What is a Port Scan?
An attack that sends client requests to a range ofTCP port addresses on a host, with the goal of finding an active port and exploiting a known vulnerability of that service.
What is a Denial-of-Service attack (DoS attack)?
A Denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is an attempt to make a computer or network resource unavailable to its intended users.
In a Denial of Service (DoS) attack, an attacker attempts to prevent the users from accessing information or services, usually by flooding the network with large amounts of fake traffic. By targeting your computer and its network connection, or the computers and network of the sites you are trying to use, an attacker may be able to prevent you from accessing email, web sites, online accounts (banking, etc.), or other services on the affected computer.
The Disable Port Scan and DoS Protectionfeaturecan be enabled or disabled in the NETGEAR router GUI.
If theRespond to Ping on Internet port check box is enabled on the router's WAN screen, it allows the WAN IP address to be pinged by anyone from the external network, which make it easy for hackers to find and possibly attack your network.
Hackers can write a scriptthat pings the WAN IP address of your network continually. This causes a Denial of Service (DoS) and results in slow access to the Internet, since the amount of traffic attempting to ping your IP address overloads the router.
Typical Symptoms:
- Unusually slow network performance (opening files or accessing websites).
- Unavailability of a particular website.
- Inability to access any website.
- Dramatic increase in the amount of spam you receive in your account.
By default, the router uses port scan and DoS protection (it is enabled) to help guard a network against those attacks that inhibit or stop network availability. If someone selects theDisable Port Scan and DoS Protection check box on the WAN screen, that disables the protection.
To check this setting, open a browser and type in the following URL: http://www.routerlogin.com
Type the user name as admin and the password as password and click OK.
Select Advanced Setup > WAN.
Respond to Ping on Internet port can also be enabled / Disabled in this section.
Last Updated:11/28/2016 | Article ID: 19957
