NetSentinel: A Simple Firewall Management Tool

NetSentinel is a Python-based tool we built as a group project during the fourth semester of our college to explore Windows firewall management and network traffic monitoring. It’s a learning project to understand how firewalls work, not a production-ready solution. It lets you manage firewall rules and monitor network packets through a basic interactive dashboard.

Features

• Manage Firewall Rules: Add, edit, remove, or search rules to block apps or specific IPs/ports using Windows firewall via PowerShell.
• Real-Time Packet Sniffing: Monitor network traffic (TCP, UDP, ICMP, ARP) and map packets to running applications.
• Interactive Dashboard: View logs and packets live, with simple key-based controls (e.g., '1' to list rules, '8' to toggle sniffing).
• Persistent Rules: Store rules in a JSON file for easy reuse.
• Simple CLI: Use command-line flags (e.g., --add, --list) for quick rule management.

How to Use

1. Install Dependencies:

   pip install scapy psutil rich

2. Run the Program:

   • Launch the dashboard: python main.py
   • Use CLI commands: python main.py --add, python main.py --list, etc.

3. Dashboard Controls:

   • 1: List rules
   • 2: Add a rule
   • 3: Remove a rule
   • 4: Edit a rule
   • 5: Search rules
   • 6: Apply rules
   • 7: Clear all rules
   • 0: Exit

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• Windows OS (due to msvcrt and PowerShell integration)
• Libraries: scapy, psutil, rich
• Admin privileges required (open terminal in administrator mode)

File Structure

• main.py: Entry point for CLI and dashboard.
• dashboard.py: Interactive terminal dashboard.
• firewall.py: Handles Windows firewall rule application.
• rule_engine.py: Manages rule creation, editing, and searching.
• rules_database.py: Loads/saves rules to rules.json.
• utils.py: Helper functions for packet processing.
• admin.py: Checks for admin privileges.
• config.py: Sets up logging and global variables.