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andysupportrequ
Former Member
Message 1 of 19

McAfee FW Blocks FTP Transfer

Hi All

My McAfee Total Protection was recently automatically updated to version 12.1.253 Personal Firewall is version 13.1.127 ever since the windows FTP client has stopped working. When I try to send put or ls commands despite the fact I can login to the FTP service on my ISP's webservers it just hangs. However if I disable the FW all is fine.

The following is an example of where it hangs:

ftp> ls

200 PORT command successful

150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list

<hangs here>

How can I fix this without turning my FW off?

Andy.

18 Replies
exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 2 of 19

Re: McAfee FW Blocks FTP Transfer

Try opening SecurityCenter

Click Web and Email Protection

Click Firewall

Click Ports and System Services

There are various options already listed there or you can add a port to be opened.

elegant
Former Member
Message 3 of 19

Re: McAfee FW Blocks FTP Transfer

My McAfee Total Protection was recently automatically updated to version 12.1.253 Personal Firewall is version 13.1.127 ever since the windows FTP client has stopped working. When I try to send put or ls commands despite the fact I can login to the FTP service on my ISP's webservers it just hangs. However if I disable the FW all is fine.

I'm having the exact same issue as ANDY above. I've tried everything I can think of..  Even adding inbound rules to the firewall for C:\widows\system32\ftp.exe and such. No luck. The firewall is blocking incoming connections from FTP server during a PORT command or any other FTP command that sends back data.

Others with the same problems and no solutions posted:

https://community.mcafee.com/message/261444#261444

https://community.mcafee.com/message/236214#236214

Message was edited by: elegant on 1/5/13 9:18:15 PM CST
Peacekeeper
Message 4 of 19

Re: McAfee FW Blocks FTP Transfer

My works sporatically but I think my issue is th ftp server I am trying to use. Try calling support and see what they say I for 1 am not good at ftp settings and mine are standard default mcafee settings.

If no help post back and I will ask on our Monday call.

Hayton
Reliable Contributor
Reliable Contributor
Message 5 of 19

Re: McAfee FW Blocks FTP Transfer

Have you got FTP working yet? This was discussed briefly on the conference call and a couple of things were suggested :

  • don't use Passive FTP (@andysupportrequired, I see you're using Active not Passive)
  • if you're using the Windows FTP client and entering commands from the command line this is not perhaps the best way to use FTP. There are a number of third-party FTP programs available which are supposed to be easier to use and (perhaps) more informative when something isn't working properly (I've heard some good things about FileZilla but haven't used it) - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_FTP_client_software

There is an add-on in Firefox for FTP -

Most common web browsers can retrieve files hosted on FTP servers, although they may not support protocol extensions such asFTPS.[3][12]


When an FTP—rather than an HTTP—URL is supplied, the accessible contents on the remote server are presented in a manner that is similar to that used for other Web content.


A full-featured FTP client can be run within Firefox in the form of an extension called FireFTP

Lastly, double-check the firewall settings for Ports and System Services and see if any of the ports that were selected for use have been unchecked. You might need to add specific ports or a range of ports by editing "Common Operating System Ports".

Wikipedia has one or two helpful notes and comparisons, and so does Slacksite.

http://slacksite.com/other/ftp.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Transfer_Protocol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_FTP_client_software

elegant
Former Member
Message 6 of 19

Re: McAfee FW Blocks FTP Transfer

Hayton, thanks for your comment.   With respect to your kind suggestions (Thank you!) : migrating to a web FTP client is simply not practical. I need to automatically move  several hundred files in and out of directories with several thousand  files, and scripting is the only efficient way I've found to do that- it  can not require any extra time and no extra mouse clicks or typing.

I spent 4 hours troubleshooting, adjusting settings, restarting, adding exceptions, opening ports51000-56000, changing my software codebase, removing and reinstalling McAfee, testing different FTP software, ect... none of my chages fixed anything. I still had to disable the firewall completely to get files out. 

As it turns out,  the McAfee update Saturday morning caused the problem and the Sunday update fixed it.

McAfee wasted an afternoon of my life (and 4 hours of revenue) I'll never get back.

P.s. Comparing my Virtual Technician Report ( during FTP blocking)  with today's working components. Everything is the same except:

  1. Site Advisor build chaged from 3.5.0.229 to 3.5.229
  2. Online backup build changed from 4.1.115.0  to 4.1.115
Hayton
Reliable Contributor
Reliable Contributor
Message 7 of 19

Re: McAfee FW Blocks FTP Transfer

fwiw I can't get it to work on mine either. The difference is I don't need to so I haven't investigated it in any great detail.

cshumate
Former Member
Message 8 of 19

Re: McAfee FW Blocks FTP Transfer

Same problem:  FTP.EXE not able to download files. Works if I turn off Firewall.

I have updates as recent as 1/10/13 installed.

Additional issue: On the McAfee Total Protection dashboard, in the Virus and Spyware protection box, it shows Real-time scanning as Starting, with a constantly turning pinwheel.

I clicked on McAfee updates, and it the pinwheel is constantly turning there as well. It appears to be hung.

Two days ago I uninstalled and reinstalled McAfee, which fixed this stuff for a while, but today it is very problematic. Will uninstall again.

Anyone experiencing this? (I'm on Win 7)

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 9 of 19

Re: McAfee FW Blocks FTP Transfer

Try the Virtual Technician after a reboot :  http://mvt.mcafee.com/

Does that FTP client have full permission in the Firewall?

Tech Support is available free of charge if you need it.

cshumate
Former Member
Message 10 of 19

Re: McAfee FW Blocks FTP Transfer

Customer service uninstalled and reinstalled McAfee Total Protection WITHOUT the McAfee firewall, which was conflicting with Windows firewall on my computer.

Problem solved for me.

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