Wireless connection not connecting

Re: GhostWall v1.000 - Free firewall for Windows XP/XP64/2000

GhostWall is really good about showing exactly what it has blocked in it's blocked window. Do you see any numbers in the block counts like in the image below? If so, click on those numbers to see the specifics of what's been blocked, (brings up the blocked log), and that should tell you what the problem is.

 

Re: GhostWall v1.000 - Free firewall for Windows XP/XP64/2000

Doesn't clicking on one of the numbers under the blocked column open up a new window with a display of the last 50 block tranactions? It's there that the information will be regarding what is being blocked. Knowing what is being blocked with tell you what needs to be allowed.

 

Re: GhostWall v1.000 - Free firewall for Windows XP/XP64/2000

Well, you don't specifically allow your internet connection in this type of firewall. There is no applet like in a ZA or similar application firewalls that identifies your Internet connection method and then automatically configures the firewall to allow it.

The reason I was asking what's being blocked is because it may well be something simple in the list of block packets that is preventing your internet connection from working. If you have not adjusted the default rules that came with GhostWall, then it could be a few different things. My first guess would be DHCP, since the sample rules that come preconfigured don't allow DHCP. But then, you haven't said what is being blocked, so I am only guessing.

But, in any case, this is a very basic type of packet filtering firewall with no autoconfiguration utilities. If you don't want to manually craft a few rules, based upon what's being blocked and what type of network connection you have, then you won't be able to get it working I'm afraid.

 

Here, this quick set of rules may help. It's a simplified set from what I'm actually running, but it provides the basics for inbound control, (at least, once you enter the IP addresses of your ISP's DNS servers in the places provided). The DHCP rule could be tighten for the specific broadcast addresses used, but this one will work. No outbound restrictions have been set.

I put in that "Private LAN Allow All" assuming you were on a fairly normal home wireless and actually want to allow your other local systems to have inbound access. It's basically just a sample of what you could do. As you learn more about making rules, you can get really specific and add known addresses, and ports/ranges for things, as needed.

 

Sorry planecrazee, but that very first rule you have there is actually allowing everything (all incoming and outgoing, to/from any address and port on the Internet). It has in effect made the firewall completely open and no longer blocking anything at all.

Take a look at my rules in the image above your post. The first rule allows all outgoing since at this point, I didn't want to restrict anything run on my PC from getting out. The rules that follow that one are those that allow a limited amount of incoming traffic...

Incoming "loopback" is enabled for the PC itself, because there are many things on the PC that need to talk back to itself.

I have two rules that allow domain name lookups, each has one of the IP addresses provided from my ISP for their DNS servers.

The DHCP rule is probably one you need because if you PC is connecting to wireless by scanning for available wireless connections, and then "acquiring a network address", then that is likely occurring with DHCP.

Next, my LAN allow rule is not allowing "Any" for remote addresses, as that would be the entire Internet, but is limited to the address range of my LAN, ie. 192.168.*.*

Finally, the last rule should always be a "block everything else" rule. Effectively, this is the rule that provides all the protections in my rules configuration. Anything not specifically granted in the rules above it are blocked by this rule, which of course is the key point of a firewall.

The rules in my image might be ones that would work for you. If you use those and still can't operate fully, then you must click on those "block numbers" and figure out what is being blocked that is preventing you from working properly.

 

I really recommend deleting all the existing rules and entering mine from scratch, and then seeing what else might be getting blocked that shouldn't be, or that might be causing you connection errors by checking the blocked packets.

You see, the rules that come with GhostWall are more like "sample" rules, rather than valid default rules. I'll give you an example. In your case, you are running on a wireless LAN, and I assume you are getting an IP address in the 192.168.*.* range on that PC. Therefore, the first "LAN allow" rule that says "Allow All..." with 'Local IP' 192.168.*.* and Remote IP 'Any', is basically allowing anything in from anywhere on the Internet.

All people's network configurations vary some, and therefore they all need rules that are applicable for their environment. The rules I gave are a set that work on a wireless connected laptop that I have here, which uses DHCP to acquire its IP address when first connecting to the LAN that is using the 192.168.*.* address range. Since that sounds like your setup, those should be a good starting place for you, too.

 

I'm a bit confused... You said you did it like mine, but you don't have any DNS or DHCP rules in your list. First, you have the global allow for outbound, which is what I have. Then a private LAN rule which will allow all local traffic inside your network. (That also is allowing DHCP since your router is your DHCP server and it's on a 192.168 address.) That third rule is basically the loopback rule, since the remote address is your PC's own 127.0.0.1 IP.

You don't specifically have DNS in there, but applications allowed out probably can get their replies back from your DNS servers, I suppose.

The effectiveness of such a firewall is based on how tight your rules are. Those rules look like they cover most of what you need, but again, they could be more exact. Specific rules for DNS and DHCP, which cover the specific addresses of the known servers you are using would be tighter, but may not be critical.

 

Oh, wait a second! You removed the final block rule. Without that you have no protection again!

Most rules based firewalls require that every condition be account for in the list of rules. Without a final block all (with 'Any' across the board in the columns), you again have no protections from this firewall.

 

I'm afraid this firewall may not be for you then.

Now, the rules in my screen shot probably will give you what you want, but, they may still need a little tweaking. Once done, then you may never need to think about them again. But, you can't just free-wheel with the rules without doing a careful analysis of what's being allowed and blocked. The fact that the quick scan I just did above, and failed to notice you removed the block rule, shows that you must work through these rules at least once with care.