File sharing programs often use special ports to route traffic. This article will tell you what a file sharing port is, what a firewall is, and how you can bypass blocking some networks.
Port and firewall description
Firewalls are programs that check any incoming traffic using pre-installed filters, thereby protecting your computer from unverified sources and virus attacks. Port is a traffic entry point to a computer. It is the place where information is exchanged, and it is the place where firewalls protect the traffic.
To make it easier to explain the work of the firewall, you can imagine ports in the form of rooms in the house. The firewall filters who can enter the house at all and which rooms in the house can be visited. The owner can visit any room (any port), and the visitors can only enter certain rooms (certain ports).
Why ports can be dangerous
There are several ports that are most often blocked by the firewall. These ports can be very dangerous for your computer and personal information.
- Port 139
This port is usually used to access files. But it turns out that using this port makes the user’s hard drive vulnerable to hackers. Once an attacker detects this port, it receives information about the computer, IP-address, operating system, and operating applications.
- Port 445
Port 445 just as port 139 can be dangerous for computer data. Hackers can remotely access the contents of your hard drive. They can also automatically download and run malware. Often computer owners don’t even know about it.
- Port 135
A port that remote services, such as DHCP, DNS, and WINS, used. It’s not as vulnerable as the previous to ports, but it can also be dangerous for your computer.
Different firewalls
Depending on the type of firewall, the degree of protection and traffic transfer change. There three main types of firewalls.
- Controlled switches. They work at the channel level and share traffic only within the local network. They can’t be used to process traffic from external networks. For example, from the Internet.
- Packet-filtering firewall. One of the first and most common firewall type. Controls traffic based on established protocol headers.
- Session-level firewalls. Exclude direct interaction of external hosts with a node located on the local network.
How to protect your network
With help of modern technology, attackers have learned to hack even the most reliable protection. Therefore, to protect your network, it is better to use several different levels of protection. The more additional firewalls, the harder it is for hackers to crack your data.
You can install one firewall for an entire network, and separate firewalls for each program or network source. These settings will depend on the network’s capabilities and available management resources.