Billing & Account Support
Ports Blocked or Restricted by Cox High Speed Internet
Last Updated: Fri, 22 Apr 2011 > Related Articles
Summary
Describes why certain ports are blocked or restricted by Cox High Speed Internet.
Solution
Reasons For Filtering Ports
- Protecting customers - Certain ports are filtered to protect our customers. We can protect against certain common worms and from dangerous services on our customers' computers that could allow intruders access.
- Protecting upstream bandwidth - Upstream bandwidth to a cable plant is limited. If customers overuse their upstream bandwidth by running high-traffic servers or becoming infected with a worm or virus, it can degrade the service of other customers on that node.
- Protecting the rest of the Internet - Some filters prevent our customers from attacking other computers on the Internet. In addition to being in our best interests for protecting our bandwidth, it is our responsibility to prevent abuse of our network.
| Port | Transport | Protocol | Direction | Reason for Filtering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | TCP | SMTP | Both* | SMTP Relays |
| 80 | TCP | HTTP | Inbound | Web servers, worms |
| 135 | UDP | NetBios | Both | Net Send Spam / Pop-ups, Worms |
| 136-139 | UDP, TCP | NetBios | Both | Worms, Network Neighborhood |
| 445 | TCP | MS-DS/ NetBios | Both | Worms, Network Neighborhood |
| 1433 | TCP | MS-SQL | Inbound | Worms, Trojans |
| 1434 | UDP | MS-SQL | Inbound | Worms, SQLslammer |
| 1900 | UDP | MS-DS/ NetBios | Both | Worms, Network Neighborhood |
*SMTP is only permitted outbound to Cox-provided SMTP servers.
Detailed Explanations Of Filtered Ports
| Port | Explanation |
|---|---|
| 25 / TCP - SMTP | Mail servers use Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) to exchange email. We block this to protect upstream bandwidth and prevent customers from running open relays could potentially be used by others to send spam via our network. |
| 80 / TCP - HTTP | Web browsers use Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) to communicate with web servers. In addition to protecting bandwidth by preventing customers from running high-traffic web servers, we can stop many destructive worms that spread through security holes in web server software. |
| 135, 137 / UDP, 135, 139 / TCP, 445 MS-DC – NetBIOS | NetBIOS (also known as Server Message Block, LanManager, and Common Internet File System) is a networked file sharing protocol. The Microsoft Windows “Network Neighborhood” runs over NetBIOS. We filter these ports to protect customers from exposing files on their computers, and to block worms which spread through open file shares. The latest addition to this series, a consolidated service port (TCP445), has also opened new similar security risks in Win2K and WinXP. |
| 1433 / TCP, 1434 / UDP – MS-SQL | Microsoft SQL Server is a database application with a long history of security exploits, and is noted for the propagation of the SQLslammer worm. These ports are filtered to prevent exploitation and propagation of such MS-SQL exploits. |
| 1900 / UDP - UPnP | Discovery / SSDP is a service that runs by default on WinXP. It creates an immediately exploitable security vulnerability for any network. Filtering this port proactively prevents XP systems from being remotely compromised by malicious worms or intruders. |
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