Do I need these services listening?
I am running XP Pro with an always-on DSL connection. I was told I should cut off all services exposed to the internet that "listen" in the background, to avoid being exploited for attack. I've pared down most unecessary services, but not sure about the more mysterious (mostly) Windows services that remain. Can anyone tell me if I can stop them from "listening", and thereby cut off all programs that listen and possibly prevent hackers with scanners from knowing my machine exists?
This is what I have according to "WhoIsConnected".... (a great, free network connection monitoring program)
LISTENING (Protocol: TCP Remote Address:0.0.0.0.0): ======================================== personal firewall (port: 44334) anti-virus (ports: 1110,1125) svchost (port: epmap) system (port: microsoft-ds) system (port: netbios-ssn) (n.b.: I have a small home LAN network with local file & printer sharing, so don't think I can disable Netbios without cutting off the LAN services)
- - (Protocol: UDP Remote Address: *.*) (The status of all entries here are represented by two dashes, not sure but assume it means not listening) ========================================
system (port: microsoft-ds) system (port: netbios-ssn) system (port: 138) svchost (ports: 1309, 1056, 123) lsass (ports: 500, 4500) personal firewall (port: 44334)
read more and respond »Posted 5 years ago by Rod in Networking Firewalls
