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I'm looking for a Firewall for Ubuntu to block/allow single applications. I'd like it to have a GUI.

I found Leopard Flower personal firewall for Linux (LPFW) but I need to run sudo ./lpfw and gui/gui.py everytime I access my computer to make it start and works.

It would be nice to have an application like AFWall+ (which is an Android app).

2 Answers 2

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Gufw Firewall looks like it could match your needs:

Gufw screenshot
Gufw Firewall (source: ubuntu.com; click image for larger variant)

I have not tried it out myself, but according to some screenshots it seems to fulfill your requirements:

  • Firewall for Ubuntu: Yes
  • block/allow single applications: According to the screenshot: Yes (see the "Application" drop-down and, below that, the "Application filter". What makes me doubt this a little is reading between the lines: options for controlling firewall options for common programs and services could also be interpreted like "Selecting Postfix it would block ports 25, 465 and 587 (smtp/smtps/submission) globally for the device". This is not clarified on the page.
  • have a GUI: Yes, as the screenshot proves.

There's a list of Linux firewall GUIs, but I'm afraid none of those has the "per application" feature.

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As the AU article suggests, Douane seems to match your needs exactly:

When Douane is started, it will watch the ougoing network traffic and as soon as an unknown application tries to send some network packets, Douane will block it and ask you if you allow it or not:

Douane

What's left open in the description is whether you can define "exceptions" or make your choices permanent (imagine that popup appearing on each Firefox request) – which I assume can be done in the rules tab of the Douane Configurator:

Douane Configurator
Douane Configurator (source: Douane; click image to enlarge)

So let's check this one against your requirements:

  • Firewall for Ubuntu: Yes (but currently needs to be installed manually, see below)
  • block/allow single applications: Yes (see screenshots for prove, also the above linked AU article explicitly says so)
  • have a GUI: Yes, as the screenshots prove.

Drawback: Packages are currently only available for ArchLinux, so you'd have to compile and install it manually. Note there's already an open request for Ubuntu packages.

Update: Meanwhile there's a Douane PPA available for Ubuntu.

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  • Thanks for your answer. I have tried Gufw Firewall but it just allows you to select some default applications and not all applications I have in my system. About Duane it's very good for me, but the site is not working now and I don't know why. And where can I download the package? Also can I trust that application? I can't find the code on github github.com/Douane/Douane
    – Frank
    Nov 13, 2015 at 13:38
  • Installation instructions can be found behind my compile and install link. The code seems to be in separate repositories (douane-dkms, douane-daemon, douane-dialog, douane-configurator).
    – Izzy
    Nov 13, 2015 at 13:44
  • @Frank Incidentally, I was reading an article on Douane and came across your question later on. Perhaps, the article may help you out in basic setup and know-how. dedoimedo.com/computers/linux-per-application-firewall.html
    – Firelord
    Nov 13, 2015 at 21:24
  • Izzy, is Duane another name of Douane or is it a typo at many places?
    – Firelord
    Nov 13, 2015 at 21:26
  • @Firelord typo I'd say – at least in my writing, as the underlying links reveal. Sorry for that – but French isn't really my strength ("douane" AFAIK is French for "customs").
    – Izzy
    Nov 14, 2015 at 0:12
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Being searching for a proper GUI firewall for over 5 years and have been using firestarter, ufw, gufw with variable success. Douane was tricky to compile, and on a recent 64bit ubuntu fails to compile.

Recently ran into Opensnitch which was comparatively easy to install and use on a ubuntu box. It has two processes: a networking process that must be run as root, and a GUI process that runs under the current user.

It is not in standard repos, but the instructions on the github page are pretty straightforward.

enter image description here

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  • Thanks. Douane was looking way more complicated to compile and get working and this one seems to have a nicer gui. I'm going to check it out. Apr 25, 2018 at 8:53
  • 1
    The evilsocket repo appears to be abandoned however this fork is actively maintained and currently working well in Ubuntu 20.04 :)
    – Baa
    Jul 3, 2020 at 18:01

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