[TowerTalk] Unauthorized port access...

[Jim Jarvis]

It may not be that qsl.net has a problem.  There are web
search robots which are able to trap IP addresses from 
traffic on BB sites like qsl.net, qrz.net, Arrl.net, etc.  In order
to block them, you would have to block all users...or make
users go through a seriously painful bit of registration security.

In addition to Norton's anitvirus and security, I'm using a 
D-Link router, which features a hardware firewall.  Outside
computers get no further than the router's microcontroller...
which proceeds to record them in a timestamped log.  

So I can identify the IP address of the offender.  Often these
are obscured by routing through unwitting servers, so it's not
clear who's really trying to get into your computer.

In a normal day, I must log a hundred of these access attempts.
Early-on, I took to doing a reverse lookup on the IP addresses,
and emailing the firm's system operator.   Once I realized that
most of them are unwitting participants in the game, I gave up.

However,  if you're not using a router with a hardware firewall,
you might consider getting one.  It's an inexpensive prophilactic.
:) and outsiders can't see your computer at all...unless they have
fixed IP addresses, and you specifically provide them access.

(Might be required for remote-PC or gaming applications)



n2ea
jimjarvis at ieee.org