Port scanning

[Valerie]

I received a message from my secuiry log on sygate personal firewall that somebody is scanning my computer. It stated it was a port scan; what is a port scan? The message stated my computers TCP ports: 1080, 8080, 6588, and 3128 have been scanned from remote host 122.116.17.131. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[howard_hopkinso]

That`s perfectly normal and is nothing to worry about. Just have your firewall block it and tell it not to alert you again.

It`s just your firewall doing it`s job.

Your computer is often scanned from various locations and that`s why it`s so important to have firewall software.

Regards Howard

 

[technicalfury42]

A port scan is where someone runs (usually) an automated tool that attempts to see what sorts of services you are running. If your system is not protected by a firewall, this can leave you vulnerable to attack through the exploit of one of those running services.

http://www.auditmypc.com/freescan/readingroom/port_scanning.asp

 

[DelJo63]

port scanning can lead to temporary loss of access

Sometimes a firewall will start blocking the source address from which the port
scan occurs.

Just yesterday, my FW (comodo) caught a port scan and disabled inbound traffic
from the source; SADLY, that address was a spoof of my DNS address which meant
that I lost browser access until the blocking time period was over.

Port Scanning is frequently performed from a spoofed address; they're trying
to get access without being tracked to their location.