Posted by Pete on 03/22/07 03:36

Don M. wrote:
> "Pete" <pete@nospam.net> wrote in message
> news:etq08i01an6@enews2.newsguy.com...
>> I forgot to tell you I have windows xp firewall set to accept WinMX,
>> so I don't think that has anything to do with it, plus I believe I
>> read in the forum that a firewall will either let something through,
>> or not let it through (ie no in betweens)....Pete
>>
> ===========
>
> You still need to punch a couple of holes in the XP firewall. If you
> don't, set WinMX to operate in firewalled mode (unable to use ports).
> http://www.portforward.com/english/routers/firewalling/Microsoft/WindowsXPFirewallFirewall
> /WinMXIn.htm
>
> Be sure the ports you open are not listed here
> http://www.doshelp.com/Ports/Trojan_Ports.htm , e.g. ports 48700 and
> 48701 should be ok.
>
>
> Don

Thanks for your comments Don (and to Mike also)...I am not knowledgeable
about the P2P stuff and I know nothing about computer programming per se
(bizarre stuff), but I am a highly technical person and would like to know a
little more, before I go messing with my ports in my firewall (which kind of
scares me). I don't like messing with the registry too much either - lol .

- Mike indicates the problem could be caused by the sending person having
too many slots open. When I do a search, I only grab things that say
"available" and have DSL or Cable speed, and I usually have a slow
connection (I have downloaded over 100 songs). So I doubt that all the
people I download from have too many slots open (law of averages). I leave
my settings at the default level, since I am new to winmx, and usually don't
mess with things I am not familiar with.

- If the above is true (ie it is not the slots causing my problem), lets
assume I need to punch a couple of holes in my xp firewall (which I am
afraid to mess with - it also seems like a rather involved process also,
after reading the tutorial in winmx). If I do open the two ports you (Don)
mentioned above, what kind of speeds can I expect (eg will they be at least
500 kbps, or what). And why are these ports special, and if someone was
going to spread a virus or worm or whatever, why wouldn't they just send it
through these ports, versus the other ports that you said not to mess with.
This port stuff is very confusing to me.

- I also have a basic question (please excuse me if it sounds dumb), not
knowing how the upload versus download stuff works in P2P, and the interface
with all the servers (for lack of a better word) involved in the network.
If I am downloading a song, and the song is coming from another user
someplace in the world (via the file sharing process), than how can I
download the song faster than the person is uploading it. Excuse my
ignorance, but downloads are usually faster than uploads as far as I know
(ie my ISP has 1.7 mbps down, but only 256k up - unless I pay more). Is the
persons upload kept in a buffer, or something, for a certain amount of time,
or what. I would think that the person doesn't start uploading a song until
another person asks for it as a download, and therefore I don't see how the
download can be faster than the upload. Please shed some light on this if
you can. I would appreciate it.

Thanks...Pete

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