Selective blocking of network access for third party applications based on file content

Abstract

A system that implements a software tool for data leak prevention whenever a protected document containing sensitive or encrypted content is opened by a document-management application having capability to directly access an Internet Protocol (IP) network, such as the Internet, without using the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The application is selectively blocked from accessing the Internet whenever a protected document is opened by the application. The application may be, for example, the Microsoft® Word or the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader. The software tool restores the network access for the application once the protected document is no longer open in the application. Even though one application is blocked from accessing the IP network, the software tool allows another application to access the network so long as a non-protected document is opened by the other application. Thus, application-specific, selective blocking of network access is accomplished by the software tool based on document content.