What are the connection ports
Whenever we connect to the Internet, between the device we use such as a mobile phone, computer or any other, information is sent to the router. This data exchange is what allows us to access a website or any online service.
Now the router has multiple ports with which it is capable of ordering the information. There are thousands and some of them are open as standard, while most are closed. There is certain information that is going to pass through a specific port, so whether it is open or closed will influence the speed.
Routers have ports that go from 0 to 65535. There are, therefore, more than 65,000 different ports. There are three different blocks. The first goes from 0 to 1023, which are ports basically reserved for the operating system and different essential functions.
Another block, the one that is really important for the programs, is the one that goes from port 1024 to 49151. They are the ones that will use the different applications that we install or any online game. Sometimes when installing something, such as a game, it automatically opens the ports it will need or asks us for permissions to do so.
The last block is the one that goes from port 49152 to 65535, which is the last one. They are those that allow certain applications to connect to servers. They are known as dynamic or private ports and are the ones used by P2P connections.
Check open ports with You Get Signal
There are different methods and tools to be able to check which ports we have open in our connection. This will allow us to know if the ones we need for a specific game or program are closed and we have to open it or are already configured correctly. One of those options is You Get Signal.
You Get Signal is a web page that shows us information related to our network. Within this data it also has a section dedicated to the ports in use. It is very useful if we want to quickly and easily see if a specific one is open.
To use it we have to enter its website. We don’t need to install any programs and everything is quite intuitive. There we will find the section corresponding to open ports.
If we click on Port Forwarding Tester It will take us to the page to check if a certain port is open or not. There we will have to put the public IP address, which automatically fills us in, as well as the port that interests us and click on Check. You Get Signal will give us the information.
On the right we have a list with the main ports that users usually search for. For example we will see the 21 that uses FTP, the 22 that corresponds to SSH, 5900 for VNC, 25565 for Minecraft …
The process to detect whether it is open or not takes just a few seconds. As soon as we give to Check and begins to analyze it, it will show us a message in which it indicates that this port is open or closed. From there, whatever the need we have, we can go to the router configuration and close or open it. We can do this with any port that interests us.
What is the use of opening the ports
After explaining what the router ports, let’s talk about why it might be interesting to open them. We have seen that there are tens of thousands, so logically it will not be necessary (or recommended) to have all of them open. But yes, sometimes it can be important to have some open.
One of the most common reasons for wanting to open the router ports is to be able to play online. Video game consoles use a series of specific ports, but also video games that we install on the computer and have access to the Internet.
These games will have to connect to remote servers to be able to play online with other users. In order for the connection to go smoothly and to avoid cuts, it is sometimes necessary to open the specific ports that are going to be used.
Improve download speed
Another very common reason is to be able to improve the download speed. This is especially important when we are going to use P2P applications to download or upload files. Each program will use specific ports on the router that we must open to squeeze the speed.
To open those that correspond we need to inform ourselves in advance. You have to know which ones they are going to use in particular and thus configure the router appropriately so as not to run security risks.
Use video calling programs
The video calling appsIn the same way as games or download programs, they will need to open certain ports so that the operation is as good as possible and make the most of the connection so that there are no cuts.
For example, we are talking about Skype, which needs to open the corresponding ports so that the connectivity is as good as possible and has a fluid communication. The same goes for any other similar program.
Access other devices
On the other hand, it may also be necessary to open the ports to be able to access a certain device that we have connected in a network or remotely. This will allow us to reduce problems and prevent you from going slow.
We can name, for example, a server that we are trying to connect to. We may need to open the ports for that connection to be established properly.
In short, with You Get Signal we can easily check if we have a certain router port open or not. It is a free online service that we can use on any computer to have this type of information and to be able to correctly configure the connection.