WSFTP blocked by firewalls?

V

Vernon

I have had a new XP machine at home for a week, and it has come preloaded
with a Norton firewall as well as a standard XP firewall.

I know nothing about these things, but when I tried to connect to my ISP's
provided personal web pages that I use (pages where I put .htm files etc.) ,
WSFTP could not recognise the ftp addresses to which I was trying to
connect.

Checking the ISP's web site, it seemed to be suggesting that the presence of
a firewall could block access to the ftp address.

I have had a look at the online book for Norton Personal Firewall 2004 (I
think that is the one) and I cannot see how to unblock a particular point.

Also I suspect that the XP firewall is switched on (don't know what it is
called, nor where to find its settings), and I ask the same question about
that.

As an aside, is there any advantage from having them both on, or even
perhaps disadvantage?

I would be grateful for explanations to be kept reasonably simple if
possible because I am not very technical.
 
G

gilbert

Vernon said:
I have had a new XP machine at home for a week, and it has come preloaded
with a Norton firewall as well as a standard XP firewall.
Click to expand...
As an aside, is there any advantage from having them both on, or even
perhaps disadvantage?
Click to expand...

Disable Windows Firewall in Control Panel (it is useless).
Check your other firewall at ShieldsUp! on this site
http://www.grc.com

Cheers
Gilbert
 
G

gilbert

Vernon said:
Yes, but how does that relate to my WSFTP problem?
Click to expand...

(It was just to show you if your firewall is working properly)
As to WS_FTP...
it doesn't work for me with both firewalls running.
Cheers
Gilbert
 
K

Ken Blake

In
Vernon said:
As an aside, is there any advantage from having them both on, or even
perhaps disadvantage?
Click to expand...

You'll find those with different points on view on this. Here's mine: don't
run two firewalls. You achieve no extra protection, you incur the extra
overhead of running two firewalls, and you run the risk (probably small, but
not zero) of conflicts between them.

See http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/firewall.mspx

which includes the following:

Q. Should I use both the built-in firewall and a software firewall from a
different company on my Windows XP computer?



A. No. Running multiple software firewalls is unnecessary for typical home
computers, home networking, and small-business networking scenarios. Using
two firewalls on the same connection could cause issues with connectivity to
the Internet or other unexpected behavior. One firewall, whether it is the
Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall or a different software firewall,
can provide substantial protection for your computer.





Also note that if you update your third-party firewall to a new version, the
update routine will probably turn it off first. If the Windows firewall
isn't running, you will temporaily be left with no running firewall, which
is very dangerous. So turn on the Windows firewall temprarily before doing
maintenance on your third-party firewall.

The Windows firewall monitors incoming traffic only. Almost any third-party
firewall will also monitor outbound traffic, stopping rogue programs trying
to call home, and is a better choice.
 
V

Vernon

Ken Blake said:
In

You'll find those with different points on view on this. Here's mine: don't
run two firewalls.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ken,

That lines up with what Gilbert said.

Any additional thoughts regarding WS_FTP?
Would you agree with him on that too?
 
W

Walter Clayton

FTP and firewalls tend to fight with each other.

I'd suggest uninstalling NPF and leaving Windows Firewall up. Having both
active simply doubles the work load to validate that inbound data is legit
and when NPF asks your permission about allowing something to reach out, how
do you know it's valid (and secondly, do you really care).

Regardless, there should be a setting in WSFTP with regard passive mode
and/or telling it it's behind a firewall. Try those options regardless.
 

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