Ports automatically opening in XP's Internet Connection Firewall

[Kip]

I have an XP computer that is hooked up to internet via a
cable modem. This computer is part of a network that
uses XP's Internet Connection Sharing. This is the
computer that connects directly to the internet. I have
the Internet Connection Firewall turned on to protect the
computer from internet attack. Within the settings for
ICF you have the ability to open up ports and allow
access to your computer. My problem is that I go into
the ICF settings and there are a number of ports that are
opened. All of the have the description of "msmsgs" and
then a port number. I have actually deleted access to
these ports in the ICF settings several times but they
continue to come back automatically.
How can I prevent this from happening?

 

[Curtis Koenig [MSFT]]

These ports are opened by the MSN or Windows Messenger. They need these
ports in order to work and are most likely being opened automatically by
those programs when run on the ICS clients or on the host computer. This is
normal behavior and should not be a problem.
--
Curtis Koenig
Support Engineer
Product Support Services, Security Team
MCSE, MCSES, CISSP

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