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Configuring the XP Firewall
Figuring out why using the built-in XP firewall blocks
other computers when using Internet Connection sharing;
Trying to share PC resources without at least a hub isn't
worth the effort.
By Joe and Ron of Neighborhood Techs
Q. I have two PC's on
my home network. I just installed Windows XP on the Host PC. My other PC is
running Windows 98 Second Edition. The problem is that when I enable Internet
Connection Firewall (ICF) on the host computer the client computer can no longer
connect to certain programs. Can the firewall be configured so that the client
works as it did before I enabled ICF?
A. You didn't mention which applications are giving
you problems, so we'll have to make some generalizations here. The role of the
Microsoft Internet Connection Firewall (or any firewall for that matter) in
Windows XP is to monitor the traffic that travels in and out of your computer
or network. This traffic enters and exits the computer through ports. The firewall
can tell what type of traffic is traveling through the network by tracking which
port the data is destined for. Some examples of service types and their related
port numbers are HTTP, which uses port 80; FTP on port 21 and TELNET on port
23. Any traffic not specifically defined within the firewall is typically blocked
to prevent unauthorized access on to your network.
In order for an application to pass data outside of your local network you
need to tell the firewall which ports that service is going to be using and
allow that data to pass. The Microsoft Internet Connection Firewall can be easily
configured to do this by adding a Service to its Services List. The Services
List contains information on the service type, the related TCP or UCP ports
and the IP address of the host system.
ICF and Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) have some services already predefined
so Web traffic and e-mail can be used from the moment ICF is enabled. If the
application you want to use hasn't already been predefined then you'll need
to add its parameters to the Services List. The port used by the application
you want to use can be found either in the documentation or by contacting the
vendor.
To add a service to the Services List simply open the Control Panel and click
on Network Connections. Right-click on the Connection being protected
by ICF and select Properties. Next select the Advanced tab and
press the Settings button. On the Services tab, click Add
and you'll see the Service Settings dialog box. Here you'll put the service
name, the IP address of the computer hosting the service and the TCP or UCP
port numbers the service will use. When finished click OK to update your
Services List. Your application should now be useable.
Some applications, like Microsoft NetMeeting for example, use a wide number
of ports for moving traffic and can be very difficult to get working behind
a firewall. In this type of situation it might be necessary to place an application
like this in a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which resides outside of your firewall.
A system in the DMZ is vulnerable to attack and should not contain any sensitive
data. The ICF is a very basic firewall and does not offer this type of support,
so you might need to upgrade to a dedicated router with a built
in firewall.
Q. I don't have access
to a hub and have three machines in my house. I would like to use all of them
on the Net and have the network cards (NICs) to do so, but when I set up ICS
it only gives me the option of binding to one of the NICs. Is there a work-around
for this? I've spent literally hours trying to find an answer.
A. If I'm reading your question correctly, you
want to bypass a hub and basically daisy-chain each PC to the other using standard
Ethernet network adapters. While this is not impossible to do, it will be very
complicated and honestly not worth the aggravation.
To do what you're looking to do you would need to have one NIC in the first
PC, two NICs in the second PC and two NICs in the Host PC. This would mean that
the PCs with two NICs would need to be bridged (or multihomed)
to allow data to be passed between them. This could be tricky to get working
right, particularly if you're going to be using a firewall to protect your data.
ICS and ICF are just simple Internet sharing utilities that don't offer an abundance
of options for custom configurations like this.
My recommendation would be to simply invest in a small 5 port hub which you
could probably purchase for around $40 (maybe even less then that on EBay) and
devote your energy to other endeavors.
Use our feedback form to submit your questions on home or SOHO networking issues. We can not guarantee to answer every question we get, but we'll consider them all
