Protecting my internet

[GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls]

I made a scan on my wifi connection through avast antivarus and it has these 2 recommendations

1. change password (easy)
2. Close the open port in this device's settings

1 is obv easy , but what does 2 mean? what do i have to do ?

[suchamoneypit]

What is "HNS"?

 

If you don't need this program to have access over WAN (over the internet) then you can close the port. Closing the port will now allow whatever program needs it to be open to function though.

 

A related example, I open port 3389 for remote desktop connections. Having it open allows connections and possible attacks through the port, but if I were to close the port to get rid of the potential security hazards I can no longer remotely connect to my PCs. In my case all my devices connected using that port use strong passwords to prevent unwanted access, so I've mitigated the security risk.

[GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls]

1 minute ago, suchamoneypit said:

What is "HNS"?

 

If you don't need this program to have access over WAN (over the internet) then you can close the port. Closing the port will now allow whatever program needs it to be open to function though.

so... will it do something beneficial or nah ?

[suchamoneypit]

2 minutes ago, GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls said:

so... will it do something beneficial or nah ?

That is a question only you can answer.

 

If you need this port to be open for something to work, then leave it open. (neutral decision, not that insecure)

 

If you do not need this port to be open for whatever "HNS" is, then close it to make your network slightly more secure. (slightly positive decision, better security)

[KarathKasun]

2 minutes ago, GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls said:

so... will it do something beneficial or nah ?

If you have a port opened for a private server, this is what the scan is referencing.

When you close the port you will lose access to the server from outside your network.

[GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls]

Just now, KarathKasun said:

If you have a port opened for a private server, this is what the scan is referencing.

When you close the port you will lose access to the server from outside your network.

server? its just me gaming and browsing... i dont have a server or sth , is that what u mean ?

[KarathKasun]

3 minutes ago, GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls said:

server? its just me gaming and browsing... i dont have a server or sth , is that what u mean ?

If you host a dedicated game server on your network, or a ventrillo server, or anything like that.

 

Server does not really refer to a machine (a PC is a PC, you can game on a "server" if you add a GPU and you can serve things from a gaming PC), its just a role.

[GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls]

1 minute ago, KarathKasun said:

If you host a dedicated game server on your network, or a ventrillo server, or anything like that.

 

Server does not really refer to a machine (a PC is a PC, you can game on a "server" if you add a GPU), its just a role.

nah i dont host things .

So how do close this port anyway ?

[KarathKasun]

Usually through your routers web interface, the same interface you would use to change its passwords.  It will be under a different menu than passwords though.

[KarathKasun]

The port may be opened by UPnP.  So you may need to disable that.

 

Downside to disabling UPnP is that you may not be able to invite people to quite a few steam games for multiplayer.

[pinksnowmanshandle]

1 hour ago, KarathKasun said:

The port may be opened by UPnP.  So you may need to disable that.

 

Downside to disabling UPnP is that you may not be able to invite people to quite a few steam games for multiplayer.

I think stuff like AMD Link  and Logitech's version of that probably want something similar...