Vista - Does Vista firewall have holes?

Currently evaluating Windows Vista RC1. Has anyone experienced any issues
with Windows Vista firewall ports being detected as "closed" or "open" but
not listed as "secure"? I ran several firewall port tests from various sites
(ie: http://www.hackerwatch.org/probe/ ) and all listed the same open ports
"Telnet 23" and "Web Proxy 8080". All other ports are listed as "Closed"
which should indicate they not only respond to pings but are also visible to
the net. None of the ports in the test are listed as "Secure" (ingnore pings
and are thus not visible to third parties). Confirmed via "Control
Panel/Programs & Features/Turn Windows features On or Off" that "Telnet
Client" and "Telnet Server" are not enabled. Also confirmed my LAN settings
are set to auto-detect not use proxy port 8080 since I'm not running a web
server. So either the ping test is producing false positives or Microsoft's
Windows Vista firewall isn't recognizing the holes.

Dark Knight wrote:
> Currently evaluating Windows Vista RC1. Has anyone experienced any
> issues with Windows Vista firewall ports being detected as "closed"
> or "open" but not listed as "secure"? I ran several firewall port
> tests from various sites (ie: http://www.hackerwatch.org/probe/ ) and
> all listed the same open ports "Telnet 23" and "Web Proxy 8080". All
> other ports are listed as "Closed" which should indicate they not
> only respond to pings but are also visible to the net. None of the
> ports in the test are listed as "Secure" (ingnore pings and are thus
> not visible to third parties). Confirmed via "Control Panel/Programs
> & Features/Turn Windows features On or Off" that "Telnet Client" and
> "Telnet Server" are not enabled. Also confirmed my LAN settings are
> set to auto-detect not use proxy port 8080 since I'm not running a
> web server. So either the ping test is producing false positives or
> Microsoft's Windows Vista firewall isn't recognizing the holes.

Are you, perchance, using a DSL or Cable Modem internet connection with a
'router' to share the connection wirelessly or between several wired
computers?

The test system is a single workstation connected directly the the net using
a broadband cable modem, not using a router. The open ports were detected
using default firewall settings.

"Dark Knight" wrote:

> Currently evaluating Windows Vista RC1. Has anyone experienced any issues
> with Windows Vista firewall ports being detected as "closed" or "open" but
> not listed as "secure"?

try to uncheck "Core networking" from the firewall exceptions

All exceptions were unchecked in the exceptions section of Vista's firewall
and the same open ports were listed. Since this is Windows which typically
requires a reboot to make changes effective I did that but it still didn't
resolve the issue. I've also tried changing the Network settings from Private
to Public but no difference in the insecure ports occurred.

"BillD" wrote:

> try to uncheck "Core networking" from the firewall exceptions

Dark Knight wrote:
> The test system is a single workstation connected directly the the
> net using a broadband cable modem, not using a router. The open ports
> were detected using default firewall settings.

The most likely explanation is that those ports are related to your Cable
Modem.

"Dark Knight" wrote:

> All exceptions were unchecked in the exceptions section of Vista's firewall
> and the same open ports were listed.

I've tested the Vista Firewall with your test and all the ports are stealthed

> Since this is Windows which typically
> requires a reboot to make changes effective I did that but it still didn't
> resolve the issue.

NO.
Changing rules don't require a reboot

While I haven't figured out what's causing it I know I'm not the only one
experiencing an issue with being informed Telnet port 23 is open and
insecure. After Googling the issue I've found several referrences to other
Windows Vista RC1 testers that have port 23 and port 8080 being left open and
insecure. I turned off all exceptions in the Windows Firewall as well run a
complete virus scan with Avast. Windows Vista RC1 was directly downloaded
from Microsoft's website with a valid key and the workstation hard drive was
formatted prior to installation so it's a clean installation.

"BillD" wrote:

> I've tested the Vista Firewall with your test and all the ports are stealthed

What's the make and model of the modem involved?

--

"Dark Knight" <DarkKnight@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:C2564A0F-C130-4C80-AC6E-F5066B189324@microsoft.com...
> While I haven't figured out what's causing it I know I'm not the only one
> experiencing an issue with being informed Telnet port 23 is open and
> insecure. After Googling the issue I've found several referrences to other
> Windows Vista RC1 testers that have port 23 and port 8080 being left open
> and
> insecure. I turned off all exceptions in the Windows Firewall as well run
> a
> complete virus scan with Avast. Windows Vista RC1 was directly downloaded
> from Microsoft's website with a valid key and the workstation hard drive
> was
> formatted prior to installation so it's a clean installation.
>
> "BillD" wrote:
>
>> I've tested the Vista Firewall with your test and all the ports are
>> stealthed
>

Motorola SB5100 (aka: SurfBoard) broadband cable modem.

"Bill Sanderson" wrote:

> What's the make and model of the modem involved?