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MICROSOFT XP SERVICE PACK 2 FLAWS
After you install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2,
some programs may seem not to work. By default, Windows
Firewall is enabled and blocks unsolicited connections to
your computer. However, sometimes you might want to make
an exception and permit someone to connect to your
computer. To work correctly, some programs and games must
receive information over the network.
The information enters your computer through an inbound
port. For Windows Firewall to permit this information to
enter, the correct inbound port must be open on your
computer. To enable a program to communicate like it did
before Windows XP SP2 was installed, and to enable
programs that you want to run, use one of the following
methods.
Enable programs by using the
Security Alert dialog box
In the Security Alert dialog box, click Unblock this
program.
Click OK.
Enable programs by using Windows Firewall
If you do not click Unblock the program in the
Security Alert dialog box, the program continues to be
blocked. To enable a program by using Windows Firewall,
follow these steps:
* Click Start,
click Run, type wscui.cpl in the Open box, and then
click OK.
*
Click Windows Firewall.
*
In the Windows Firewall dialog box,
click the Exceptions tab, and then click Add Program.
*
In the Add a Program dialog box, either
select the program from the list that appears, or
click Browse to locate your program.
*
After you select your program, click OK.
On the Exceptions tab, make sure that the check box
next to your program is selected, and then click OK.
Identifying and opening ports
If your program still does not seem to work
after you add the program to the list of exceptions, or
if you cannot locate the program in the previous section,
you can open a port manually. Before you can add a port
or ports manually, you have to identify the ports that
are used by the program.
A reliable method for identifying the ports that are used
by the program is to contact the vendor. If you cannot do
this, or if a list of ports that are used by the program
is not available, you can use Netstat.exe to identify the
ports that are used by the program.
Identify ports by using Netstat.exe
Start the program in question and try to use its
network features. For a multimedia program, try to start
an audio stream. For a Web server, start the service.
* Click Start,
click Run, type cmd in the Open box, and then click
OK.
*
Obtain a list of all listening ports. To
do this, type the following at a command prompt, and
then press ENTER: netstat –ano > netstat.txt
Obtain the process identifiers for the
processes that are running. Type the following command at
the command prompt, and then press ENTER: tasklist >
tasklist.txt
Note If the program in question is running as a service,
add the /svc switch to list the services that are loaded
in each process: tasklist /svc > tasklist.txt
Open Tasklist.txt and locate the program that you are
troubleshooting. Note the process identifier for the
process.
Open Netstat.txt and note any entries that are associated
with that process identifier. Also note the protocol that
is used (TCP or UDP).
The number of ports that the process uses may
affect how this issue is resolved:
If the process uses more than 1024 ports, the
number of ports probably will not change.
If the process uses less than 1024 ports, the program may
be using a range of ports. Therefore, opening individual
ports may not reliably resolve the issue.
Open ports manually by using Windows Firewall
If you cannot identify the ports that are used
by the program, you can open a port manually. To identify
the specific port number to open, contact the product
vendor or see the product user documentation. After you
identify the port number that you want to open, follow
these steps:
* Click Start,
click Run, type wscui.cpl in the Open box, and then
click OK.
*
Click Windows Firewall.
*
On the Exceptions tab, click Add Port.
*
In the Add a Port dialog box, type the
number of the port that you want to open in the Port
number box, and then click either TCP or UDP.
*
Type a name for the port, and then click
OK. For example, type GamePort.
*
To view or set the scope for the port
exception, click Change Scope, and then click OK.
*
On the Exceptions tab, notice that the
new service is listed. To enable the port, click to
select the check box next to the service, and then
click OK
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