Strange connections on ethernet

I've been noticing some strange behavior on my antivirus' firewall since I started using a university campus network. For some reason it has been flagging a lot of inbound connections (While no programs internet browsers or anything of the sort are activity running) from random company IPs all over the globe, all of them going through the "System" application. This strikes me as odd considering I was reading this thread and that seemed to suggest that this should not be happening over an ethernet connection plugged straight into the router, as it will only let data through that was actually requested. Did the campus just not configure it correctly? Why are all these connections being established?

 

Well no, these IPs go to various different companies from all over the world. Getting things from China, Russia, Europe, America... They look to me like spam connections. And again, I'm on an ethernet connection and the router is here in my room with me (Nobody else uses it), so I'm not sure what it could be.

 

I suspect universities are hotbeds for a variety of accesses, some valid and correct, some not. The huge variety of transient users - every semester could have different ones - would make targeted allocations of IPs a daunting task, but then again - what IS the purpose of classes in Theory of Network Administration?!!

 

Where did you get your IP assignment, from the router in your room by dynamic (DHCP) assignment, or from the university's network admin with a static IP? That is, did your computer pick up an IP address automatically, or did you have to manually configure your network connection by manually entering an IP address provided by admin?

And are you sure it is a router being used as a router? Or could it be a switch or a router being used as a switch? I note the purpose of a "router" is to connect, or to isolate two networks. Is it a [so-called] "wireless" router?

For sure, network admin needs to know who is connecting to the network.

Also for sure, regardless, you need to ensure your computer, your OS, and your security programs are fully updated, and you need to avoid risky behavior like illegal filesharing of tunes and videos via P2P sites and torrents.

Well, it "looks" like they are trying to get established and your FW is blocking them.

 

It seemed to assign the IP manually (Just plugged in the ethernet and it was good to go). Should note that when I tried plugging in my Mac, it got an error that the network had a "Self-assigned IP address" and could not connect to the internet.

Not sure about your second question, but it isn't wireless, I can tell you that much.

And yes, all of the software on my computer is up to date. I don't pirate things, and run AV scans on a fairly regular basis. Should note that these mysterious connections do not seem to be made when connected to the (really poor quality) Wi-Fi network. I'd use that, but it seldom works reliably.

 

When Dig meant "assigning an IP manually", he meant YOU went thru the IPCONFIG utilities and typed in one IP Address thar your System Admin dictated to you.

Your sentence of "It seemed to assign the IP manually (just plugged in...)" sounds like an auto-assignment of the IP by the university's servers.

Your Mac's error makes it sound like it IS hard-coded to one IP address. Chances are, some other computer is using that hard-coded address, too "No conflicts allowed!!"

This might be an issue your university's system admin can offer the most correct insight.

 

What Christine said.