Network ports used

[TheUltimateLink]

So I set up an BYOAC with GameEx as my front end. I thought I could save myself some OS resources and increase overall speed and efficiency if I could isolate my arcade on my network, disable all traffic to and from it except for RDP (for management), and then not install updates or antivirus suite. The problem is that once I isolated the arcade on the network, I noticed that GameEX took a huge performance hit and I was facing long loading screens between menu selections. As soon as I would turn the isolation off, it was running like a dream. It was going out to the internet and downloading and checking things like MAME artwork.

My question is what ports does the program use, so I can enable those ports only and not have to worry about loading a firewall/AV suite and keeping it updated. I want to close as many ports as possible to cut the chances of a remote attacker figuring out my system isn't protected and getting in and doing something bad.

Can anyone help me out?

I appreciate any help anyone can provide me.

[Adultery]

Well if it were me I would just use WireShark for checking which ports are used.

Any of my plugins that need the network will simply not initialize if it can't find an open connection, but GameEx uses the internet for update checks, subscription checks, any updates to the Settings Wizard, database connections, online lists, and probably other things too.

If you were going to watch ports you might look into some software that lists open ports for you so you can monitor.

[nullPointer]

Hi UltimateLink and Welcome!

As Adultery pointed out, GameEx will utilize your network for various tasks, and the ports used may vary depending on what functionality and plugins you have enabled.

There are definitely some alterations that you can make to your settings that will help to minimize network reliance though. Automatic Artwork download, and Steam support (as well as EA Origin, and uPlay) spring immediately to mind.

[TheUltimateLink]

I thank you for your quick replies! The machine is set up to be as self-contained as possible and the only programs the computer uses outside of GameEx are the respective emulators like MAME and Dolphin. The machine itself is extremely simple and meant to be the minimal required to run the games without any hiccups. That being said, I think the only thing running besides that is the automatic art download. I should disable that and see if it fixes the issue. If it does, that'll be perfect. I already have all the games loaded that I'll ever need, so there's no need to re-download the artwork ever again. If that's not it, I'll hit up WireShark and see where traffic is going.

I appreciate all your help, Gentlemen!

And of course, I'll keep you updated of my findings.

[tthurman]

Just curious, but by isolating to it's own network you're creating work for yourself, is there a specific reason why?

Opening RDP on default port 3389 brings with it an open invitation to Morto, so you will still need to keep things up to date form a AV and firewall side of things. If you really intend to do this, and have RDP exposed to the external side of you network, you may want to consider changing the listening port for RDP to something other than default as an extra layer of security.

Adultery gives some good advice for finding the ports being used, here are some other free options for packet sniffing. My understanding is that Evolution will bring more online features, so be prepared to visit this again once it has launched.

<edit> properly dealt with, Morto can easily be turned away, but it will hammer the hell out of port 3389 regardless.

[TheUltimateLink]

The specific reason why is that I want to use it as a get up and go. If I go awhile without playing on it, as soon as I turn it on, it wants to go and grab updates and just generally slows it down. isolating it allows me to administrate it remotely since there's no keyboard/mouse connected to it, and won't allow remote attackers to get into it.

I already changed the port for RDP to something obscure and generally unused and setup a Username/Password to thwart anyone trying to get in.

The main point is that I don't want anything standing in between Windows and GameEx. If GameEx was it's own standalone OS that would be perfect. But since I have to deal with Windows, I'm trying to defend myself and my network without having to bog the machine down.

Just got done turning off all the extras that use network connections and it was still loading slow. I'm going to use WireShark to see what it's trying to use, and possibly open them up, depending on which ports they are.

[tthurman]

Cool, sounds like you've already mitigated your risks, and as soon as you determine what ports you need open you'll be good to go.

[TheUltimateLink]

And that's why I just gave up. Looking at WireShark, there was no traffic coming from GameEx. There was other stuff that I coudln't explain. I mean, when I ran it, all traffic was blocked to my arcade's IP at the switch level. All the traffic WireShark was detecting was coming from local network discoveries and some traffic going to (or at least attempting to) other unknown places. So unless someone knows which ports specifically GameEx uses, I'm just going to reinstall my protection suite and hope for the best.

[Draco1962]

I use the Windows Security suite (got tired of issues and bloat with Symantec and McAfee suites) and haven't had any problems.

[tthurman]

I use the Windows Security suite (got tired of issues and bloat with Symantec and McAfee suites) and haven't had any problems.

I couldn't agree with this statement more!

The Windows security suite is far from perfect, but if you exercise even the most basic safe practices, you will be rewarded by not loosing system performance unlike the readily available retail "security suites". These suites make an i7 run like a 486!

Your at a bit of a disadvantage because you currently can't test the online portion of GameEx, which will change in the near future with the launch of Evolution. You may be well served by putting this machine back on your open network, or opening the network it is currently on, and then running GameEx Mame games, Steam, Origin, etc. etc., even perhaps move some emumovies files, and letting the sniffer see what ports become active when things start pulling back down, because at that point there will most definitely be some network/port activity. I'm guessing that since your config and downloads are pretty much done, just running GameEx without making it work is netting you the lack of network traffic results. Regardless, it would prove a simple method of testing that requires very little effort on your part. Honestly I've never used WireShark, but I've used many commercially available versions, and something seems fishy that your only seeing internal network discoveries. Are you certain that you are monitoring the correct network interface?

I've not used it in a long time, and didn't recommend it then because so many seem to be have problems understanding the questions they are answering, but even something like a zonealarm trial should show all kinds of network/port activity, so something seems to be amiss with the results your getting.

[Tom Speirs]

Only http (80) and https (443) outgoing only. Nothing else or incoming unless you are using GameExtender.

It will also scan for uPNP media servers on your local network. Not sure what ports that is.

There is also nothing I can think of that would slow things down if those ports are not open.

[Les73gtx]

Maybe I am missing something .... if you have it all setup the way you want it and it is not on very often ... why even have a network connection? Disable any network connections there might be and good to go. Easy enough to tell windows not to automatically look for updates when it is online along with any other software like flash player and reader.

If there is no network connection enabled there will be zero slowdowns from update checks.

[tthurman]

Well a couple things "could" be affected, perhaps things that aren't that big of a deal to some, and more so to others.

Updating your sets (unless you sneakernet)

EmuMovies additions and updates, for those that have this service, and if you don't you should be checking it out, pretty much completely painless with GameEx!

Online aspects of GameEx that will become more prevalent with future releases

Who knows what Evolution might add to the stack

Granted some of these may not be important to some individuals as others.