Port blocking?

[Githerax]

I recently switched from MacAfee to Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Home Premium.  Now port checker times out on my forwarded port.  I turned off Windows Firewall and both Malwarebytes Malware Protection and Malicous Website Protection, still times out.  What am I missing?

[Aura]

Hi Githerax

Which port did you forward? Also, what tool are you using to listen to the port?

[Githerax]

25565, for Minecraft, and I used a port checker website and also my own Minecraft client with my external IP plugged in (localhost works, of course).

[Aura]

What Antivirus are you using? From what I can understand, right now you're using Windows Firewall as your Firewall, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium as your Anti-Malware, but what about your Antivirus?

[Githerax]

Windows Defender

[Aura]

Are you using Windows 7, 8, 8.1 or 10?

[Githerax]

10

[Aura]

If you configure a clean boot and restart your computer, is the port still blocked?

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/what-is-clean-boot-state-in-windows

[Githerax]

Ok did that, still says 'connection timed out'.

[Aura]

Is it the same in Safe Mode with Networking?

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows-10/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode

[Githerax]

Same

[Aura]

In that case, I doubt that Malwarebytes or Windows Firewall is the issue here. There's something else conflicting.

Did you validate your power forward settings in your router? What is your router brand and model? 

[Githerax]

It's a Netgear WGR614v9, just looked at port forwarding and it's still set TCP/UDP, 25565, 192.168.1.2

[Aura]

Is your IP address still 192.168.1.2? Open the command prompt, and enter ipconfig then verify the "IPv4 address" line.

[Githerax]

It was different; it is 192.168.1.5 now.  I changed the port-forwarding setting in router setup and rebooted, then did www.canyouseeme.org; still timed out.

Edit: regular boot, not clean or safe

Edited May 4, 2016 by Githerax

[Aura]

Then my guess is that the IP changed again. What you should do is set yourself a static IP address (on the network interface you are currently using), and make sure you portforward the port of that IP in your router.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/19249/how-to-assign-a-static-ip-address-in-xp-vista-or-windows-7/

[Githerax]

Oh, I also checked IPv4 address after reboot, it was still .5 so I opened the browser and did the check.

As for changing to static, will that mess with my ISP?  I think they want me to keep it dynamic.

[Aura]

No. When you change the IP address of a network interface, it only affects the status of your private IP address (the one in your LAN). Your public IP address (provided by your ISP, for the WAN) isn't affected.

[Githerax]

Oh no I feel like an idiot; during this whole process I was not running the Minecraft server, so there was nothing on my end of port 25565; The IPv4 was probably the issue, though, since that was the only thing that had really changed from my previous router port forwarding setup.

 

Thanks, Aura, for taking all this time; I'll (hopefully) remember more for future issues so I won't waste someone's time!

[Aura]

That was the next step: downloading and using Port Listener of your port to make sure that there's indeed something using it

And no problem Githerax, you're welcome!

[Firefox]

3 hours ago, Githerax said:

I recently switched from MacAfee to Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Home Premium.

Just to add... Malwarebytes is not an Antivirus Program and not a replacement for one, it is designed to run alongside an antivirus program. If your happy with windows defender then that is fine, just make sure you keep an active Antivirus program along with Malwarebytes Premium.

Thanks

[Githerax]

Thanks Firefox, yeah I figured at this point wouldn't most anti-virus services function pretty much alike?

[Firefox]

Its a matter of preference and what works best for you... I myself an not to fond of Windows Defender (this is my opinion and not an opinion of Malwarebytes).

AV Recommendations

There is no such thing as "the best" otherwise there would be no one else in the business.
 
Here is a List of well-known antivirus products use of any of these will help protect your computer.
 

[Aura]

Quote

There is no such thing as "the best" otherwise there would be no one else in the business.

This is the most important. I would also add quietman's article on choosing an Antivirus with this, since it really explains why this is true.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/407147/answers-to-common-security-questions-best-practices/#entry2316629