proprietary software sector. Under the guise of bettering an app, many companies employ data collection practices, sometimes even without direct user consent.

As such, many apps now require internet access in order to provide you with a better usage experience. Unfortunately, operating systems such as Windows now pre-install optional features that a large percentage of users cannot disable. This is where Safing’s Portmaster comes into play: this open-source network traffic management software may help in restricting internet access to apps you do not need on your system.

When booting up the program, users are greeted with a sidebar and a three-pane-layout showing all the necessary information through an intuitive interface. In the main window, the program displays an overview of the Network Monitor’s activity, which lists the currently running programs that are connected to the internet.

Clicking any program will reveal a connection history going up to 10 minutes, detailing the domains that the app connected to, and which parts of the app communicate with entities outside your local network. Users then have the option of going to a separate section where the connecting app’s settings can be configured, from force-blocking access to the internet, LAN, direct or incoming connections, with precise incoming and outgoing rules being easily configurable as well.

Not only can the user view and decide which apps are allowed to use bandwidth, but Portmaster also grants access to secure DNS servers and a comprehensive privacy filter that alerts anyone using the computer whenever a program connects to the internet in order to quickly take action against it.

In terms of customization, the app allows for toggling the interface between three categories that show increasingly more information: simple, advanced and developer UI.

If you like Microsoft’s flagship operating system but find no use in extra features such as their proprietary store, and you want to maintain your privacy, Portmaster’s network monitoring and configuring utilities may be a great way to regain control of your internet connection.