Why does the watchguard block exe file downloads

If the file matches an entry in the list, the Firebox skips the relevant scans and either allows or drops the file, based on the selected action. Allows the file to be downloaded or the email attachment to be delivered to the recipient. Use this action for files that you always want to allow. For example, you could allow a file that triggers a false positive when scanned by IntelligentAV. Use this action for files that you always want to reject. For example, you could immediately drop files that are known to contain malware.

For a file that matches a file exception, the Firebox performs the selected action immediately and does not scan the file with the relevant security services. Files in the File Exceptions list are identified by an MD5 hash.

An MD5 hash is a character string that uniquely identifies a specific version of a specific file. Every time a file changes, its hash value also changes. If you do not know the MD5 hash of a file that you want to add to the File Exceptions list, you can use a utility on your operating system to find it.

You can add up to files to the File Exceptions list. I don't like the formatting of the cloud host URL it looks like one of those great randomized ones that could change at any time, but also a site that could host just about anything , I set an "Exact Match" rule rather than a Pattern Match, for the time being. We may figure out a way to host the files ourselves in the future; I don't think an exception to that URL will be a great long-term option, it's just too easy for someone on the other end to break it.

Sometimes I really wonder, what developers have in mind, when they use such strange redirections to even stranger sounding addresses, possibly even using some 'random' looking URL's. It looks like they think about their own security so that no non-subscriber could get the file? Hosting the file s on your own server is probably the best solution, if you don't want to fix things every day or two.

To continue this discussion, please ask a new question. Get answers from your peers along with millions of IT pros who visit Spiceworks. WatchGuard Web File Transfer is a general application that detects the download of common file formats that are often downloaded through popular P2P and File Transfer programs, including: bz2 ,doc , exe , gz, pdf, ppt, rar , rpm, tar, xls, zip, torrent, dll, manifest, xdap, deploy, xps, , xaml, application, mkv, and dat.

It also covers HTTP upload of files. FTP Applications is an application that detects a range of FTP commands —pass, list, eprt, epsv, create directory, delete directory, get binary and ascii , put binary and ascii , passive and active file transfer. How to tell Microsoft Edge to let you download a file it's blocking You can override SmartScreen and its protections. Matt Elliott. Disable SmartScreen in Edge You can disable SmartScreen in the Windows Defender Security Center app in total or just for Edge, but for the latter it's faster to do so right within Edge itself, particularly if you are already using Edge.

Windows Defender setting In Windows Defender, you can also change Edge's SmartScreen to merely warn you when you are about to download a file it deems suspicious instead of it outright blocking it.