Help needed on Firewall settings pls

[kissyone]

Have done security check from symantec (I have Nortons Firewall and Antivirus 2002) running Windows 98SE and all is ok apart from the following... please can someone tell me how to close these ports etc.. or configure firewall as I have no idea what they mean and how to configure to safe. Everything else is stealth mode according the check.. would SO much appreciate help and is this why I am getting so many alerts of attack/connection attempts? Sigh...

ICMP Ping Ping. Ping is a network troubleshooting utility. It asks your computer to acknowledge its existence. If your computer responds positively to a ping, hackers are more likely to target your computer. OPEN

Telnet. Telnet can be used to log into your computer from a terminal anywhere in the world. This port should be open only if you're running a Telnet server. OPEN

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). HTTP is used to transfer Web pages over the Internet. Port 80 should be open only if you're running a Web server. OPEN

Thanks for any help given..

[AzKidd69]

personally the ping issue isn't that troublesome.. BUT the telnet (port 23) HTTP (port 80) now those two are big issues.. what OS are you using?? adn are your running a web server?? and or telnet server (altho I expect the answer is no)

ugh just noticed.. 98se (guess I should slow down my reading..)

anyways

go to http://www.foundstone.com/index.htm?...desc/fport.htm and download fport and find out what programs are opening ports 80 and 23

[muno]

If you know you're not running telnet/webserver, you might have good luck running adaware.

Or, you could just check your services if they start servers that are unwanted.

[kissyone]

Hi.. thanks for quick reply.... OS is that operating system.. I have Windows 98SE (you can't tell I'm a technofobe can ya hehe). I don't know about web server.. all I have is browser page.... and as for telnet.... I don't think so.. but how would I know.... (sure I'm not tho... I'm a born again nerd.... so don't know these things) really would appreciate help so how do I get these ports closed.. or under stealth? I have been repeatedly "attacked" by pc's trying to connect to mine for whatever reason.. so wonder if this is anything to do with it...... thanks for your help.

[Gettinbye]

I'd love to help, but I don't run Norton firewall so I'm not familiar with the settings on that particular program... Until someone here that is familiar with Norton can help you, you can download the free version of Zone Alarm to block attacks on your PC...Here's the link to it...

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...id=zadb_zadown

[reiss]

the attacks you are getting are quite normal, expect several / day.
this is a sign that your firewall is working.
they are usually port scans. (people browsing around for open ports to hack into)

you can check to see which applications have allowed net access or not with norton, though i cant remember the exact location. get norton to browse your computer for software that has net access, this should give you a list of applications that you can look through to decide if it should be blocked or not.

hope this helps a little.

[kissyone]

Thanks Gettinbye and Reiss, all help greatly appreciated. Nortons firewall is blocking attempts to connect to my pc.. but the online scan says that ports 23 and 80 are open and could be used by hackers to gain access. I've also been told by some that I need port 80 open to access the net anyway via my ISP.. is this correct.. jeez.. talk about confusing me.. it's sure doing that. Hopefully I am ok with these open.... as again have been told not to worry...... so I'm trying not to. Thanks again guys.

[DVNT1]

Originally posted by kissyone
...but the online scan says that ports 23 and 80 are open and could be used by hackers to gain access. I've also been told by some that I need port 80 open to access the net...

No, you do not need these ports open for common Internet activity. These would only be to allow someone else access to your network/computer. You want all ports closed/stealth to reduce the risk to your computers/network.

[kissyone]

Hi DVNT1 thanks for your input..... being a complete idiot me.. how the hell do I close these ports.... I have blocked telnet port but the scan is still showing it as open... as for port 80.... I think my isp in on 80 but not sure.. other than that I really don't know what to do.... (can I scream now?)... xx

[DVNT1]

One way is to install a software firewall likr Zone Alarm or Sygate. By default these products will block all incoming attempts although you can make changes if needed.

Again, port 80 does not need to be open unless you are hosting a WEB server on your computer.