I downloaded DCOMbobulator, and did a remote port test, which routed me to his ShieldsUP program. The resulting port 135 test gave the following result: Stealth
This was further explained.....
In the case of port 135, a result of STEALTH would mean . . .
Your system's TCP port 135 is invisible to the external Internet. There are two possible causes for port 135 stealthing:
ISP or Corporate preemptive port blocking: Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Corporate IT departments reacted to the MSBlast DCOM worm by proactively blocking all traffic through port 135. This protected their customers and clients from attacks originating from outside of their network (and also as a side effect from the annoying Windows Messenger pop-up spam). However, such "border filtering" may not be effective in protecting internal users from each other. For this reason, you should not rely solely upon ISP or IT "border filtering" for safety. This utility should still be used to disable and unbind DCOM even if it appears that you are safe from the outside world. (Otherwise, you may not be safe from the inside world.)
Local personal router or firewall blocking: This is the best possible security your computer could have. It means that not only is TCP port 135 hidden from the public Internet, but that all or most of your system's other ports are similarly protected and that none of them can receive unsolicited and unwanted malicious traffic. Since "Stealth" ports are non-standard, the presence of a "Stealth" result implies that your network or system is employing some form of active Internet defense, probably in the form of a personal router or firewall. Windows is becoming so insecure by design, as Microsoft loads it with new features, that it is no longer safe to use Windows without a router's or firewall's protection.
Note: You can use GRC's other ShieldsUP! remote vulnerability tests to determine whether selected ports are being blocked on your behalf (by your ISP or other network provider) or whether your entire system is protected by a local router or firewall.
Ricochet_16
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