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General discussion

Blocking ping

Dec 16, 2003 5:32AM PST

W98se IE6sp1

Is there a way to block/ignore an unsolicited incomming ping without using a firewall or router?

I seem to recall that XP has such a feature however XP and this old clunker don't fit.

Discussion is locked

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Re:Blocking ping
Dec 16, 2003 5:51AM PST

The feature in XP is a native Windows supplied firewall. The conclusion is that you do need a firewall, either softwarewise (for Windows 98: Zonealarm or many others) or hardwarewise (integrated in the modem or router).
Of course, they do more than just bouncing the unwanted pings. They block all unsollicited incoming traffic.


Kees

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Re:Re:Blocking ping
Dec 16, 2003 6:24AM PST

Kees,

Thanks,,It's not what I wanted to hear but what I expected to hear.

After spending more that a little time on Googgle I thought this can't be done.

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Re:Blocking ping
Dec 16, 2003 11:45AM PST

The standard response to ping for any PC is to return an acknowledgment (ping would be useless if the standard response was nothing). You need something in between to drop the packet.

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Re:Re:Blocking ping
Dec 16, 2003 11:35PM PST

Thanks,

I was hoping there might be something within windows to do this function without my having to add something.

Oh well...

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Re:Blocking ping, 2 questions.
Dec 16, 2003 8:16AM PST

1. Where's the exploit?

Ping on this OS is not exploitable.

2. Can you afford to fix it?

Windows 98 has miniscule 64 thousand byte resource pools that tend to run dry. I've found it best to only install/run what is needed.

Bob

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Re:Re:Blocking ping, 2 questions.
Dec 16, 2003 11:16PM PST

1. Where's the exploit?
Unknown, ping seems to be the only thing I answer to, all ports show closed.
Thought if there was an easy way to block ping I might be a little less visable.

2. Can you afford to fix it?
Not if it means installing a firewall.
Tried that didn't care for the amount of resources it used and also didn't care for the ever increasing amount of disk space it was eating.

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How come ...
Dec 17, 2003 12:26AM PST

the ports show closed if you don't use a firewall? How do you see they are closed?

Kees

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Re:How come ...
Dec 17, 2003 4:40AM PST

How come ...

the ports show closed if you don't use a firewall? How do you see they are closed?

These folks and some others I use have a port scanner which tells me that inbound all my ports are closed.

http://grc.com/

I suppose that all that says is I don't have a service running to answer the knock on the door.

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Re:Re:Re:Blocking ping, 2 questions.
Dec 17, 2003 12:27AM PST

A hardware firewall (like a router) doesn't use any disk space or resources, and makes your computer invisible. You can ping the router but that's it.

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Re:Re:Re:Re:Blocking ping, 2 questions.
Dec 17, 2003 5:12AM PST

A hardware firewall (like a router) doesn't use any disk space or resources, and makes your computer invisible. You can ping the router but that's it.

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Agreed.
I was just wondering if there was a way within windows to block an incomming ping or the out going ack.

My search through google told me 'no'.
So I though I'd ask you folks if you knew of a trick.

Thanks for the reply.