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The Firewall Test checks whether this computer can reach each of the PDQ endpoints the product depends on, so you can tell a firewall or proxy problem on your network apart from a problem on PDQ's side. Open it from Help > Support > Firewall Test.
The list of endpoints ships with this version of the product rather than being downloaded, so the test still works when the network is the thing that is broken. Different versions can require different endpoints.
Every endpoint is tested twice: once from the console you are sitting in front of, and once from the PDQ Deploy background service. Use the Show results from buttons to switch between them.
The two can differ, because the service runs under its own user account and can have different proxy credentials. The service is what downloads packages, so when a Package Library download fails, the PDQ Deploy Service results are the ones that matter.
If the results you are viewing are all reachable but the other set is not, a warning appears next to the summary naming which one has blocked endpoints, so switching is never necessary to find out that there is a problem.
If the background service cannot be reached at all, a note appears at the bottom of the window and its results read as Not tested. That is not a firewall result and is not counted as a blocked endpoint.
Endpoints are grouped by what they are used for, so a whole blocked category is obvious at a glance. Each row shows:
Field |
Meaning |
|---|---|
Status |
The badge on the left of each row: Connected or Blocked. Any HTTP response counts as Connected, because it proves the request reached a server. |
Status code |
The HTTP status that came back, such as 200 OK or 405 Method Not Allowed. A 4xx or 5xx still means the request got through. Empty for a blocked endpoint, which never got a response. |
Response time |
How long the request took, in milliseconds. A request that timed out shows the full 10 seconds; a transport failure such as an unresolved host name or a refused connection usually returns much sooner. |
Redirected to |
Where the request actually ended up, shown only when that differs from the address requested. A redirect to a host that is not PDQ means something on your network intercepted the request. |
Page title |
The title of the page that was returned, or (none) when the response carried no title. A filtering proxy names itself here - for example "Access Denied" or a vendor name - which is how you tell its block page apart from a genuine error from PDQ. |
Error |
Why the request failed, shown in red. Only present when there is an error. |
Only a timeout or a transport-level failure is reported as Blocked - a host that answers with an error status has still let the request through the firewall. The summary at the top of the window shows how many endpoints are blocked for the results you are viewing, or confirms that all of them are reachable. Each request gives up after 10 seconds, so one blocked host does not hold up the rest of the test.
Note: Some proxies do not drop blocked requests - they answer them with a block page of their own. That still shows as Connected, because the request did reach a server. Check Redirected to and Page title on any endpoint returning an unexpected 4xx or 5xx: if either names something that is not PDQ, your proxy is filtering that endpoint even though it is reported as Connected.
Category |
What it covers |
|---|---|
File & Package Downloads |
Azure blob storage, the Cloudflare R2 buckets, download.pdq.com, and library.pdq.com. Blocked here, Package Library downloads and Application Installers fail. |
PDQ Services |
services.pdq.com and the link.pdq.com redirects. Blocked here, license checks, update checks, and bug reports fail. |
Content & Telemetry |
Marketing images, anonymous usage telemetry, survey submission, and crash reporting. Blocked here, the product still works normally. |
Select Re-run Test after changing a firewall or proxy rule to confirm the endpoint clears. To send the results to PDQ Support, use Copy Results to put a text copy on the clipboard, or Export Results to save it to a file you can attach to a support request. Both always include every endpoint and both sets of results, whichever one is on screen.
Note: If the test reports endpoints as blocked, add them to your firewall or proxy allow list. For the current list of required URLs, see Windows Firewall Ports and Exceptions.
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Help Version: 20.1.28.0