How To Allow Chrome To Access the Network in Your Firewall

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Chrome is the world’s most popular web browser today, with approximately 64% of the market share. For many people, Chrome is the first choice for a default web browser, regardless of the device they use. It’s fast and reliable, but some users might experience problems with their firewall blocking Chrome. This will stop and disable your web browsing, after which you’ll see the notification “Allow Chrome to access the network in your firewall.”

Being unable to access the network using Chrome is a common error and definitely not something you should be worried about. However, it can be really annoying if it happens while you are in the middle of your work and need to quickly look something up on the net.

If you haven’t encountered this problem before, you’ll probably need some time to figure out how to fix it. Luckily, we’ve created a comprehensive step-by-step guide that will help you understand why it happens and explain how to allow Chrome to access the network in your firewall or antivirus settings.

Why This Error Occurs

If the Chrome firewall issue happens, that’s because your firewall or your antivirus detected a problem and blocked your browser. You’ll see the message mentioned above displayed on your screen together with other messages, like “DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET.”

dns-probe-finished-no-internet

This error can occur when the system detects suspicious online activity or viruses. Your in-built Windows Defender or installed antivirus programs will immediately block Google Chrome from accessing the internet.

How To Fix It

It’s a simple procedure that includes adding an exception to your computer’s antivirus program or the Windows firewall.

Adding an Exception to Windows Firewall

The first thing you can do to allow Chrome to access the network is to add the exception for Chrome in the Windows firewall. But first, we’ll explain what a firewall is and how it works. A firewall is a security tool that protects your computer from malicious software by controlling network traffic. It blocks everything suspicious and can also block access to the internet.

Here’s is how to add Chrome to the whitelist in case Windows firewall is blocking your internet access:

  1. Open Windows Search box (press Windows key + S), write “Firewall”, and tap to open Windows Defender Firewall.
  2. Go to the Settings and click on the “Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall.” This is the fastest way if you’re looking how to allow Google Chrome through the firewall on Windows 10. The same procedure applies to other Windows OS versions as well.allow-Chrome-to-access-the-network-in-your-firewall-step-1
  3. Now you’ll see the apps you have installed listed along with their status so you can review which are blocked and which can communicate through the Windows Defender Firewall.
  4. Find Google Chrome and check both fields – “Private” and “Public.”

If you have a problem with adding the Chrome exception, you can temporarily disable Windows Firewall. Just go back to the main page, to the “Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off” option. This will disable the firewall for both public and private networks, but you should know that it’ll expose your PC to various internet threats.

Adding an Exception to Avast

You can enable access for Google Chrome through antivirus settings. We’ll explain how to do this quickly with Avast antivirus protection, but the procedure is similar with any other firewall or antivirus program.

Avast is one of the world’s most popular anti-malware products. Adding exceptions for the Chrome browser via the Avast interface is a piece of cake. Here’s what you need to do to exclude Chrome from Avast web shield scanning:

  1. Open Avast and go to Settings, then click on the General tab.
  2. Select the Exceptions and click on the Add Exception button.allow-Chrome-to-access-the-network-in-your-firewall-step-2
  3. Type the URL address of the site you want to be excluded from the Avast web shield scanning.
  4. Click on Add Exception to confirm the URL.

The Chrome antivirus settings should help you fix the error and access the website you want. If there is still a problem with accessing the website, you can try to turn off the Avast shield and check if the website works.

Adding an Exclusion to Windows Defender

Windows Defender is a built-in antivirus and anti-malware tool developed by Microsoft specifically for the Windows operating system. It comes with all versions of the Windows OS, including Windows 7 and Windows10.

Another option for managing Chrome firewall settings is to exclude Chrome from Windows Defender by following these steps:

  1. Click on the Windows Start button and type “Windows Defender” in the search bar.
  2. Open the Windows Defender Security Center.
  3. Find the Threat Protection option. If Windows asks for administrator access, click on Yes.
  4. Click on the “Add or remove exclusions” option. Look for the menu that allows you to add exclusions. Choose the downloaded Chrome folder for exclusion.
  5. Click on “Exclude folder” and go to the Chrome directory. It will be in your Program Files. Select Chrome and click on the Select folder button.

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