Windows firewall blocking but switch lights flashing?

Radiation

Radiation

Radiation

Soldato
Joined
12 Oct 2003
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If a program is blocked from connecting to the internet why do the switch lights still flash when it's running?

I did a quick test after i blocked something and noticed the activity, once nothing was running i did the same with firefox, tcpview shows no active connections but when i refresh a page the lights flash which doesn't make any sense if it's actually blocked, however firefox doesn't load it so it must be working? :confused:
 
You can't use the switch activity lights as a way of monitoring TCP/IP traffic, they work at a much lower level than that.
 
There is always something going down the line as long as the port is connected and powered.
 
If your PC is connected to a switch and the port is enabled there is no such thing as 'no activity'. The lights seeming to stop flashing when Firefox wasn't doing anything was a coincidence.

The only way to see exactly what's going on is to get a switch that supports port mirroring and run everything through Wireshark.
 
Radiation said:
No i said this was tested with no activity, it only flashed when i tried loading a website in firefox or i ran the program i wanted blocked.
Click to expand...

Like I said, there is ALWAYS something going down the line. Sometimes it is just your router and/or PC saying "duuude im still here!".

Install WireShark and watch it for a while. You would be surprised at just how much is sent and received even when the PC is sitting idle.

Edit: For example I just ran it with nothing running and left it for 5 mins, 857 packets of data recorded.
 
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Guys i get what you're saying but the flashing is directly related to my trying to connect, for example i could sit and wait with nothing running and see no flashing for as long as i want, yet when i block firefox and try loading a page the lights flash but i get no page, windows is sending something to the router and my switch lights flash, what exactly is happening im not sure, is it perhaps dns being checked but no actual connections from firefox or something else? perhaps windows firewall simply routes the packets to nowhere?
 
You might be blocking the HTTP traffic but DNS resolution will still be taking place - that is likely your 'flashing'. Load up Wireshark as previously suggested and enlighten yourself to the wonderful world of L2/L3 packet analysis.

:D
 
Network lights will flash whether you're doing anything or not :/ If you've got any other devices on your network then it could be traffic coming from them to your computer...

If you want to know what's happening then you can use Wireshark or Microsoft Network Monitor but the data you get there probably won't mean much to you.

Alternatively you can check the Windows Resouce Monitor in the network section to see what else has connections to anything off your computer but I wouldn't worry about it.
 
You are blocking all outbound traffic and the switch activity lights are a problem.

Solution: Unplug RJ45, Windows will stop sending traffic and the switch light will be off.
 
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