No internet after GoodbyeDPI or zapret?

Fix Windows after GoodbyeDPI or zapret: remove leftover services and the WinDivert driver, reset proxy and DNS, and know when a site is just down.

Published 7 min read

DPI bypass tools for Windows such as GoodbyeDPI and zapret (often installed through Flowseal's zapret-discord-youtube package) work at a low level of the network stack. That is how they get past filters, and it is also why removing them is not always as simple as deleting a folder. This guide covers the clean-up step by step. It applies whether you are switching tools or just want your PC back to normal.

We make GreenTunnel, a local VPN app, and mention it once near the end. Everything before that works no matter which tool you use next, or none.

Why the internet breaks after removal

Both tools capture packets with the WinDivert driver, and both can install themselves as a Windows service that starts with the PC. Three things commonly go wrong:

  • The service is still there. A user on Flowseal's tracker reported that zapret was still active after they deleted it and rebooted seven times (issue #10954). The first replies pointed to the service remover, because a deleted folder does not remove a registered service.
  • The driver is still loaded. On a Turkish forum (January 2026), a user could not delete an old GoodbyeDPI folder. Replies pointed to the WinDivert files being in use and suggested running the folder's service remover as administrator, restarting, then deleting the folder (Technopat thread).
  • A setting was left behind. Tools that work as a local proxy set the Windows proxy while running. If they do not exit cleanly, the setting can stay. PowerTunnel users reported the system proxy still pointing at 127.0.0.1 after Windows shut down with the app open (issue #151). GoodbyeDPI and zapret do not use a proxy, but if you tried several tools, check it anyway.

Step 1: close the tool

Close any GoodbyeDPI or zapret console window. GoodbyeDPI's README says it runs as long as its console window is visible. Then open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc), go to Details, and end goodbyedpi.exe or winws.exe (zapret's Windows program) if you see them.

Step 2: open an administrator Command Prompt

Click Start, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator. Every command in Steps 3 to 6 needs it. If a command says "Access is denied", the window is not elevated.

Step 3: remove the leftover services

First see what is installed. Each command prints a STATE line, or says the service does not exist, which is fine:

sc query GoodbyeDPI
sc query zapret
sc query WinDivert
sc query WinDivert14

These names come from the tools' own scripts. GoodbyeDPI's service_install scripts create a service called GoodbyeDPI. Flowseal's service.bat creates one called zapret. WinDivert registers itself as WinDivert (older versions as WinDivert14).

If you still have the tool's folder

Use its own remover, run as administrator. For GoodbyeDPI it is service_remove.cmd. For Flowseal's package, run service.bat and choose Remove Services. This is the safest route because the authors wrote it for exactly this job.

If the folder is gone

Remove the services by hand. sc stop stops a running service or driver, and sc delete removes its registration so it does not start again:

sc stop GoodbyeDPI
sc delete GoodbyeDPI
sc stop zapret
sc delete zapret
sc stop WinDivert
sc delete WinDivert
sc stop WinDivert14
sc delete WinDivert14

Run only the lines for services that Step 3's queries actually found. "The specified service does not exist" just means there is nothing to remove. If another program you still use relies on WinDivert, it registers the driver again the next time it starts.

Step 4: reboot, then delete the folder

Restart Windows so the driver is fully unloaded. After the restart, run the sc query lines again. They should all say the service does not exist. Now you can delete the tool's folder, including WinDivert64.sys.

Step 5: check the proxy settings

Open Settings → Network & internet → Proxy. Under manual proxy setup, make sure Use a proxy server is off, unless your workplace or school set one up on purpose. Some programs use a second, system-wide proxy setting. Check it with:

netsh winhttp show proxy

If it shows a proxy you do not recognise, such as one on 127.0.0.1, clear it:

netsh winhttp reset proxy

Step 6: put DNS back to automatic

Guides for these tools sometimes tell you to set a custom DNS server on your network adapter. If that server is unreachable now, nothing resolves. On Windows 11, open Settings → Network & internet, choose Wi-Fi or Ethernet, open your connection's hardware properties, and set DNS server assignment back to Automatic (DHCP). On Windows 10, the same option is in the adapter's IPv4 properties as Obtain DNS server address automatically. Then clear the cached answers:

ipconfig /flushdns

If you turned on Secure DNS in your browser on the README's advice, you can leave it on. It does not break anything by itself.

Step 7: check what your antivirus did

Security tools sometimes flag WinDivert, as users have reported on GoodbyeDPI's tracker. If the antivirus quarantined the driver file but the service is still registered, you end up half installed: the service tries to start a driver that is gone, and the tool fails with errors such as the one in issue #752. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Protection history to see what was removed. If you are uninstalling anyway, there is no need to restore the file. Just make sure Step 3 removed the services.

Step 8: last resort, reset the network stack

If the internet still does not work after a reboot, you can reset Windows networking. Do this only after Steps 1 to 7, because it also affects other software:

netsh winsock reset

This rebuilds the Winsock catalog, the list of components that sit between apps and the network. Some VPN clients and security suites add entries there and may need to be reinstalled afterwards. Restart Windows when it finishes. The broader option is Settings → Network & internet → Advanced network settings → Network reset, which removes and reinstalls every network adapter and forgets saved Wi-Fi passwords. Write those down first.

Maybe it is not the tool

If most sites work and only one fails, the clean-up may have worked fine. The site could be down, or blocked on your network, which is probably why you installed a bypass tool in the first place. Our guide on how to check if a website is blocked helps you tell the difference. Also try another network, such as mobile data, to see whether the problem follows your PC.

If you want a replacement

Once Windows is clean, you can go back to the same tool, try another, or use none. If you want an app with a normal installer, GreenTunnel is one option. It runs as a local VPN on your PC, uses its own Wintun network adapter instead of WinDivert, and is removed completely through Settings → Apps → Installed apps, together with its service and adapter. See installing on Windows step by step, and our GoodbyeDPI comparison if you are still deciding. Whatever you choose, run only one such tool at a time.

A fair limit: these tools, GreenTunnel included, only help with blocks based on the site name or DNS. None of them hides your IP address or beats a block on a server's IP address.

FAQ

I deleted the GoodbyeDPI folder. Why is it still running?

Because the folder is not the whole install. If you ran a service install script, Windows still has a GoodbyeDPI service and possibly a loaded WinDivert driver. Stop and delete them with sc as in Step 3, then reboot.

Is netsh winsock reset safe?

It is a standard Windows repair command, but it removes changes that other networking software made. Some VPN or security apps may need reinstalling afterwards. Use it only when the earlier steps did not help.

Can I just do a Network reset instead of all these steps?

A Network reset does not remove the GoodbyeDPI or zapret service, so the tool may simply start again after the reboot. Remove the services first, then reset if you still need to.

Does GreenTunnel leave anything behind?

Uninstalling it from Installed apps removes the app, its background service and its network adapter. If anything looks wrong afterwards, write to cellhubsapp@gmail.com.

Sources

GoodbyeDPI, zapret and PowerTunnel belong to their authors and are named here only to identify them. We are not affiliated with any of them.

← All posts