OT - Ports and changing them

[Alneyan]

Forgive my naivete, but is there a way (program or *something*) to use a universal port for all applications? For example, port 80 works fine on my computer, but quite a few seem to be down, and so making everything go through port 80 would be a better solution.

Am I daydreaming? The problem with such drastic methods is security, but I see no other reason why it wouldn't work. Then again I have virtually no knowledge of informatics, so.

Thanks in advance!

[Gandalf Parker]

Yes you can write a program to do everything thru port 80. In a way its already been done. Microsoft with Internet Explorer has tried to turn it into a do-everything program. Many internet services have become "webbed" such as webmail, webnews, web-based ftp. Prior to WWW it was possible to "do everything" thru port 23 (telnet) and before that thru port 21 (ftp). Now there is a strong push toward doing everything thru port 22 (ssh). But there are various pros and cons to such arrangments. Think of it as grandma's "all eggs in one basket" cliche.

[Alneyan]

When the program does not allow for a port change, is it possible to "enforce" using another port? For example, Dominions' games take place between ports 2200 and 2400 (usually), which do not seem to be working for me. Would it be possible to "fool" the game by changing the actual port, or would it not work?

I am also having a pretty similar problem with many sites (including PBW), but I have no clue if it is a problem with ports, the servers, or something else. It isn't related to my ISP, to my browser or to my OS, and looks like something fishy is going on with my computer.

[Aiken]

I'm not an expert, but you can try to redirect your connections to the socks proxy. There are some utilities which allow you to force many programs to work through socks proxy, such as SocksChain or FreeCap.
They'll open only 1 port for all connections (10xx, usually), so it can solve your port problems. Maybe.
Downside of this is that you'll have to find good, stable and free socks4 or socks5 proxy. And they're quite rare.

[Alneyan]

So, would I have to use *something* else in this case? (A Socks proxy) I gather it isn't available by default?

I am not even sure the actual problem comes from closed ports; many sites do not work, while I would not expect them to require the use of special ports. Or could PBW (and others) require specific ports besides the most common ones?

[Gandalf Parker]

You might have a problem with the ISP. Many of them block some ports. Sometimes it will be just known problem ports such as the one that common backdoor trojans use. Others go at it from the other side and only allow the ports which they feel you should be using such as web and mail-sending.

There are many ways to get around it. Some keywords would be proxy, VPN, ssh tunneling, shell accounts.

[Alneyan]

It worked fine with the same ISP earlier this month, and the very same sites work outside the local network (same ISP, but not the same computer then). IE, Netscape or Firefox result in the same situation happening. To the best of my knowledge, there is nothing fishy in the local network that would lock down ports, but that only means my knowledge is not adequate here.

I guess I should start setting up a cult for the followers of PBEM. At least, hosting a PBEM game is much easier than attempting to host something based on a site you cannot reach.

[Aiken]

A lot of things could happen during the month. For example, your ISP could ban whole .cc domain (crazy idea) or install content filtering software or something else. But it definitely looks like actions of your ISP.

And yes, my previous advice (using special software + socks proxy) can be considered by ISP as a malicious intentions, since this kind of tools frequently used for net hacks (building chains of proxies to foul the trails).

Well, other random advices:
1. Try accesing the PBW by IP: http://69.81.92.216/
2. Try cgi annonymizer: WebWarper (it GZips web content so it should bypass content filtering soft, if there is any). If succeeded, use graphic mode. Text mode is broken.
3. As the Last resort - get in touch with ISP support and ask them about your problems.