Help With Ports

[nojodas]

Im just put up a new router in my house to split a cablemodem connection and I'm noticing that my web browser is working fine, but I'm having a problem with my instant messangers (Yahoo messanger, MSN messanger, and AIM). I think that all the messages that I send to people are getting out but I'm only recieving about 3 out of every 5, and sometimes fewer than that. Does anyone know which ports I need to open to fix this problem? Thanks for whatever help you can give me

 

[Lostman]

does your router have a build in firewall?
It sounds odd that you would get some, but not all of your IM's. Either the port is open, or it's closed.

 

[nojodas]

yeah it has a firewall, i just thought that maybe some ports were open where others werent, so that some messages would come through the ports that were open and some would come through the ones that were closed, and thats why some were successful and others werent. okay if i sound like an idiot just tell me, i just want my programs working again. i shut off the firewall entirely and i started getting random message advertisements pop up in a message box, even when internet explorer was closed. ill take any suggestions because i know you guys are a lot smarter than me. thanks for your help.

 

[Lostman]

Here's what any successfull network admin does. They close all the ports and open only the ones that are needed.

Your best bet (since you don't know much about it) is to disable the firewall on your router and get a 3rd party proggy to do it. This way, when you first try to access the internet with a program, it will ask and open the port depending on your answer.

 

[nojodas]

alright, that sounds like a good idea. do you know of a good free firewall program i could download?

 

[Lostman]

I don't know about free, but I'm using the one that came with my cable connection. McAfee I think.

Blackice Defender is a good one. There are a few more but I can't remember what they are.

 

[nojodas]

great, thanks for the help man. i got zone alarm, it prompted about each program that accessed the internet and now the instant messangers are working fine. thanks for the tip.

 

[stormy78]

Zone Alarm is another fairly decent one you can use. Go to http://www.zonelabs.com to get a free version of it.

 

[ekÆsine]

port forwarding sounds completely unrelated to your problem. it could be like these guys said, a third-party firewall like mcaffee virusscan or norton firewall, ect that is interfereing with your instant messages.

it's not windows XP firewall causing it because my sister has had it on and still could use AIM. what really confuses me is that sometimes you get the incoming messages and sometimes not.

hey here's something you can try: plug your computer's network cable directly to the modem by itself without the router so you can rule out the possibility of the router causing the problem. was this problem always happening or did it start when you installed the networking hardware?