Installation and Setup

Installation & Setup

This guide covers installing CyberWall, building from source, and running as a Windows Service.

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System Requirements

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Installation Methods

Installer (Recommended)

1. Download the latest installer from Releases
2. Run the .exe installer (requires Administrator)
3. Follow the setup wizard
4. Choose shortcuts and auto-start options
5. Launch CyberWall

Portable ZIP

1. Download the portable ZIP from releases
2. Extract to any folder
3. Run CyberWall.exe as Administrator

What the Installer Does

• Installs the application
• Creates Start Menu shortcuts
• Creates Desktop shortcut (optional)
• Adds auto-start entry via Task Scheduler (optional)
• Adds Windows Firewall allow rules for CyberWall itself

Windows SmartScreen

Windows may show a SmartScreen warning the first time you run the CyberWall installer; this is expected until Windows builds enough reputation for the file. The same can appear when launching the portable build.

To continue:

1. Click More info.
2. Click Run anyway.

The installer requires Administrator rights; the SmartScreen bypass steps are the same on the elevated prompt.

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Building from Source

Prerequisites

Build

# Build the solution
dotnet build

# Run with Administrator privileges (real WFP filtering)
.\dev-admin.ps1

# Run standard dev session (simulated if non-elevated)
.\dev.ps1

# Run with separate Service process
.\dev.ps1 -WithService

Publish

# Publish self-contained for x64
dotnet publish src/CyberWall.UI/CyberWall.UI.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -o ./publish-win64
dotnet publish src/CyberWall.Service/CyberWall.Service.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -o ./publish-win64

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Windows Service

Installing the Service

Run PowerShell as Administrator:

.\installer\install.ps1

Service Benefits

• Runs as SYSTEM account
• Always active filtering
• No user interface required
• Survives user logoff

Service Management

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Auto-Start

Enable/Disable

• Settings → General → Run at Startup
• Or: Windows Settings → Apps → Startup → Toggle CyberWall

Start Minimized

• Settings → General → Start Minimized
• App starts in system tray

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Uninstallation

Standard Uninstall

1. Windows Settings → Apps → Installed Apps
2. Find CyberWall → Click Uninstall

What Gets Removed

• Program files
• Start Menu shortcuts
• Auto-start entry
• CyberWall's own Windows Firewall allow rules

What Is Kept

• Rules and settings (in %ProgramData%\CyberWall)
• Connection logs

⚠️ To remove all data, manually delete %ProgramData%\CyberWall after uninstalling.