Dangerous ports & Firewall security [help]

Hello!

My name is Jeffery. I have a few questions about dangerous ports & firewall security, so I'll be right to the point.

1.) What are some ports that should be blocked?
I already have: 136-140 & 446 (net bios & file sharing) ports.

2.) What are some protocals that should be filtered or blocked for a home network without file sharing or P2P applications?

I have Comodo Firewall, so any recommendations on software would be greatly helpful.

 

If you have Comodo installed (or even just the Windows firewall), all your ports should already be closed/stealthed, unless you have exceptions for certain applications.

 

The correct ports are 137-139 and 445.

 

A firewall doesn't close ports. It blocks or controls connections to those ports. A port can be open and listening for incoming traffic while a firewall blocks connections to that port. As long as the firewall is configured properly and functioning correctly, the result is essentially the same, the port is inaccessible. If the firewall fails for any reason, (improperly configured, conflict with another application or update, killed by malware, system error, etc) access to that port is no longer restricted. Using a firewall to close open ports is a "band-aid" approach, the equivalent of a patch on a hole. Ports are held open by services, applications, or malware that's listening for incoming connections. It's better to close those ports that aren't needed for the specific setup by reconfiguring or shutting down the unnecessary services or applications that are opening them. When open ports are necessary to a specific setup, a software firewall can be configured to allow the necessary traffic and limit the origin of that traffic to only what is needed.

 

Very well said, and exactly my point on several occasions.

 

Closing ports by firewall is not a good way.I'd like to use group policy to close ports.

Comodo can't close ports.If choosing Stealth Mode,you can stealth your ports.In fact,the firewall just block the initiative inbound.