I´ve just reinstalled the McAfee software again. Sadly Shields Up still claims that the ports 135 & 445 are open.
However I can now confirm that this problem is definitely caused by the latest version of the McAfee firewall. After uninstalling the McAfee products and running the MCPR tool I´ve accessed Shields Up with the Windows firewall up and running and it passed the test - total stealth.
So I can sum up:
1. Older versions of McAfee´s firewall pass the test.
2. Windows internal firewall is also able to pass the test.
3. The most recent version of McAfee´s firewall doesn´t pass the test and leaves the ports 135 & 445 open.
Then it's best to open a case with Technical Support as I stated earlier. I don't get the same results that here though but then I have both a router and a modem which would skew results..
Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 13/10/13 1:44:26 EDT PMWell hopefully Hayton will have something to add
No, not really. If this is a side-effect of some change in the latest McAfee version I won't be able to test it because I'm still running under an older version.
The best advice seems to be, if possible get and use a router or switch ISPs to one that automatically blocks Port 445 traffic.
https://www.grc.com/port_445.htm
Dealing with Port 445
Needless to say, you do NOT want port 445 exposed to the Internet. Like Windows port 135 (which is a whole different problem) port 445 is deeply embedded in Windows and can be difficult or impossible to safely close. While its closure is possible, other dependent services such as DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol) which is frequently used for automatically obtaining an IP address from the DHCP servers used by many corporations and ISPs, will stop functioning.For the security reasons described above, port 445 has been causing so many problems that many ISPs are taking security matters into their own hands and blocking this port on behalf of their users. If our port checking shows your port 445 as "stealth" while you are not being otherwise protected by a NAT router or personal firewall, your ISP is probably preventing port 445 traffic from reaching you.
Well, I made it through my Surgery....
Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Internet Explore 10-Fully Patched
McAfee Security Center
12.8.750
McAfee Anti-Virus and Spyware
16.8.(708) Build updated from (706) on 10/12/2013
McAfee Personal Firewall
13.8.706 ( Noticed my Anti-Spam is the indentical "Build"
(No reason to list the other Features)
Just ran the Shields Up Port Probe, and all is "Good in the neighborhood"
I might add, I have my Firewall set as "Monitored Access" The only Port that was not reported as "Stealth" was Port 80 which is basically the "HTTP Service"
Even when I ran the probing of my File Sharing - Port 139 and my internal Net Bios could not be reached.
As Ex-Brit mentioned, since mine seems to be functioning fine, You may want to give Technical Support a call?
Hope this helped somewhat...
GodSpeed-CatDaddy
I bypassed my router so ShieldsUp would read my machine and surprise, surprise, 135 and 445 are closed rather than stealthed which makes them visible to the outside world, but not 134, which makes it even weirder in my case, especailly as with the OP's machine they aren't open in Firewall > Ports.
Not sure who to ask about this but will do some thinking. Meanwhile I strongly suggest contacting Technical Support..
.
Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 13/10/13 5:06:28 EDT PM
Just a note to anyone worried about this. Most ISP's block these ports anyway from what I read online. I have sent an email to some support people but as it's a holiday weekend here in N. America, there may be a delay in getting any kind of response.
Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 13/10/13 4:58:33 EDT PMMany thanks for all of your serious efforts to solve this problem. Your help is much appreciated.
I´ll follow Ex_Brit´s advice and contact McAfee´s technical support (getting in touch with them wasn´t possible on Sunday). I´m confident they´ll work something out - maybe even the next update will fix this issue.
NirSoft have a program - CurrPorts - which might be of some use.
The details are at http://nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html
Hi Gemini
I am having EXACTLY the same problem as you after the latest update. Things were fine beffore that. Ex_Brit kindly refered me to your thread as I have another one open. Please post back here your findings to help me and others if you find a fix. I will do the same. I have logged the issue with Macafee as recommended by Ex_Brit. I will try an online chat with them after the public holiday. I am in Australia so its a lot more difficult due to time difference etc.
Regards
I got a partial response from one of my contacts which still doesn't explain it so will update you further.
445 TCP (CIFS) is commonly reserved for Microsoft’s Directory Services. I would check whether you’ve set the computer to be in a Home, Work or Public network (I suspect it’s Work if 445 is open).
135 TCP is listed by IANA as “DCE endpoint resolution” otherwise known as “Client/Server Communication”. Again this points to how you’ve configured your network type.
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