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I heard that you can close these two ports for surfing safe on the internet. By mean don't get hacked. Now I'm closed them but I'm not sure is it really true or not. BTW, I'm on win7.

Thanks.

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Yup, that's how the US RQ-170 drone was hijacked, I bet :-) – XXL Jan 9 '12 at 21:05
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You don't make yourself visible to hackers just by surfing (though it can help), you make yourself visible by just connecting a computer to the internet. It is a good idea to ensure any and all ports you do not require are closed on your public interface. Keep in mind that you can inadvertently download a plethora of things that will happily open all those ports for you. Internet security goes well beyond closing a few ports. – MaQleod Jan 9 '12 at 21:28
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@MahanGM If you have a reason to be paranoid about open ports, take a look at this. You'll be able to use that site to check for open ports on your system and see if there are any other which could be interesting. – AndrejaKo Jan 10 '12 at 1:21
Why is this got 2 down-votes?. I'm not expert in networking thing and I just heard this from a guy. I'm not paranoid about surfing but it was just a question. Thanks for replies. – MahanGM Jan 10 '12 at 12:44

2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

While I heartily recommend keeping 139 and 445 closed to internet traffic, they have nothing to do with web browsing.

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But, shouldn't it mean that if you are identifiable on the internet - your security can be compromised by accessing those ports in combination with the IP-address? – XXL Jan 9 '12 at 21:22
If they're closed and not accepting connections, those services cannot be accessed. Outside connection attempts will either be dropped or be sent a refusal message. That said, those ports have nothing at all to do with web browsing, but are used by Windows Networking and Activity Directory services, respectively. – Adrian Jan 10 '12 at 0:15
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I think you are missing the point here - intentionally or not - the user fears, that his system might be compromised, if these services are enabled. He never said they had anything to do with "web browsing" (read the OPs post carefully, again) - he is saying, that he is not comfortable browsing the web, if the services responsible for these ports are active. It seems fair - because a user can be identified over the internet. So, it's a potential security risk. Also, port 139 (NetBIOS) and 445 (SMB) are part of a network service called "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks". – XXL Jan 10 '12 at 1:00
Thanks for reply. I don't have any problem with my surfing at all, I just heard about these two ports that they will prevent from to get hacked and I don't know is it about the local areas or something else. Therefore I just asked. – MahanGM Jan 10 '12 at 12:45
@XXL : most end-users use the verb "surfing" to refer to web browsing. That was used in the OP. Granted, it's generally not a sufficiently precise term to use (mis-use, really) and usually indicates someone with little computer experience (at least in the US), but sometimes you simply work with what you have. – Adrian Jan 10 '12 at 18:04
up vote 2 down vote

These are just 2 of 65536 (2^16) ports to your system, all of which can be either open or closed. Some of them are reserved, others not, and by closing them explicitly, you might prevent useful software and services from working. To be 100% safe, in theory, you would need to isolate your machine from all networks (EDIT: that is, if we exclude other threats such as infected devices w/autorun, sneaky people, etc... :p)

General tips for Windows 7:

  • If you are not sharing files or printers, change your network type to "public place" (this will make the Windows Firewall more restrictive (instructions can be found here)
  • Keep your software updated to remove as many security holes as possible. This is REALLY important!
  • Install Anti-Virus! Microsoft has a free one (Security Essentials), which I like, but Avira and AVG is nice as well (also free).
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Thanks about recommendations. I set my connection to public. I'm using NOD for protecting, It's enough for me. – MahanGM Jan 10 '12 at 12:53

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