difference between port & program firewalls

theporter2000

Junior Member
Oct 25, 2003
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What is the difference/advantage between Port & Program firewalls and how do I find out which port a Program uses's
 

LiLithTecH

Diamond Member
Jul 28, 2002
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If you mean the difference between HARDWARE vs SOFTWARE firewalls,
each have their own place.

Hardware firewalls in a corporate enviroment make sense to cut down on configurations.

Software firewalls allow more customization then Hardware firewalls and can be tailored
to specific needs.

To see what PORTS are OPEN and by what software, at a COMMAND PROMPT type"C:\> netstat -an"
 

CTho9305

Elite Member
Jul 26, 2000
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Originally posted by: theporter2000
What is the difference/advantage between Port & Program firewalls and how do I find out which port a Program uses's

fport (search google) will tell you what programs are using what ports.

I've never heard firewalls described using those terms, but assuming you're asking what I think you're asking:

A "port" firewall lets you open/close on a port basis... e.g. blocking port 80 to block web servers. A "program" firewall allows/disallows connections based on programs, rather than ports... so if you disallow AOL Instant Messenger, it can't connect using ANY port. I find program firewalls (e.g. zonealarm) much easier to use.

I would suspect program firewalls are a little more secure, since someone could write a worm that uses some standard port, and it would get through a port firewall, but a program firewall would notify you that a new program is trying to use the net.