Xbox 360 Live tutorial

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Comodo firewa
21

Aspie,

Will you capture a full-screen screenshot of your Network Monitor, and post it here? That will help a lot, to see exactly what rules you have (you can mask out IP addresses & other personal info that may be there; just leave enough of IP addresses to show a match where needed).

Also, will you go to CPF’s Activity/Logs (with XBox running, and trying to connect); right-click and select Export to HTML. Then you can copy/paste text from that (showing XBox’s connection being blocked) into your post. Again, you can mask out IP addresses, etc.

TNX,

LM

22

Hello and thanks for the response.

I am using only one computer which is connected directly to my cable modem (high-speed Internet) via USB. The Xbox 360 is connected to my computer via an Ethernet connection. My computer is running Windows XP Pro SP2 and I am running CPF Version 2.4.16.174.

I am quite ignorant when it comes to firewalls and networking, but I’m slowly learning.
Thanks for any help in advance.

23

Just tried connecting to Xbox Live and it worked fine this time. Here is my network monitor

800×213 40.4 KB

I have three log entries as my Xbox connected.

Log 1

Log 2

Log 3

Are these because I have it set up to stream music from my PC?

Thanks.

24

Aspie,

Everything looks in order with your Network Rules; nothing is obviously out of whack.

On the Log entries, those are related to WMP running. OLE is a legitimate operation, and relates to applications/services sharing resources and communicating with each other.

A real-life example is if you link a chart from Excel into a Word document, so that the Word doc updates to the latest information in the Excel chart every time the doc is opened. This is an OLE operation.

However, it can also be used by malware to hijack your system. What CPF monitors is if that sort of activity happens with a program that has internet access. Doesn’t mean it’s malware, just that it is an unknown activity and you need to approve or deny it. If you deny, you will lose your internet connection (most likely until a reboot). If you approve, it will only last for that session. If you select “Remember” with either, obviously you will create a Rule in the App Monitor.

Generally svchost & services are safe to allow; in fact, if you block svchost, you won’t be able to update your internet connection. You might check to make sure you don’t have “Block” rules in place for these in your App Monitor.

LM

25

Okay, should be easy enough. :wink:

Pandlouk’s first post in this topic explains how to run the Network Wizard in CPF, to set up your XBox as a trusted Zone. This should enable/allow all traffic between XBox and your computer, for the purpose of internet connectivity. Presuming, of course, that you’ve gone through XBox’s instruction to set up your computer for using it as a Gateway for the connection, Internet Connection Sharing, etc (which is what you’re doing).

Then after setting up the trusted zone/network for XBox, you will add the two Network Monitor rules that Pandlouk posted; this will set up the ability in CPF for the communication from the Zone to take place both In and Out from the internet.

Be sure to reboot following these things.

Any questions after doing that, just post back.

LM

26

I’m going to attach a screenshot of my Network Monitor configuration. I think I have it set up correctly, but the Xbox 360 fails the IP Address test.

It all works when the firewall is off, but I typically do not like to have the firewall down.

Thanks for all of your help. I am very appreciative.

Take care.

27

Sorry…got so ahead of myself that I forgot to post the screenshot.

[attachment deleted by admin]

28

RKCole,

Thanks for the network screenshot. That helps; in some ways, at least… :slight_smile:

You’ve got a couple rules in there (IDs 5 & 6) that I’m not sure how they got there, and would appear to be loose from a security standpoint. Also, at this point, your Zone rules for XBox should be IP Any rather than IGMP; we only want to add IGMP explicitly if it doesn’t seem to be working otherwise (it should be encompassed implicitly by the IP Any rule).

So, here’s what I’d like to propose, since you said you’re new to this stuff, and trying to learn. It’ll take a little bit of your time, but in the long run I think will make things easier for you.

One of the Mods, AOwl, has made a very good video tutorial on how to install and configure CPF. It is located here: https://forums.comodo.com/index.php/topic,4766.0.html That will take you through, step by step, with screenshots and detailed instructions, for installation, setting up a zone/network, trusted applications, etc.

My recommendation is to watch the video, then uninstall CPF, reboot, and reinstall, following the video guide. I know that sounds like a pain, but CPF’s install is so quick and simple, the most time-consuming part about it is the reboot. :wink: That way, you start completely fresh, and are walked through step by step. Using the Wizards automates the process, and takes some (most, if not all) of the headache/hassle out of it.

If you absolutely prefer not to reinstall CPF at this point, well obviously I can’t force you to (:TNG) , and we can take on the details of getting everything fixed. I really think it will be quicker to do a quick “do-over” and follow AOwl’s video.

LM

29

No, I don’t see a problem in reinstalling. I know some would think it is too time-consuming and so forth, but I always find that the best way to learn is through repetition and hands-on experience. It will be a good learning experience as I am one who has a fondness for personal education.

I don’t know exactly when I will be able to do this yet as my wife has some things she needs to do online, but is it alright if I post back when I get the chance? Hopefully it will not be too far off from now.

Thanks for the help. I am definitely very glad that I switched to Comodo.

Thanks again.

30

No problem, RKCole,

Just post back when you’re able. It’ll pop up in my list of topics, that you’ve responded, and I’ll get to it asap.

LM

31

Here is an after-reinstallation screenshot (prior to setting up a new trusted zone).

I’m not completely sure about this, but would some of the rules set currently have to do with my screen magnifier (ZoomText) as I am visually impaired, and I know it has some type of agent application that works with my Internet browsers.

[attachment deleted by admin]

32

Nope, RK, that’s the six rules created by default with an Automatic installation of Comodo’s FW. Lookin’ good so far. Now follow the video to set up the Zone and Network. If I recall right, it also has you scan for known applications as well.

Just be sure to reboot when all is finished. That way the memory is cleared out, and the new rules set.

LM

33

I set up the new Trusted Zone (named XBL) and I then created the two rules mentioned in the first post to this thread. After rebooting, the Xbox 360 fails the IP Address test. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong, but will keep at it.

Thanks for the constant communication.

34

With the rules exactly like in the first post, it should work. When you run XBox and try to connect (when it fails this test), what are the corresponding Log entries in CPF?

Go to Activity/Logs, right-click an entry, and select “Export to HTML.” Reopen the file, copy and paste text into your next post.

LM

PS: You don’t have to copy/paste all gazillion of them; just the top ones for the timeframe (maybe 10 or so).

35

I don’t think the firewall is the problem in question here now as I just turned it off to see if Xbox Live would work, and it is still failing the IP Address test. I am going to take a look at some things and I will post back pretty soon.

36

Okay, be sure to keep us posted. I’m interested to hear if you find the problem; I notice what I think is a lot of users reporting the IP Address test failing, without what is an obvious solution posted. It will be good to know a specific problem/solution (whether it’s CPF or not).

LM

37

I’m back.

In this case it was not CPF. I’m going to give you a little example of how I have thing sset up. Please forgive me for any typos…I try my best to spell-check everything.

I use the USB function of my modem (a Motorola SURFBoard SB5120) to connect my PC to the Internet. My computer has an integrated Intel Pro 10/100 Ethernet Adapter which I use to establish a wired connection between my Xbox 360 and my PC. (I am moving to California next month, and I plan to use a Linksys router rather than ICS once I get there).

Apparently there was something wrong with the network adapters (Most likely caused by me messing around when I originally set up ICS (I used a different firewall back then, too…I am very glad I switched to Comodo)

In any case…I right-clicked on My Computer, went to Properties->Hardware->Device Manager and uninstalled the two network adapters. When Windows restarted, the Found New Hardware procedures took place, thus giving me fresh entries under Control Panel->Network Connections. I then enabled ICS for the Cable modem, and now it all seems to work perfectly fine.

I think that solves the issue for me. See…my problem is that I know very little about networking/firewalls, but I know a decent amount about computers and various applications and programming languages…I really need to get some Networking and Security books or something.

Hope this information can help some others who may be stuck in the same situation.

Thanks for the help today. I greatly appreciate it. I’m very glad I found the forums. :slight_smile:

38

Thanks for the detailed response; that is very good to know… I hope that proves useful for others, as well.

So, when you move to CA, will you be using your SURFBoard for a different purpose? :smiley:

For Comodo’s firewall, there’s a wealth of information here: https://forums.comodo.com/index.php/topic,894.0.html It’s a compilation of all the hottest questions and answers, problems and solutions, tutorials, etc. You’ll find AOwl’s install video there, an excellent explanation of Network Control Rules by m0ng0d, and a whole lot more. Poke around, ask questions as you need. Someone will be glad to answer.

LM

39

Thanks for the help Little Mac.

40

Hey Little Mac or anyone else who would know, I’m trying to set my pc up to share files with my 360 but I don’t know exactly what to do. I have a DSL modem hooked via ethernet to my pc and I also have a switch which I use to connect the 360 (also via ethernet). What do I have to do to get it to recognize my pc on the 360? I assume I have to create some rules within Comodo. Oh and also I have version 2.4.17.183 of Comodo. Any help would be greatly appreciated.