Test Build Available – Version 3.8 - Firewall & Stability Fixes

Huda_GlassWire · February 24, 2026, 4:00pm

Windows 10 Update (Hotfix Released):
A hotfix addressing the Windows 10 service startup issue has now been released. Please download the latest 3.8 build here: GlassWire 3.8.1033

Hi everyone,

As promised, we now have a new build, GlassWire 3.8, ready for testing.

This version focuses primarily on stabilizing firewall behavior and resolving the Ask to Connect issues reported in this thread. It also includes several stability improvements and underlying updates.

We know this has taken longer than anyone wanted, and we truly appreciate the patience and persistence from everyone who’s stayed engaged and continued sharing feedback.

Download GlassWire 3.8.1033

Full changelog: GlassWire Software Version Changes List

You can install version 3.8 directly over your current version (no uninstall required).

Key Updates in This Build

Fixed issues in Ask to Connect mode where apps could become blocked without showing a prompt and resolved missing notification scenarios to restore expected behavior.
Apps without traffic are now hidden in GlassWire Protect, and the Inactive Apps group has been restored for better clarity.
Introduces a new Hardware Resource feature with per-app usage breakdown to expand monitoring visibility.
Updated to the latest Windows Kernel Driver API to improve compatibility and system integration.
Fixed multiple crashes and UI issues, as well as other stability fixes.

There are additional bug fixes and improvements listed in the full changelog linked above.

Optional: Backing Up Your Current Data

If you’d like to create a backup before installing 3.8 (in case you decide to roll back), you can do the following:

Stop the GlassWire Service
Copy file C:\ProgramData\GlassWire\service-full to C:\ProgramData\GlassWire\service-full-3.5.bak
Install GlassWire 3.8

This preserves your current settings and configurations.

We Need Your Help

If you’re willing to test this build, we’d really appreciate your feedback.

In particular:

Is Ask to Connect behaving correctly now?
Are apps still being blocked without prompting?
Are you seeing any new crashes?

If something still isn’t right, please let us know:

Your Windows version
What behavior you’re seeing
Steps to reproduce (if possible)

Rollback Option

If you run into problems and need to revert, you can download the previous version here:

Download GlassWire 3.5.821

To Roll Back:

Option 1 (Simple Rollback)
Install 3.5 over 3.8 with the “Clean Install” option enabled.

Be sure to disable auto-updates afterward at:
Settings > General > uncheck Enable automatic version upgrades

Option 2 (Restore With Backup Data)
If you created a backup earlier and want to restore your previous data:

Stop the GlassWire Service (3.8).
Copy C:\ProgramData\GlassWire\service-full-3.5.bak back to C:\ProgramData\GlassWire\service-full
Install GlassWire 3.5 without the “Clean Install” option enabled.

This build is directly based on the feedback many of you have shared over the past several months, and we want to confirm it behaves as expected before making it the default version through auto-update.

Thanks again for sticking with us and helping us get this right.

– The GlassWire Team

TripleHelix · February 24, 2026, 7:14pm

If it’s anything like V3.7.880 I will pass, I’m not impressed with the current builds of Glasswire. I’m still on v3.6.859 and I can put up with that but anymore is unnecessary IMO.

rng · February 25, 2026, 1:23pm

So this is a test build but there are no notes indicating this on your official download page. I downloaded and installed it assuming it was for production. The only way I knew it was a test build was by coming here to the forum and reading this. Not a good process to roll it out this way to say the least.

You also mention the option of rolling back to the previous v3.5.821. Oops, too late now According to your download page the last version is 3.7.880 or is that version beta as well?

As for this build, it took Glasswire Protect (Pro version) a long time to start after install (~2 min) on Windows 11 Pro 25H2. Upgraded from v3.7.880. No other issues so far but will update if this changes.

Huda_GlassWire · February 25, 2026, 1:38pm

@TripleHelix That’s completely fair. We know 3.7 had more issues than it should have, and we understand why that would make you hesitant.

This 3.8 build specifically addresses many of the problems reported in 3.7, especially around Ask to Connect mode, unexpected blocking behavior, and several crash scenarios. The changes in this version are directly based on the feedback we received after 3.7 was released.

If you’re comfortable doing so, we’d really appreciate you giving 3.8 a try and letting us know how it compares to 3.6.859 on your system. Your perspective would be especially valuable since you’ve stayed on an older version.

Totally understand the caution though, so no pressure. Just know this build was created specifically to correct the issues you’re referring to.

Huda_GlassWire · February 25, 2026, 1:46pm

@rng Thanks for the feedback. I can see how that can be confusing.

Just to clarify, 3.8 is a full production build, not a beta. We’re sharing it here first because it addresses many of the issues reported in 3.7, especially around Ask to Connect and firewall behavior, and we want to validate it with you all before rolling it out to everyone via auto-update, which we have put on hold for now.

3.7.880 is the last widely released version, but it had a number of issues reported by users. Many found 3.5.821 to be the most stable from a firewall standpoint, which is why we included it as a rollback option.

Regarding the startup delay, the first launch after an upgrade can sometimes take longer while services initialize, but it shouldn’t consistently take that long. If you continue seeing delays, please let us know.

Appreciate you installing it and sharing early feedback.

FiB3R · February 25, 2026, 7:03pm

Thank you

Went for the fresh start option. Fingers crossed.

GlassWire Control Service was still stopped.
Started it.
Still failing to connect to the local server

Checked Service. It has stopped by itself?

Side note: Noticed it installs to Program Files (x86). Wouldn’t GlassWire benefit from being 64bit?

Anyway, tried again. Same problem but this time service still running.

Restarted GlassWire

Still not connecting.

Presume restarting Windows is called for.
————————

Restarted. Still no joy

Full reinstall incoming.

————————

Uninstalled
Restarted Windows
Ran installer as Admin
Same install options as earlier
Did not choose to run glasswire after install
restarted Windows

ffs

Service was stopped. Started it. Still won’t connect.
Restarted GlassWire, Still won’t connect.

What now?

—————

I have now realised that If you don’t refresh Services, It will still show that the service is running even if it has actually stopped.

I closed GlassWire from the system tray and then started the service. The service seems to stop almost immediately.

Started GlassWire, and then started the service. Refreshed the services window about 5 times. The service stopped before GlassWire reached it’s second connection attempt.

Did you lot vibe code this?

—————–

Clicked “get help with this issue” in GlassWire. (had to search for “local server”)

If GlassWire’s graph will still not load please check to see if the following Windows services are running in the Windows task manager:

WlanSvc (WLan AutoConfig)
BFE (Base Filtering Engine)
EventLog (Windows Event Log)

————————-

Only WLan AutoConfig was not running. Why not? It’s start up type is manual. Is that how it should be?
I started it, then started GlassWire service.
Refresh…. WLan AutoConfig is still running. GlassWire Service has stopped running.

Restart GlassWire
WLan AutoConfig is still running
GlassWire service is not running
Tell GlassWire to connect
Start GlassWire service
Service dies, GlassWire still can’t connect

I’m out of ideas here

WTF DID YOU DO!?!?!

I did make a backup (as encouraged), but after 2 hours of wrestling with this, I’m really not in mood to deal with that shiz. Especially as I am in no way confident that it won’t just make matters worse.

Not that I’m sure what could possibly be worse that totally fu**ed, but I’d lay money on the fact that I would only be a few clicks away from finding out.

Hopefully this messy, step by step info dump is helpful in some way.

Please advise on what I should try next.

————————-

Closed GW via the system tray
GW service not running
Copied and replaced files from C:\ProgramData\glasswire\service-full-3.5.bak\service-full
to C:\ProgramData\glasswire\service-full
Ran (as admin) glasswire-setup-3.5.821-full.exe
Same install options as before.
Chose to run GW after install this time. Living life on the edge over here lol

Well slap me on the arse and call me Shirley! It’s up and running without skipping a beat

Thrumyeyez · February 25, 2026, 9:17pm

I’ve been on 3.5.821 ever since this 880 fiasco. I have 5 months left on my license and will not touch any new released version until a majority of users confirm it is an improvement and causes no problems for them. I do frequent full system backups of my Windows 11 so I can recover from any problems caused by experimenting. However even the new comments from today are not encouraging. I’ll wait and see.

FiB3R · February 25, 2026, 9:32pm

Where can I grab that version?

I’ll go hunt for it but if you could upload it here, I would appreciate it…

Huda_GlassWire · February 25, 2026, 9:42pm

@FiB3R Oh no, I’m really sorry you ran into this, and thank you for taking the time to write everything up step by step (even though I know it was a painful experience). This is definitely not the experience we want you to have.

We did not run into this behavior on our side, so your notes and screenshots are very helpful. I’m sharing this with our dev team now so they can dig into it ASAP.

In the meantime, could you share your Windows version/build (Settings > System > About) so I can pass this info along to the team?

On the 64-bit point: you’re right that the current build installs under Program Files (x86). We do plan to move to x64 in the next update, but we want to stabilize these firewall/service issues first.

I’ll follow up as soon as I have guidance from the dev team on what to try next.

Huda_GlassWire · February 25, 2026, 9:44pm

I shared the link to 3.5 in my post along with instructions to roll back if needed - https://download.glasswire.com/f/glasswire-setup-3.5.821-full.exe

TripleHelix · February 25, 2026, 9:49pm

Hi @Huda_GlassWire installed over top clean install and all is working very well on Windows 11 Pro, so IMO so far so good!

FiB3R · February 25, 2026, 10:22pm

Hi Huda,

Thank you for the reply

Win 10 Enterprise, 22H2, 19045.6456

————-

I’ve also updated my previous post.

3.5.821 is running without issue (so far)

Thanks

A few off topic questions while I have your attention, if I may…

1: Why are Quick Launch Shortcut and Desktop Icon selected as defaults when installing?

I always deselect those options when installing any app (I like to keep my desktop and taskbar nice and clean).

But GW is not the kind of app you choose to launch as and when needed. It’s always running, so having those options as the default seems even more…. unconsidered.

Just a little annoyance… from every single F**king app I ever install. Developers, please stop encouraging dirty desktops!

2: Why isn’t Ask to Connect the default state after installing?
I’m not sure about others, but that feature is pretty much the entire reason I ever installed GW in the first place (and that it looks awesome lol)

3: I don’t know if this is a bug, or if GW is supposed to behave like this, but some apps have multiple exe’s. For instance, Backblaze seems to create them on the fly when doing a backup, and can fire up a bunch of new precesses.

Or apps with auto updaters, which download and run a previously unseen exe, like DropBox for instance, and many others.

Having to allow those through every time is a real pain in the butt.

If I miss the GW popup when it first shows, and then click Allow an hour or more later, does the app that was trying to connect ever complete that update? Or does it give up and I have to wait for a further update and hope I catch it in time?

I suppose GW can’t tell if a trusted application has invoked a new process, so It seems like the solution would be to allow us to whitelist a folder path?

Is that a terrible idea for some reason? Am I totally misunderstanding how it works?

Sorry, I’ve gone way further off topic here than I expected. Are any of these questions worth posting as their own topics?

Thanks

Edit:

One more question. This seems like a big ask…

I’ve never configured the Virus Total integration, so I don’t know if that makes the question redundant, but can’t GW be smarter at recognising a process, and at least give some indication in the popup? For instance, I’ve just had this popup…

c:\windows\system32\mousocoreworker.exe

To start with, I can’t see the full path, so that’s slightly annoying. Then after revealing it… I don’t know wtf that is, do I?

Seems legit, yet I can feel compelled to investigate further, which invariably turns out to be a waste of time, because it was nothing to worry about. Rather, it’s just a well known and totally expected system process.

If GW could give some indication here, (or just allow trusted OS processes / child processes from white listed apps without pestering me) that would be real nice.

Green = Trusted, Amber= Probably fine, Red = really not sure, Alarm bells = known threat?

GlassWare · February 26, 2026, 12:59am

In my first attempt to try this new version, i just installed over the top of previous version.

Clean install and reset windows firewall.

This is what happen

Then this

What a great start

The only way i could get it working was uninstall do another Clean install and reset windows firewall

But this time i selected “Use Legacy Drive”

All worked this time. My first question why?
Seems the “Use Legacy Drive” is still a better choice to use?

Another question why cant we block Glasswire in the firewall

My older versions i could block it will no ill effect.

is it because Glasswire using an online account? Or using Virus total to analyze a file?

I can block it other ways but just wanting to hear your points on why?

I will continue testing for now…

Ginette · February 26, 2026, 3:36pm

Hello,

Since updating to GlassWire 3.8, the cmd.exe process no longer appears in the application list.

In previous versions, cmd.exe was visible, which allowed me to block it by default and re-enable it only when needed. This is no longer possible because the process does not show up anymore.

However, the “Ask to Connect” feature appears to be working normally.

Geri123 · February 26, 2026, 4:52pm

When I read about stuff like LOL Bins and DLL sideloading I’m not sure what process you can trust anymore 100%. So I wouldn’t think just because a file is e.g. native from Microsoft that it can always be considered safe and that not some sideloaded DLL is using it with bad intentions.

But that’s just my basic understandig of it and as a GW hobby user I can always be way off the mark with my logic

CTaylor · February 26, 2026, 5:33pm

No to the first bullet point and yes to the second. See my posting from just now in the “V3.7.880 blocking tons by itself” thread - which now seems to have the dubious honour of the thread with the highest number of replies and one of the highest number of views.

GlassWare · March 1, 2026, 12:31am

@Huda_GlassWire

Further testing, why would these be block. I did not block them…

Huda_GlassWire · March 4, 2026, 10:57pm

1. GlassWire Startup Connectivity Issue
We released a hotfix that fixes the startup connectivity issue you are seeing on Windows 10 devices. Please install that when you get a chance and let me know if you’re still having the same issue.

2. Desktop and Quick Launch shortcuts

That’s fair feedback. Those options are enabled by default mainly for discoverability and convenience, especially for users who prefer having a quick way to open the UI. But I completely understand the “clean desktop” philosophy. I’ll share that feedback with the team.

3. Why Ask to Connect isn’t the default

Ask to Connect can generate a lot of prompts depending on what’s running on the system, so it can feel overwhelming for new users right after install. Because of that we don’t enable it by default. That said, many power users prefer it for exactly the reason you mentioned, so it’s good feedback.

4. Apps spawning multiple executables

Your understanding is mostly correct. GlassWire treats each executable independently, so if an app spawns a different process or updater with a different .exe, it will be treated as a new connection attempt.

If you miss the popup and later click Allow, the rule will still apply to that executable. Whether the update or connection attempt completes usually depends on how that application handles retries. Many apps will simply retry later. I will check with our team to confirm this.

A folder-based whitelist is an interesting idea and something that has come up before. The main tradeoff is that allowing an entire folder could also allow unintended executables if something malicious ends up in that location. Our team is looking into different solutions for this and this has been considered.

5. Identifying system processes in the popup

That’s also good feedback. Today the popup intentionally keeps things simple and shows the executable path, but I agree that additional context could make decisions easier without forcing users to research every process. Things like clearer path visibility or some indication of whether a process is a known system component could definitely help. I’ll share this feedback with the team.

Huda_GlassWire · March 4, 2026, 11:02pm

Why we prevent GlassWire components from being blocked in the Protect tab:
Some GlassWire features require the app to be able to reach our servers. For example, signing into your account, activating or validating your license, app updates and optional integrations like VirusTotal lookups all require network access.

If GlassWire itself is blocked in the firewall, those features won’t be able to work properly. The core monitoring will generally still run, but things that rely on server communication may fail.

GlassWire Startup Connectivity Issue
With regards to the issue you were experiencing with connection failure to the local server, we released a hotfix this week that addresses this issue. You can install the latest version over 3.8.1030.

Blocked Apps
Thanks for sharing that screenshot. Can you confirm a few details so I can pass this info along to our dev team?

Were these apps updated recently? You may be able to see this in your Log Analysis tab.
Did you receive any Ask to Connect prompt for these? I assume not, but want to confirm.
Have you been receiving Ask to Connect prompts for any other apps?
What Windows version and build are you running?

GlassWare · March 5, 2026, 12:29am

Hi,

This happened with a clean install and resetting the windows firewall. So when the firewall starts to populate these are the ones that got blocked and no prompt. Yes other apps did ask to connect.

See above comments for question 2 & 3

I am testing this in windows 10 version 22H2 OS Build 19045 6937