Hey, I was wondering if forwarding my port would open my computer up to viruses and hackers. Like, to the Tribes 2 Master server, would there be a chance of hackers and viruses getting in?
Strictly speaking, anything you expose to the internet does lower your security, if only slightly.
The risk presented by forwarding a few ports to the machine to allow the server to be queried is very thin - almost negligable, especially considering the traffic would be passed through both your router's built-in firewall, and the firewall software on the one machine you've forwarded these ports to. Being that these ports are fairly uncommon, they won't likely be a target of some random attacker, and if you really fear for your safety you could stop them at the router again when unneeded.
I have had my own server running off my personal computer with the ports forwarded non-stop to the one machine and no additional security software for around 6 years and haven't had a single problem.
Keep in mind that anyone using a regular switch, or infact a direct line to the internet does not have the added protection that the router provides and as such does not even have to forward these ports - they are already going straight to the machine and rely on the software alone to manage all of their connections. If they practice safe internet through the entire course of their use, it'd be rare they experience a single attack at all.
Your windows firewall will usually block the traffic sent through the port as well, unless it's being sent through one of the applications allowed to do so.
It does not require the master server's IP. Since you've said you're running on a linksys router, it should be as simple as logging in to your router's administration page, clicking on "Applications & Gaming", and using the port forwarding page to select which ports you want to forward and the machine you want them pointed to (you'll need your local network address for this - should be easy to find on the status page, or by clicking on your active connection on window's network connections page - eg. 192.168.1.102). Check off the box to make sure the rule is enabled and click save.
Could be, or the port not have been unbound when you killed the server. Reset the router or run the server on a different port if you don't want to bother with anything more intuitive.
setNetPort($Host::Port); will return an error 5 when attempting to initialize udp on the port if it's already bound.
Comments
The risk presented by forwarding a few ports to the machine to allow the server to be queried is very thin - almost negligable, especially considering the traffic would be passed through both your router's built-in firewall, and the firewall software on the one machine you've forwarded these ports to. Being that these ports are fairly uncommon, they won't likely be a target of some random attacker, and if you really fear for your safety you could stop them at the router again when unneeded.
I have had my own server running off my personal computer with the ports forwarded non-stop to the one machine and no additional security software for around 6 years and haven't had a single problem.
Keep in mind that anyone using a regular switch, or infact a direct line to the internet does not have the added protection that the router provides and as such does not even have to forward these ports - they are already going straight to the machine and rely on the software alone to manage all of their connections. If they practice safe internet through the entire course of their use, it'd be rare they experience a single attack at all.
Your windows firewall will usually block the traffic sent through the port as well, unless it's being sent through one of the applications allowed to do so.
Application: T2
Start: 27999
End: 28000
Protocol: Both
IP Address: 192.168.1.100
Enabled: True
What's wrong?
setNetPort($Host::Port); will return an error 5 when attempting to initialize udp on the port if it's already bound.
Edit:
Nevermind, I saw Shamrockjack in my server a bit ago.