A firewall for your home PC: see and control every app
Microsoft Defender keeps viruses out. But which programs on your PC talk to the internet, where they connect, and who keeps knocking on your door from outside - Windows never tells you. Coinetic does, in plain words, on the Windows Firewall you already have.
- Know what's connecting: every program that goes online, with who made it and where it connects.
- Block what shouldn't: a new program asks once - allow, block, or allow just for an hour.
- Stay protected automatically: attackers are banned, known malware and phishing sites blocked, your network settings kept safe.
- No nagging, no tech talk: a simple view with plain words, quiet at night, and every change can be undone.
1. "Do I even need this? I have Windows Defender."
Defender is a good antivirus, and you should keep it on. But an antivirus looks at files. The Windows Firewall underneath looks at connections - and out of the box it lets every program on your PC connect to the internet without asking or telling you. A game launcher, a free PDF tool, a browser add-on, an app that phones home with your usage data: all of it goes out silently.
Coinetic does not replace Defender. It runs next to it and adds what Windows leaves out: it shows you the connections, asks you about new programs, and explains what happened. More in Firewall vs antivirus: do you need both?
2. What a home PC firewall should do - and how Coinetic does it
| What you need | How Coinetic does it |
|---|---|
| Decide which apps may go online | Switch on outbound control for the networks you choose (e.g. only on public Wi-Fi, or always). Every new program then asks once: allow, local network only, or block. Trusted, signed programs can be allowed in all their future versions at once. |
| See what's connecting, live | The Programs page and the live log show every program that goes online, where to, who owns that address and in which country. If a program suddenly connects far more than it normally does, Coinetic raises an alert. |
| Know who made a program | Every question shows the program's description, publisher and digital signature, with a recommendation and the reason for it. Script and download tools (PowerShell, curl and the like) are never recommended for "allow always". |
| Keep attackers and bad sites out | Addresses that scan your PC, touch a trap port or guess your password are banned automatically. With one click in the security check, Coinetic switches your PC to a private DNS that also blocks known malware and phishing sites (Cloudflare 1.1.1.2) - your internet provider no longer sees every site you visit. |
| Simple questions, no nagging | One question per new program, never per connection, and the same kind of notification at most once every 10 minutes. Quiet hours (default 22:00-07:00) hold back everything that can wait. |
| "Just for now" permissions | Allow a program for 1 hour, 8 hours or until the next restart - for installers, a game update or an app you are not sure about. Afterwards it asks again. |
| Understand why something was blocked | The live log names the exact rule that blocked each connection - so when a game or app stops working, you see why. On the Programs page one click allows it again. |
| Safe on public Wi-Fi | Set your laptop's network to Public on café, hotel and airport Wi-Fi and Coinetic locks it, so Windows cannot quietly switch it back and open file sharing - see Is public WiFi safe? |
| Nothing breaks, everything can be undone | Coinetic uses the firewall built into Windows - no driver, no change to how your network works. Every fix in the security check can be undone, Coinetic reports and undoes changes other programs make to your firewall, and uninstalling Coinetic leaves the Windows Firewall working. |
3. Made for people who are not IT experts
- Simple view: one overview - a green banner when you are protected, amber when something needs you - with today's blocked attacks and the programs that want to go online.
- Plain words: a program that wants to go online is shown with its name, who signed it and a recommendation - not with port numbers and protocols.
- A one-click security check: it looks at your firewall, file sharing, open ports and risky settings, explains each finding and fixes it with one click.
- Optional AI helper (Pro + AI): right-click anything and ask, e.g. "What is this program and should it be online?" - answered from this PC's own data.
4. Your privacy
What happens on your PC stays on your PC. Coinetic's log, your decisions and your history are kept locally. For the license check it sends the license key, a one-way fingerprint of the computer, its name and Windows version - nothing about what you do. When Coinetic bans an attacker, it can report the attacker's address to the public AbuseIPDB database - never yours, and you can switch that off. The AI helper only sends a question when you ask one. Details: privacy policy.
Download Coinetic, install, done. 30 days free with all features, no payment details. Then Essentials: $20 per computer per year - everything on this page except the AI helper.
More guides: all Coinetic guides · What is my PC sending? · Is my PC hacked? · Block a program's internet access
Frequently asked
Will it slow down my PC or my games?
No. Coinetic is a light background service that uses the Windows Firewall already built into Windows - it adds nothing to the path your data takes. Games run as before; a game asks once, the first time it goes online.
Will it ask me questions all the time?
No. Each program asks once, ever - not per connection. Programs from known publishers can be allowed in all their versions in one go, and at night only real emergencies show up.
Does it work on Windows 10 and 11 Home?
Yes - on every Windows from Windows 7 on, Home or Pro, in any language.
Can I still use my VPN, my printer and my phone apps?
Yes. Your own network, your printer and your VPN keep working; Coinetic only asks about programs going out to the internet, and only where you switched that on.
What if something stops working?
The live log shows which rule blocked which program, and on the Programs page one click allows it again. Every fix Coinetic makes can be undone, and uninstalling Coinetic leaves the Windows Firewall working.
Is this an antivirus or a VPN?
Neither. Keep Microsoft Defender (or your antivirus) and your VPN - Coinetic works alongside them and takes care of the connections.