how does uPNP work + specific question

[dpopiz]

my friend has yahoo sbc dsl (which uses PPPoE). I just got him a router that supports uPNP. I uninstalled all the yahoo sbc software off his comp and then connected the router. it showed up on network connections in winxp, since it's uPNP, but when I do properties, all it gives me is a way to set up outgoing port stuff.
so I went to the router's web-based config and started to go through the wizard, but then I realized I didn't have the password for PPPoE. so I never gave it a username or password, but later that day my friend logged onto AIM and started talking to me. he said he just opened it up and it worked, and also that "most websites work but some don't"

questions:
1. how is it able to connect to his dsl if I never gave the router a PPPoE password?
2. what does uPNP do?
3. is there any reason to use uPNP in winxp instead of setting up the router manually through its web-based config?

 

[sswingle]

UPNP has nothing to do with setting up the router. What UPNP does is set up port forwarding automatically. For example, you want to send someone a file using MSN messenger. On a standard router, you would need to manually open up the port that msn uses. With UPNP enabled, msn messenger will talk to the router and tell it what port needs opened, and it all happens automatically.

Very few programs support it, and I hear its a security risk, so I would reccomend uninstalling it on the computer.


To answer the password question...maybe it is saved in the modem. I know the modems Sprint uses save the PPPoE information on the modem, so you plug your router in and go without doing it a second time.