In Windows, how do programs "decide" which network adapter/connection to use?
I have dual ethernet ports on my motherboard. I usually only have one enabled, but recently, I've wanted to enable the second adapter and dedicate its use entirely to a local VMware virtual machine. I'm able to set VMware Workstation to bridge solely to the second ethernet adapter. However, now that I've enabled the second adapter, the rest of my computer is now defaulting all network traffic through it, instead of the other adapter.
I'm guessing this is Windows' "choice", as multiple browsers now have their traffic channeling through this newly enabled adapter.
How is it decided what network adapter for programs to use? And how can I force the channeling of programs' network data through one adapter over the other?