Opening a Port
One way to receive connections while retaining the protection of
a firewall is to open a specific port and leave all other ports
closed.
A port is simply a mechanism used by networking software to
direct different types of internet traffic to different parts of
your system. For example, there's a standard port for browsing the
web, another for email, a third for file transfers, and so on.
Each port is identified by a number. A block of low numbers is
reserved for the standard ports. Higher numbers are available for
other application developers. The Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority (IANA) maintains a web site with a complete list of all
of the standard port numbers and an incomplete list of the
nonstandard port numbers that are used by other applications.
Diamond Mind Baseball uses port
32158. We chose this number in part because the IANA site
shows that it is available. Application developers are not required
to register their port numbers with IANA, so this doesn't guarantee
that you're not running another application that is also using this
port number. If so, you may encounter a conflict, but we believe
this is highly unlikely.
If you have a firewall installed and you wish to host a NetPlay
session, see if your firewall provides a way to open the DMB port.
Based on our experience with a few of the firewall products in the
market today, we have found this to be a simple process. When the
port is opened, you should have no trouble receiving connections
from remote users.
Some hackers attack certain standard
ports, but others use programs that scan all ports on a computer to
find a way to get through. If you close the Diamond Mind Baseball
port after your NetPlay session has ended, you minimize the risk
that someone might use this open port to gain access to your
computer.
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