SP2 firewall caused a program error solution

After installing Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), some applications may not run on the updated operating system. This is because by default, Windows Firewall is enabled and blocks unrecognized incoming connections. This article discusses how to set up a firewall exception to allow this program to continue running by adding an application to the exceptions list.

To improve the security of Windows XP SP2-based computers, Windows Firewall blocks unrecognized external connections. But sometimes we still need to create an exception rule to allow some inbound connections. For example, in the following cases:

When using a multiplayer game over the Internet;

To receive files from instant messaging software;

After installing Windows XP SP2, customers End applications may not be able to successfully receive data from the server. Here are some examples:

FTP Client;

Streaming Media Player Software;

New Mail Client Email Alerts;

Similarly, server-side applications running on Windows XP SP2 may not respond successfully to client requests. Here are some examples:

Web servers, such as IIS; Br>

Remote Desktop;

File Sharing;

Windows XP SP2 uses the following interactive components to implement this exception rule by default:

Windows Firewall Security Reminders

Sometimes Windows Firewall displays a Windows Firewall Security Reminder dialog when it blocks the running of an application. This dialog contains the following information:

...to help protect your computer, Windows Firewall has blocked this program from receiving unsolicited information from the Internet or a network

This reminder shows the program The name and the developer of the program. This dialog contains 3 choices:

Unblock the program

Keep blocking this program

Keep blocking this program, but ask me again later

Explain how to use this dialog to allow this program to run.

Allowing Programs to Run

Some programs must receive information from the network in order to function properly. This information enters the computer through the inbound port. To allow this information to enter, Windows Firewall must open the correct inbound port on your computer. To allow the program to communicate as before SP2 is installed to allow the program to function properly, you can use any of the following methods:

Allow the program to run with a security alert

In the Security Alert dialog In the box, select Unblock this program.

Click OK.

Allow the program to run through the Windows Firewall settings

If you do not select Unblock the in the Security Alert dialog box Program, this program will be forbidden to run. You can do this by configuring Windows Firewall:

Click Start, Run, type wscui.cpl in the Open input box, and click OK

Click Windows Firewall

In the Windows Firewall dialog, select the Exceptions tab and then select Add Program

In the Add Program dialog box, select the program in the list or browse to select a program

If you can not determine the name of the need to set this particular program, see later

the selected program, determines

in the exception list, the previously determined program you have selected item selection The box is selected, OK

Note If you don't want to use this program as an exception in the future, just clear the checkbox for this program item.

Adding the program to the exception list has the following benefits:

You don't need to know which port the program uses. (When you want to achieve the purpose by opening the port, you must know what the program is doing. The port number used, which will be detailed later)

The port used by the program in the exception list will only open when waiting to receive a connection.

OK and open the port

If the program is not working properly after adding the program to the exception list, or if the program name cannot be determined when the exception program is selected, you can open the port manually. Before you can open a port manually, you must first determine which ports are used by the program. A reliable way to determine the port usage of a program is of course to contact the program developer or support vendor to get the information you need. However, this method is not so convenient in most cases, and sometimes when the list of ports used by the program is not available, you can use Netstat.exe to determine these ports.

Using Netstat.exe to determine the port

To use Netstate.exe to determine which port the program uses, follow these steps:

Run the problematic program and Trying to use its network features. For example, for the media player, open an audio stream; for the web server, start the web service;

Click Start, Run, type cmd, OK;

Get the listening port list - at the command prompt Enter the following command and press Enter:

netstat –ano > etstat.txt

Get the process identifier to determine which process is running - Enter the following command at the command prompt and press Enter :

tasklist > tasklist.txt

Note If the problem program is running as a service, you need to add the /svc switch to the command you entered to get the service loaded in each process: Br>

tasklist /svc > tasklist.txt

Open Tasklist.txt, locate the problem program that needs to be diagnosed, and note the process identifier of the process;

Open Netstat .txt, note all entries associated with that process identifier, and note the communication protocol used (TCP or UDP);

The port number used by this process will affect how to solve this problem :

If the process uses ports larger than 1024, these port numbers may not be changed;

If the port number is less than 1024, this program may use a port range. Therefore, just opening some separate ports may not solve this problem;

Manually opening ports with Windows Firewall

To determine the exact port number, you can contact the program development or support vendor to get the location. Information required or view user documentation. After determining the port that the port needs to open, follow these steps:

Click Start, Run, type wscui.cpl, OK;

Select Windows Firewall;

Select Exceptions Card, click Add Port;

In the Add Port dialog box, enter the port number you want to open in the Port Number field and select the TCP or UDP category;

Enter the port name, then OK, for example, enter GamePort;

To display or set the range of exceptions for this port, click to change the range, then OK;

In the Exceptions tab, notice that the new service is listed To open this port, select the checkbox in front of this service and then OK.