How difficult?

[MoneyGuy]

How difficult is it for a non-techie to check and change firewall settings to make sure they're not preventing a connection? I know nothing about this and wonder if a friend who has more knowlege than I do can do this or if I have to bring in techie??? I know nothing about this. I hardly understand the first paragraph I wrote above.

[cSpooge]

I depends on what firewall settings you are checking. If you're talking about preventing an incoming connection for bit torrent, ftp or SSH, it is as simple as forwarding the port.


http://www.portforward.com has a very nice guide that is very easy to follow. All you have to do is look up your router or firewall then the application and it will give you step by step instructions on what you need to do.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Port forwarding might not be that simple depending on what software firewalls you have running. I've tried numerous times and followed many step by step descriptions only to get nowhere.

It's do-able, but be prepared to invest some time to be very deliberate and thorough about it. My two cents.

[Fobby]

first i would check your window's firework

Click on Start -> Run. Type in Firewall.cpl and hit OK

If the firewall is on, then check the exception tab to see if any program is allowed through your firewall. If it's off... follow the router's instruction on port forwarding.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by Fobby

first i would check your window's firework

Click on Start -> Run. Type in Firewall.cpl and hit OK

If the firewall is on, then check the exception tab to see if any program is allowed through your firewall. If it's off... follow the router's instruction on port forwarding.

My problem is I can't use my SlingBox over the Internet to operate my TV.

I checked using these instructions and the firewall is on. It says that incoming connections are blocked except for those listed and checked, and SB is not listed or checked.

If I bring in a good tech person, can he troubleshoot for me and figure this out? I imagine that person will be able to do that. I can go to a local tech person and ask, I suppose.

[Fobby]

what you need to do when you set up your sling box is use their software and say make this available to the outside network.

With that selection, your slingbox will then be assigned a STATIC IP address which corresponds to your home network. Use that IP and go to your router setting. I am assuming you are using a router because, well.. you need one to have a computer and your slingbox. Make sure when you set up the slingbox with their software, use the right IP and PORT number... forward for both TCP and UDP ports.

Too bad you are in edmonton.. or else I wouldn't mind helping you out if you are here locally...I would call Slingbox and get their customer support first.

When I set mine up.. i had a bit of an issue seeing my slingbox from the outside network as well..... and I remember using their software and setting my slingbox up with a static IP address and everything after that went smooth.. i would uninstall the software and reinstall it to make sure you are assigning a static IP to your SB.

But once again.. even after you assign the static IP, you still need to forward the port in your router setting..