ntoskrnl.exe accessing the internet

[nubi]

Why would ntoskrnl.exe need to access the internet? I'm using a
Sygate Personal Firewall and have found this activity on my traffic
log. I don't have a virus or worm as I checked my system after
finding the activity. Thank you.

 

[Tia]

Why would ntoskrnl.exe need to access the internet? I'm using a
Sygate Personal Firewall and have found this activity on my traffic
log. I don't have a virus or worm as I checked my system after
finding the activity. Thank you.

Run Task Manager, is ntoskrnl.exe listed in either applications or processes? It
should not be. Why would it access the internet? You tell us - what ports is it
using? what address is it attempting to connect to? When does it try?

 

[=?iso-8859-1?Q?Eep=B2?=]

That IP address seems to be a LAN address. Do you have a router? Are you running a software firewall (ZoneAlarm et al)?

 

[Tia]

...ntoskrnl.exe is not listed in either applications or processes when
I run taskmanager. It was trying soon after I got on the internet
and while I was in Agent. The address is198.168.0.255; ports 137.138.
It's been happening about every 6 minutes or so.

Those ports are used for things like browsing the Network Neighbourhood and File
Sharing. The address is on your local area network (whether you think you have
one or not). It is probably harmless network 'chatter' so you can just ignore
it, but make sure these ports (135 thru 139, and 445) are completely blocked
from the wider internet (TCP and UDP) unless you know you need them.