Ports - Am i at risk?

[wikkedwill]

Hi,

I have an ADSL 7401BRA Barricade Router Modem connected to a handful of PCs. I have tried the internet tests such as the one at www.sarc.com and all the ports in the list are closed, but not stealthed.

Stealthing a pc is just a case of installing a firewall, but i am not sure how to stealth my router.

If my ports are all closed, but not stealthed, am i still at risk and is there any way of stealthing the router?

[da chicken]

Offhand, I'd check with your router manufacturer to see if they have stealthing capabilities or software available (even third party suggestions). Low-end routers will most likely have no such capabilitiy.

Generally, though, the only difference between a closed port and a stealth port is that a stealth port acts like it doesn't exist. So a simple port scanner thinks there is no system there at all, rather than a system that isn't accepting connections (which is what a closed port is).

It's like the difference between a locked door and a secret door.

Still, it is very difficult to hack though most routers, though. You generally need some kind of knowledge about the network on the other side.