Default Program Permissions

What it does:

A default program permission is the final control for a program attempting Internet communication. It provides a default, "fall-back" position so that the firewall knows how to handle a program when other firewall controls are not in place.

Default program permissions come into play when the applicable Zone is open and:

The Do not show prompts - automatically use default program permissions feature is turned on; OR
You do respond to a prompt within the time period specified in the Show prompts - only use default program permissions after [X] seconds option (default is 15 seconds).

Within a specific Zone, a default program permission is set to allow or block communication for a given direction.

For example, as the default for your Trusted Zone locations, you might want to allow both incoming and outgoing communication. As the default for Internet Zone locations, you might want to allow only the outgoing communications and block the incoming.

Remember, this is the fall-back; program policies and IntelliDefense provide the first layers of defense. Read more on how default program permissions work with other program controls.

View or change default program permissions:

The default program permissions that are assigned for incoming and outgoing communication depend on how you have designated the Zone security. If you:

Selected a preset security level, the default program permission are fixed and display on the General tab in Zone security. Click a link to view the default program permissions for each level: Low, Medium, and High.
Used the Custom security level, you can set the default program permissions on the General tab: see Custom.
Allowed all incoming/outgoing access for the Zone, default program permissions will not apply to programs as all communications are allowed.
Blocked all incoming/outgoing access for the Zone, default program permissions will not apply to programs as the Zone is blocked and no communications are allowed.