Re: File and Printer Sharing still turned on after unchecked...confused :\

["Rick Kingslan" <rkingsla () cox net>]

The best way to answer this particular problem is that first, you're not
alone.  Second, it's very easy to confuse one protocol with another.  Port
135, 137, 138, 139 are all associated with NetBIOS and NetBEUI - over
TCP/IP.  These are documented and standardized (well, as much as Microsoft
will let them be standardized...;-] ) in IETF RFC 1001 and 1002.

Typically, in a Windows OS, specifically NT and Windows 2000, we'd set the
option Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP.  However, be very aware that NetBIOS
(the API - not a protocol), NetBEUI (this one's a protocol) and TCP/IP are
very different.  When you remove that check box from 'File and Printer
Sharing' you've disabled, to some degree, NetBEUI.  However, if you have a
TCP/IP stack installed - clearly you do - NetBIOS over TCP/IP is still
viable alive, and quite dangerous.

Do you need to block it with a firewall?  Ummm.  Yeah.  Everyone else does -
if you come up with a better option, we're all going to be VERY interested!
;o)

Rick Kingslan
Just Some Security Dweeb
 

> Hi all, 


> My windows 98 machine still has ports 137, 138, 139 open even after i
turned 
> "File and Printer Sharing" options off. I succesfully used this to get into

> my system, so as you can imagine it's a big security risk. How do you shut 
> these ports down? I have read many FAQs and papers concerning this but 
> they've all said to just uncheck the two options in the "File and Printer 
> Sharing" window under Control Panel > Networking. I have asked around on
IRC 
> and the most advice I got was to block the ports with my 
> router/firewall(smoothwall)...But how come I can't just turn them off 
> myself? 





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"You can stop this individual, but you can't stop us all...After all, we're 
all alike..." - The Mentor 
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