Any way to check ports?
 

I'm trying to help my girlfriend set up a Bit Torrent client on her machine, but none of them seem to be biting, so to speak. I'm assuming it's because she's on the school network, and only a very limited number of ports are available, and they're set to the wrong ones.

So, basically, is there any way to check from here which ports are available for TCP/IP and whatever else I'll need?

Check out http://www.wittys.com/files/mab/fwpentesting.html

I didn't send you there.

Mr Mephisto

And I guess I should also mention Shields up for testing your firewall http://www.grc.com/ but i dunno if using it is allowed on the school network

You might also want to tell her to be careful. When all the RIAA lawsuits started flying last year my girlfriend got an email from the school stating that anyone caught running any P2P software would be fined $50. I realize bittorent is used for plenty of legitamate purposes, but sometimes the univeristy disagrees.

Just as a side note, Shields Up from GRC is not - through my experiences - the most accurate of port testers. I have a pretty deep-set mistrust for Steve Gibson, though that's irrelevant to the current topic.

The best way to find out what ports are open would be to talk to the campus IT staff. You can even - assuming you can pull it off - coach the idea as "Hey, I'm trying to download these Linux ISOs through BitTorrent and I can't make a good connection - do you have any ideas on how to make it work better?"

They may be more sympathetic to that goal than "Hey, I'm trying to swipe the latest video game off the internet, help me?"

Please give me one example of how the use of BitTorrent can be legitmite?

:)


Mr Mephisto

fggggggggggggggghhhhhh hhhhhh

Wow... you learn something new everyday. BitTorrent used for something that was NOT illegal.

BTW, if ports 50000 - 50005 are blocked, then your suggestion won't work. I think the point is how can one "probe" a firewall looking for open ports.


Mr Mephisto

[ffffffffffhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nnnnnnnn

or you could use your-freedom or http-tunnel
its a little program that takes socks connections and sends it thru port80

here's two examples heheh:

distribution of linux distributions. let lots of users share it out, instead of nearly 2 gig's being downloaded from one server :thumbsup:

Distribution of XP SP2 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3551576.stm