I have a DLinK DNS323 external hard drive connected to my network via ethernet.
I can positively ping the device but I cannot see it on my computer.
How do I tell Comodo Firewall to allow this IP address?
When you say “I cannot see it on my computer” is this via network browsing?
That is correct
I cannot see it under My Computer on my Windows 7 PC
My backup software also cannot access it
From what I know about this device, it uses standard NetBIOS file and printer protocols for accessing shares, it also uses LLTP, but that’s currently broken in CIS. You should be able to access the device by making sure the ‘System’ process has a firewall application rule that allows it to make outbound connections over TCP and UDP, to ports 137 to 139 and possibly port 445. You also need to make sure the System process can receive inbound connections, so that it can ‘see’ NetBIOS announcements from devices on the LAN.
The easiest way to configure the firewall to allow complete access for Microsoft file and printer sharing, is to run the Stealth Ports Wizard with:
Define a new trusted network and make my ports stealth for everyone else
Basically, this creates the rules necessary for the System process and also creates a couple of Global rules to allow the necessary communication.
Once you’ve configured the firewall appropriately, see if the device appears when browsing the network. If it still doesn’t appear try manually mapping the device using a UNC path:
\enter device name here
Also make sure you have the appropriate privileges to access the device.