Help with firewall

[MalevolentLight]

Anyone know how to get around firewalls? it's a linksys router I'm using and it's a hardware firewall.

[War4ever]

dr. spike should be able to help you, hes poly's guru router

[Graag]

lol, I just bought a linksys router... still havent got the damn thing working.

[Graag]

I have actually configured my router with NTL broadband in the space of an evening! Anyone in the UK who has ever used NTL will consider this an achievement.

[Alexander's Horse]

Use a second computer Eyes.

[DrSpike]

Eyes: You need to open and redirect packets arriving on port 4993 to your machine. Otherwise when you host the client will return data, it will get to the router, and it will be blocked, and not know where to go anyway.

You will need to know what IP the router has assigned your machine on the LAN, and the external IP of the router (this is probably static, but might change from time to time depending on your ISP). Then you need to go into the router configuration utility (probably browser based) and look for things like port redirection, or network address and port translation, anything that sounds like that. Then tell the router to forward all packets arriving externally on port 4993 to whatever the internal IP of your machine is.

In the meantime you can of course play games (when you are the client the connection is made outbound and the firewall will not block the packets, and will know exactly where to send them), you just cannot host.

[Graag]

That will be useful for me also, thankyou good doctor.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Graag
That will be useful for me also, thankyou good doctor.

You're welcome.

This time I'll think ahead and save my post above, since this question comes up all the time.

[Graag]

Good thinking, and while we're on the topic do you think I should properly configure all the firewall security business?

[DrSpike]

Well if you have a firewall on your router it shouldn't need any further configuring other than to open the ports any games you play use (if you wish to host).

[Graag]

Jolly good. Are there no other security worries with camble/DSL connections? I'm running some sort of Norton firewall also.

[DrSpike]

You don't need a software firewall as well if you have a hardware one. You might want a virus checker.......though I don't like having them always on, so I just make sure not to do anything stupid and scan every now and again just in case.

[Ming]

Why don't you like having them on all the time?

Mine catches all kinds of stuff that angry apolyton members send me after I restrict them

[DrSpike]

Well I have my mail client and browser configured so that I don't get stung very easily. Coupled with my hardware firewall I'm reasonably secure (there is no such thing as completely secure).

Then every month or so I use an online scanner that updates itself to detect even the newest viruses and strains.

Whatever works for you is fine though, if you use IE and OE a lot (and make yourself unpopular by banning people )you need more protection.

[Ming]

Between Nortons and what my wife added after the last time a pissed off little punk nailed my machine, I'm pretty secure now. But I'm sure somebody will probably nail me again in the future. For "some" reason, I keep pissing people off