Hello westom,
Thank your for responding to my questions regarding my
not completely passing the test of system's security as of-
fered by http://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?rh1dkyd2 .
My concern was not so much with not passing the test but
with the implications of being able to be "pinged" on the
net. The mentioned site makes it appear as though it was
undesirable to be pinged even though all the ports checked
on my PC where in stealth mode. Is that concern based on
the possibility, that other ports not checked by their test may
still be open for intrusion? Or is it just an attempt to show
how complete their testing is?
I shall be following up on your other suggestions very soon.
Right now I am not able to study this issue with the attention
it deserves.
Greetings GR.
Hello dslr....,
Yes, the site at http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17809272
is very applicable. It shows that there is no agreement on the value
of the "ping" test offered by the Gibson Reseach site. I am not in
position to decide on my own, but based upon the clarity of re-
sponse and the fact that it make sense I tend to believe the follow-
ing explanation on ping blocking, which comes from
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6131599.html
and reads as follows (it refers to Vista's firewall):
"By default, incoming ICMP echo requests are allowed through the
firewall, and all other ICMP messages are blocked. This is because
the Ping tool is routinely used to send echo request messages for
troubleshooting purposes. However, hackers can also send echo
request messages to locate target hosts. You can block echo
request messages (or unblock other ICMP messages if they're
needed for diagnostic purposes) through the Advanced tab on
the basic configuration interface."
I have looked for ICMP on Wikipedia and found a very lucid ex-
planation at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Control_Message_Protocol .
This site also provides links to explanations of TCP, UDP and
others.
It appears to me, that I have no reason to worry about the failed
ping test provided by Gibson Research, but it will provide an in-
centive for me to dig deeper into Internet Protocols using the sites
provided by you and westcom. I also need to go deeper into the
advanced features of my Robotics 8054 router.
Thank you again dslr... and westcom
GR.
@GR wrote:
My concern was not so much with not passing the test but
with the implications of being able to be "pinged" on the
net. The mentioned site makes it appear as though it was
undesirable to be pinged even though all the ports checked
on my PC where in stealth mode.
If security was so important, well, PING other computers yourself. A few will not respond. Most will. Its not a serious concern. If blocked, the diagnostics abilities of ping are lost. Do you need them? Yes until you learn how useful it is to you.
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
