GlassWire Menu | Settings | Security

Security tab (:free:)

This page is accessed from the GlassWire menu | Settings window.

Unlock button (:free:)

Alerts (:free:, :heavy_dollar_sign:)

The Alerts are a list of monitoring features that you can enable or disable.

Only two paid alerts

Only two of the alerts are paid features. If you are using the free edition then the on/off button will say BUY and will take you to the Buy GlassWire webpage:

  • Network device monitor alert (:heavy_dollar_sign:)
  • Camera and mic monitor alert (:heavy_dollar_sign:)

Turn off alerts?

We recommend keeping security alerts turned on unless you’re receiving either too many notifications or a false alarm.

If you turn off an alert in the Settings window then that turns off the security alert permanently so you won’t be alerted to malicious behavior in GlassWire at all.

Five alerts are turned off by default:

  • While you were away alert
  • ARP spoofing detection alert
  • Bandiwdth overage monitor alert
  • DNS server settings monitor alert
  • Internet access monitor alert

Note

Turning alerts off does not affect the Show desktop notification checkbox setting. This defaults to checked so turning on alerts will automatically resume desktop notifications.

Show desktop notification checkbox

Each alert defaults to checking the Show desktop notification checkbox.

To save space in this guide, we have excluded the description of the Show desktop notification checkbox for each alert

Prevent desktop notifications?

You can prevent notifications for a single alert or all alerts:

  • Single alert: uncheck the Show desktop notification checkbox for that alert
  • All alerts: uncheck the Enable tray notifications checkbox in Settings | Client | General.

Note

Do not turn off alerts unless you want no notifications and no record or history of the alerts.

All Alerts on/off (:free:)

Select the All Alerts button to toggle the button from its current state:

  • On is green. If it is selected then it does the opposite and turns all alerts Off.
  • Off is grey. If the Off button is selected then it toggles and turns all alerts On.

Note

In the free edition, the paid alerts are not affected by the All Alerts button.

Network device monitor alert (:heavy_dollar_sign:)

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the Network device monitor on/off button
  • checking the Notify me about network device activity checkbox. Two options which can be selected:
    • Report all devices joining or leaving radio button
    • Report only new unknown devices radio button

Camera and mic monitor alert (:heavy_dollar_sign:)

This paid alert lets you know if a network application is accessing either your camera or the microphone.

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the Camera and mic monitor on/off button
  • checking the Notify me if an application is using my camera or microphone checkbox.

Note

This alert only records network applications. If a program uses the camera or mic but does not access the network GlassWire then no alert will be recorded.

First network activity alert (:free:)

The First network activity alert you every time a new application is accessing the Internet or network.

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the First network activity on/off button
  • checking the Notify me if an application has inititated network activity for the first time checkbox.

Note

  • When you first install GlassWire you will receive many of these “new” alerts while GlassWire learns what applications on your system normally use the Internet. These “new” alerts will become rarer over time.
  • These first network access alerts are useful because if you suddenly receive a “new” alert from an application that shouldn’t normally access the Internet or from an application you don’t remember installing it could be a privacy or security issue. You can then check the alert in detail and see what application is accessing the Internet, review who or what the app is communicating with, then decide to block it via the Firewall or take some other action.

System file monitor alert (:free:)

Alerts you to a system file that has changed that is network related.

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the System file monitor on/off button.
  • checking the Notify me if "hosts" or "lmhosts" files are modified checkbox

Device list monitor alert (:free:)

Alerts you to any network related devices on your system that were changed.

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the Device list monitor on/off button.
  • checking the Notify me if a networking device or driver has been added, removed, or changed checkbox.

Application info monitor alert (:free:)

Alerts you to changes with any applications that access the Internet that could be caused by tampering with your computer.

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the Application info monitor on/off button.
  • checking the Notify me if a version, publisher, certificate, or executable of an application has changed checkbox.

While you were away alert (:free:)

Gives you a summary of what network activity occurred on your computer while you were away or while your computer was idle.

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the While you were away on/off button.
  • checking the Show me a brief summary of any signficatn network activity that occurred while my computer was idle checkbox.

ARP spoofing detection alert (:free:)

Looks for and reports ARP spoofing. ARP spoofing may allow an attacker to intercept data, modify your Internet traffic, or stop your traffic all together.

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the ARP spoofing detection on/off button.
  • checking the Notify me if my MAC address associated with my IP address was changed checkbox.

Bandwidth overage monitor alert (:free:)

Go to the “Usage” tab and click the “Options” on the left side to set an alert once you hit a certain bandwidth level.

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the Bandwidth overage monitor on/off button.
  • checking the Notify me if this computer uses a certain amount of bandwidth over a specific time period checkbox.

Note

  • The default overage threshold is 150GB per calendar month.
  • You cannot exclude external network traffic because bandwidth is normally limited on your Internet connection.

Time period dropdown

The default Time period is Month.

Start day dropdown

The default Start day is the 1st day of the period.

Traffic amount input

The Traffic amount number can be a three digit number up to 999.

The default number is 150.

Traffic amount unit dropdown

The Traffic amount dropdown units can be set to Megabytes, Gigabytes or Terabytes.

The default unit is Gigabytes.

Traffic type dropdown

The Traffic type monitored can be In, Out or Total which is the total of In + Out.

The default is Total.

Exclude local network traffic checkbox

You can Exclude local network traffic by checking the checkbox.

The default is unchecked so the monitor includes local and external network traffic.

Proxy settings monitor alert (:free:)

Alert you to proxy use or changes.

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the Proxy settings monitor on/off button.
  • checking the Notify me if my proxy settings were changed checkbox.

DNS server settings monitor alert (:free:)

Alerts you to DNS changes on your system.

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the DNS server settings monitor on/off button.
  • checking the Notify me if my DNS server settings were changed or updated checkbox.

Internet access monitor alert (:free:)

Alerts you to Internet access changes on your system.

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the Internet access monitor on/off button.
  • checking the Notify me if my internet connection was disconnected or reconnected checkbox.

Remote GlassWire connections alert (:free:)

If you enable the remote access feature this alert lets you know when you connect to your server or computer remotely with GlassWire. Remote monitoring is popular with GlassWire users who manage remote servers for work, gaming, etc…

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the Remote GlassWire connections on/off button.
  • checking the Notify me of remote GlassWire connections checkbox.

Suspicious hosts monitor alert (:free:)

GlassWire keeps an up to date list of known suspicious hosts and alerts you if you contact one. Suspicious hosts are often related to botnets, malware, and other malicious behavior.

Turn the alert on by either:

  • selecting the Suspicious hosts monitor on/off button.
  • checking the Notify me if an application initiated a connection to a suspicious host checkbox.

OK button (:free:)

The OK button will accept your changes to all settings in all tabs of the Settings window.

It also closes the Settings window.

Cancel button (:free:)

The Cancel button will abandon all your changes in all the tabs in the Settings window.

It also closes the Settings window.


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