Can someone please explain something to me?

[wnied]

Recently my firewall has been alerting me to an echo reply of ICMP and an IP address. I have no idea what this is or what it may pertain to. This is what the computer says to me: "The firewall has blocked Internet access to 209.162.57.103 (ICMP Echo Reply) from your computer." Can someone who knows about this enlighten me?

wnied

 

[barebottoms]

An ICMP is Internet Control Message Protcol.
Its a protocol within the TCP/IP stack. The most commonly associated use of ICMP is a PING.
Which people use to determine if a remote host is alive.
The reason for blocking ICMP's is the the h0a)(3R d00dZ like to use ICMPs for Flooding networks. A smurf attack is based on ICMP replies through a Broadcast address.
There are other reasons for legitimately using ICMP. If a router has a route to another network, but knows that a better route exist, it will issue an ICMP back to up stating I sent your packet to XXXX router, that is the one with the better route.

Now to answer your question, is 209.162.57.103 your address?!?!?
If it is, more than likely its just a poorly configured Firewall.

If its not, then the rule set in the Firewall may have triggered because it saw too many ICMP's, then it reacts and protects the network from the source. Thinking it may be some sort of ICMP attack towards your network.

 

[Bglad]

There are lots of web sites where you can enter an ip address and they weill tell you who owns it. Try that.

If you are getting the same ip blocked all the time, more than likely it is your isp checking to see who is alive and looking for people running servers. Next time you talk to tech support ask if that is their ip address.

 

[wnied]

Ok I understand now, I thought that maybe someone might have slipped me a remote user program like SNID or something and that it was trying to connect to its user. I think that one of my messenger programs probably triggered it, by updating through my firewall, the advertisements it has on it.

Thanks again for the help guys.
wnied