Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: port forwarding

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    17

    port forwarding

    hi,
    what is the risk of enabling port forwarding on the broadband router?
    thanks

  2. #2

    As far as I know, it will enable people to bounce off your connection. So if they do trouble and get traced back, chances are it'll get back to you.

    IMHO, I would definitely NOT enable it
    -Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate-

  3. #3
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    17
    the problem is i need to enable port forwarding for emule to get a fast download speed.
    is there a better way to do it?

  4. #4
    AO Ancient: Team Leader
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    5,197
    It's exactly the same as removing the firewall on those ports you forward. Make sure that you run the latest version of any service you place on the open port and keep your OS patched. I would also recommend making sure that the service has logs, you learn to read what they are telling you and that you look at them regularly.

    [edit]

    Of course now you have mentioned P2P you are in far greater danger from the content than the application itself so all my typing was probably academic.......

    [/edit]
    Don\'t SYN us.... We\'ll SYN you.....
    \"A nation that draws too broad a difference between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools.\" - Thucydides

  5. #5
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    17
    if i enable port forwarding on my router and installed a software firewall that does not enable port forwarding. Will my computer be safe?

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Posts
    1,207
    Port forwarding is something which applies to NAT routers only

    non-NAT routers (or software firewalls not performing nat) have no concept of port forwarding. Because they're not doing NAT, traffic is generally either "allowed" or "blocked".

    When you get into NAT, you've (in a simple case) got a public IP address, and one or more private IP addresses of machines behind the NAT box.

    So port forwarding allows external connections to got the single public IP address and be forwarded to a specific private IP address automatically.

    This is useful because it allows you to run servers behind the NAT (which you otherwise couldn't). Some client programs are really servers (especially P2P).

    Games are also generally pretty problematic - they may behave as "servers" even when not running as a dedicated server.

    Slarty

  7. #7
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    17
    ok.. if i enable port forwarding on port 1234 on my router but block port 1234 on my software firewall. Will my computer be safe?

  8. #8
    AO Ancient: Team Leader
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    5,197
    Yes, but the act is self defeating. The software will still be aware that the port is firewalled so you won't get the benefit of the higher speeds because you aren't sharing your files. In order to get the benefit of higher speeds the network wants you to be sharing files. If you block the port at any point the location you are trying to d/l from will recognize your reluctance to share and throttle the download speed appropriately. The only way to get the high speed is to share your files. Then the port is open and any unpatched exploit can be run against the service.
    Don\'t SYN us.... We\'ll SYN you.....
    \"A nation that draws too broad a difference between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools.\" - Thucydides

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •