Why does "Shields Up" show Port 443 open?

[atlas77]

Hi!

I recently had "Shields Up!" test the security of my PC and it revealed that port 443 was open and another port whose number I can't quite remember was closed instead of being in stealth mode. Could anyone please tell me how to fix this problem so my PC were totally invisible from out there?

Thanks for any comments!

[GuestToo]

typing netstat -lp should display any ports that are open (listening) and what program is using the port

443 is usually used by SSL (encrypted web pages) ... if you are running a web server, 443 will probably be open

if you have a router or cable/dsl modem with a built in firewall, it could be the router or modem that is responding to the port (or pings), not Puppy ... in that case, you would have to configure the router or modem to close the port

it is not absolutely necessary to have all incoming ports stealthed

the Morizot firewall in the start menu (Setup, Wizards) should stop all incoming traffic by default

[Guest]

Thanks for the post!

I don't run a web server but I do have a cable modem. I installed Morizot and then did the security test with the above mentioned results which I was not really satisfied with so I installed Linux Firewall but still had that port open (and the other one 'closed'). If you say that it doesn't pose a threat then I'll stop worrying about it and just leave it as it is now. However, I do quite a bit of shopping on the net so I really don't want to expose any of my confidential data.

By the way, my PC didn't respond to pings.

Could you tell me where can I start if I want to configure my modem? Please note that I'm a newbie (but you probably know that anyway)

Thanks!

[Flash]

As far as I know, there is no provision for configuring your cable modem in Puppy. It either works perfectly or it doesn't work at all. My Zoom 5001 has always worked perfectly in Linux (and Windows too) without me having to do any tinkering.

Why do you feel you need to configure it?

[GuestToo]

if your port 113 is visible, it might be your modem that is responding ... the only way i can close it on my router is to forward the port

there's some information at http://www.portforward.com/ on ports and specific hardware

your machine might work better if it responds to pings and ports like 113 (it's the way the internet is supposed to work) ... your computer uses these things to interface efficiently with other machines

you don't really need to be totally "stealthed" ... if my machine is stealthed, i seem to get less traffic trying to worm into the dcom system (which Linux does not have anyway ... i always disable Window's dcom using the tool on grc.com) ... worms are sorta like Night of the Living Dead

[Guest]

Thanks for the post!

I don't run a web server but I do have a cable modem. I installed Morizot and then did the security test with the above mentioned results which I was not really satisfied with so I installed Linux Firewall but still had that port open (and the other one 'closed'). If you say that it doesn't pose a threat then I'll stop worrying about it and just leave it as it is now. However, I do quite a bit of shopping on the net so I really don't want to expose any of my confidential data.

By the way, my PC didn't respond to pings.

Could you tell me where can I start if I want to configure my modem? Please note that I'm a newbie (but you probably know that anyway)

Thanks!

[Guest]

Well, I'll have to dig into this issue a bit deeper I think because I'm getting confused... I've heard that if a computer doesn't answer ping that's a positive thing, so says grc.com, it also states that it is quite dangerous to leave port 443 open. If it's not crucial that my computer is entirely stealthed in order to not jeopardize my personal data (i.e credit card number, passwords etc.) then I'm not gonna mess with it. But port 113 was either stealthed or closed. I'm gonna familiarize myself with the role of ports so i'll have a better understanding of the way they work and I hopefully won't have to ask dumb questions...

Thanks for your help!!

[GuestToo]

here is a discussion of Stealthed vs. Closed ports

[Flash]

...I'm gonna familiarize myself with the role of ports so i'll have a better understanding of the way they work and I hopefully won't have to ask dumb questions...

Good luck! I was amazed at how little information I could find about what ports are and how they work, considering how fundamental the concept of ports is to TCP/IP implementation.

[atlas77]

Thanks for the link, GuestToo, the thread there definitely puts this issue in different light for me.

Peter