[ale] port question

[JK]

In general, for web browsing to work you need to open port 80
(for HTTP) and port, uh, 443 (I think?) (for HTTPS), for OUTBOUND
connections only.  You do NOT need to enable any inbound connections,
and you should not do so since it is a security risk.  All modern
firewalls (including consumer-space routers and default setups of
OSS router distros) will be configured by default to allow inbound
traffic that is related to an outbound connection, so there is
no need to explicitly enable inbound connections.  And this is
more secure -- the firewall allows in ONLY that traffic that it
knows you need in order to support the connections YOU want to
make.

(IOW, what Jim said, but in different words, 'cause sometimes it's
useful to reinforce.)

-- JK


On 5/30/2010 11:06 AM, Terry Bailey wrote:
> What determines the port number for the web client and what is the
> range for these numbers?  So, in general, I suppose if web browsing
> is to be done, then this range must be open on the firewall for both
> incoming and outbound.
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Terry Bailey
>
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