EQ behind a Hardware firewall

[Ibash]

Folks,

I just bought anew PC for the wifey's (and to duel box myself) a linksys 4 port router, 3 straight trough cables and NICS.

I have the physical lay out all set up...now all I have to do is configure the router's hardware/ software firewall to allow EQ to squek on by while up and running.

Can anyone provide me with the needed information on what port's I need to enable or set up the rules for?

As always I thank you in advance.

Regards,

[sordail]

Im runnin thru a 4port Linksys fast switch router on my cable connect.

I found that I had increased LD's when running as default..as in DHCP from router to my pc. SOE will not release what ports it queries, as they are actually randomized, so it is not really possible to open a specif port..either tcp/udp. So , I eventually gave my machine a static IP with in the scope of the vlan, like 192.168.1.99 (the dhcp pool is set 100+ in the last octet) and added that IP to the proprietary DMZ..(open pass thru ) within linksys config page.

Others have said they didnt have to do that..however, despite fast machine , with fast cable conx..still had increased LD's,...doing this has stiopped that issue.

Only my experience, not neccesarily what is needed for you..GL

[Roehm]

http://eqlive.station.sony.com/support/tech_support/ts_router.jsp

Take a look there.

[Sanori]

I am behind a Linksys 4 port router, and have -NO- connection problems related to the router.

The only time I have ever had problems was when I was messing with port forwarding and hit a port within range of Sony's ports.

Speaking from my experience, you -should- be able to leave it as default and operate fine. You should only create a port range for EQ if you are having connection problems that did not exist before adding the router.

[Sanori]

Also, if you do have problems with your router; BEFORE you strat messing with the ports, do a firmware upgrade. It solved a lot of issues I was having when I was hosting Empire Earth games.

[Ibash]

Thank you all for the great input.

Regards,

[Estebar]

I also had to set up a machine for dmz. It doesn't have to be the machine running EQ (makes it a bit easier though since it's always on when you're running), but they seem to do some kind of ping every so often.

[weoden]

Here is the solution: EverQuest: How do I setup my Linksys router specifically to play EverQuest?
1. Click on start and then click on run and type iexplore http://192.168.1.1/filters.htm in the address box, and press on OK. This is the default IP address so if you have changed it use the new one.

2. You will be prompted for a username and password. By default there is no username, and the password is admin.

3. Once you've gotten past the log in you should be at the filters tab.

4. Go to the Forwarding tab, and then click on the Port Triggering button.

5. Once you've done this, a new window will appear. Here is an example of how to fill out the ports:

Application Name= EverQuest
Trigger Port Range= 1024-65535
Incoming Port Range= 1024-65535

http://help.station.sony.com/esupport/esupport/consumer/esupport.asp?hotid=b428127e-fcef-11d6-8c05-080020e8ab81&number=5&nShowFacts=&nShowCause=&nShowChange=&nShowAddInfo=&activepage=statement.asp&bForceMatch=False&strCurrentSymptom=&searchtype=normal&searchclass=&bnewsession=false&selecttype=match


Here is the problem or goal:
How do I setup my Linksys router specifically to play EverQuest?

[sordail]

Weoden....


Awesome info Bro..thnks...

[Donnel]

Just a thought, but with that huge a range of ports 'triggerable' you are gonna have lots of problems with tcp 'sniffs' and other dastardly actions, I guarantee it.

Try the other methods first before you opt for such a measure. Sony only says that this config will work for EQ, they don't say anything about the safety of this config.


Your friendly neighborhood hacker turned network admin....

[Caileb]

I did the triggering on my linksys and had more problems then without out so I changed it back to default. Mine is set pretty much all default and I'm using DHCP to grab IPs. I'm running 8 machines on a cable modem. In which at least 6 of them are always running EQ.. the only problems we have are heat related LD's

[Cozlo]

The Linksys router/firewall I use is stateful ... you should not have to forward packets at all. I use all static IPs, have stateful packet inspection enabled, and have no problems at all.

A 'stateful' device maintains state between two conenctions. That is, it knows you sent out a request for data, regardless what port it went out on, and will allow a response from the target host to come back through, regardless of port.

Mine is a couple years old, so if you just bought one, I'd presume it has the option of stateful packet inspection as well.

By all means though, play around with it and see what works best for you.

[Korinn_emarr]

If you are having more problems with the built in firewall then you know what to do with just disable the firewall and install a software one. /shrug

It's not the pereft solution but at least this will get you moving until you find it.

[Eoden]

As long as you have no open ports then you shouldnt need a firewall. IMO home firewalls are the biggest load of horsecrap ever marketed and the whole security scare for home PC's is just another way of getting money out of the less computer literate. Keep your antivirus software updated to deal with trojans if you are the type to open every email attachment you get (or if your wife is) but aside from that unless you are running a service on your PC that opens a port up to the internet there is no reason to run a firewall.

A router / firewall with no ports forwarded will run EQ with fine because the sessions all begin from a PC on the internal network.

[weoden]

Originally posted by Eoden
A router / firewall with no ports forwarded will run EQ with fine because the sessions all begin from a PC on the internal network.

Myself, I got a free downloaded fire wall and since then I have not had random pop up adds from companies I do not wish to do bussiness with occur while playing everquest. That is the main reason I run a fire wall.

[Cozlo]

As long as you have no open ports then you shouldnt need a firewall. IMO home firewalls are the biggest load of horsecrap ever marketed and the whole security scare for home PC's is just another way of getting money out of the less computer literate.
First, what makes you think he is knowledgable enough to close all his "ports" to the outside world? The Windows operating systems open several ports by default, that have to be closed or modified to disallow access, via the registry. For that matter, you don't know he's not running some other type of application on his network that opens a "port" or "ports"(e.g., Peer to Peer file sharing).

Also, I appreciate your opinion, but the fact is, the "less computer literate" folks represent a prime target for crackers. Heard of Distributed Denial of Service? This is accomplished often through "zombies" that are controlled in masse by crackers, many of which are home user PCs, because they are notoriously the least secure computers out there. Setup any kind of firewall for a week, even Zone Alarm. View the logs after a week, and you will be astounded the number of scans, and intrusion attempts you will have received.

Finally, whether you choose to believe it or not, a "whole security scare" does not exist, real security problems do exist, and it is EVERYONE's responsibility to do their part in reducing the number of vulnerable machines out there.

You don't run a firewall, and don't think you have open ports? Don't think you're vulnerable to anything? Post or send me your IP, and I'll tell you just how wide open you are.

Better yet, since you have no reason to trust me, go here (https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2) and have a look for yourself. *Note, I selected this site because it is written with the average home user in mind.

If you're *shields are up*, great to hear that.