I have made a simple server/client Winsock program. The server is on my laptop, and I want the client to be on another computer outside my LAN. Actually, my LAN is the problem. I have a D-Link router with a built-in firewall. I have set it up so it should forward all the information on port 50 to my laptop, but it doesn't. My IP address given to me by my ISP is 111.111.11.111* and my laptop's IP address given to it by my proxy server is 33.23.45.123*. The client.exe program on the outside computer is set to connect to 111.111.11.111*. It doesn't work. However, when I set the exact same client program to 33.23.35.123* and put it on another computer on my LAN, it does work. What am i doing wrong? * Some IP addresses were chaged for the author's security and privacy.

I haven't had much luck with port forwarding either, so I'm hardly qualified...But I'll make a few small suggestions. You'll get better ones in the networking forum. 1. The reason it works when you connect it to the lan (ie your local 192.168.x.x address) is that the router doesn't firewall computers from other computers in the lan. This will work regardless of whether you have port forwarding or not. The router blocks traffic from wan into lan. 2. Try connecting the laptop directly to the modem, and see if you can connect using the 111 address from a computer not in the LAN without the router in the way. If this works, put the router back, but set your laptop to work in DMZ (de-militarized zone). This forwards all unrouted traffic to your laptop. If this works, then there's something wrong with how you have port forwarding set up. If it doesn't, then there's probably some other setting in the router we're missing. 3. I assume by "proxy server" you mean the routers NAT. If you mean some other kind of proxy server than you need to explain your setup more accurately. <indirectly related sidenotes> 4. If the 33 address is the one assigned to you by your router, then it's probably something like 192.168.x.x. Nobody can use this to attack your computer. 5. you may want to check out programs like dynu, dns2go, planetdns, etc. that will act as dynamic dns servers for your ip address. So you can go to myname.dynu.com instead of 111 etc, and the myname.dynu.com will work even when your isp gives you a different address. </indirectly related sitenotes> Good luck, sorry I haven't been much help. -SN

1. I knew that; that was just to show my server/client programs were working. 2. I can't connect directly to modem for some reason (ISP/MAC address?; no clue; I got more stupid just calling Knology's [my ISP] tech support). Tried DMZ too; didn't work. 3. I guess it's NAT. 4. I knew that. 5. whatever I did find out that the guy (outside my LAN) that was helping me test by using the client program had a router with a firewall, so I tried it on another friend's computer that I knew didn't have a firewall; it still didn't work. He had Windows XP, I have 98 SE; could that make a difference? The IP addresses in my first post were fake (Shock!). My real ones are: Laptop (server): 192.168.0.102 External (ISP-assigned): 69.1.49.99 Other LAN Computer: 192.168.0.100 Port used for program: 50 Thanx

Sorry to not have been much help...As you can imagine, we get people of many levels of expertise in here, and it's impossible to guess what they do or don't know... Some ISPs require that you call them and tell them the mac address of the new device when you connect the modem with something different. As you mentioned, the techs are usually morons, so you have to explain to them exactly what they have to do. My old ISP did not require this, but my new one does. It's lame for troubleshooting, but that's the way the game is played. I would call again and see if you can convince them to add your NIC's mac address to the "allowed clients" list. You may need to call them again after you've tested it to set it back to the router's mac address. It's unlikely that OS made a difference. As I mentioned, try the networking forum...They may be able to tell you a setting on the router that I have missed. As I mentioned, I've never really gotten port forwarding to work so I'm hardly a good source. -SN