Google desktop and Port 995

FanOfFridays · Jan 20, 2006

I've been using the Google desktop search which allows me to do super fast searches of my own computer. It is turning into a very handy tool. However, when I was doing my initial archiving, the s/w told me that it was unable to archive the contents of my Google email account, and to do this I would need to unblock Port 995. The Google site says that my firewall may be blocking that port but a Google search for "port 995" and "google desktop" shows that in fact port 995 is already being used by my other email clients (or this is my interpretation of it). Is this wrong - is port 995 blocked? I did a search through windows help and it suggested that only ports 1024 and higher are used by windows - did I get that wrong? It was in the Component Services area and I was in over my head. The other help result had to do with printer ports.

Strangely, my usual guys at techguy.org didn't have much to say about this problem - they essentially told me that I had to configure my firewall. I am using the free ZoneAlarm and I cannot figure out how to get into an area that would allow me to open a port. Someone at techguy said that I may not be able to do this unless I pay for the pro version of ZoneAlarm. I think it's time for a hardware-based firewall...

FanOfFridays · Jan 20, 2006

Ok - wait a minute... may have it figured out. Stand by...

BTW.. I tried to delete this post 2 minutes after posting and I was told that I do not have permission to access the page!

Nope... I re-tried the ZoneAlarm help just in case I missed something. The help provides some instructions but they are not executable in my version of ZA. I don't have the options that I am supposed to have (Clicking Firewall-->Main--> and then clicking on 'custom' - no such button exists).

FanOfFridays · Jan 20, 2006

Quote from Joe:

We have a new time limit on how long posts can be edited/deleted. 10 minutes.

Hi Joe

Yes, I knew about that but you should know that there may be a bit of a bug in the system. I was not allowed to delete the post about 2 minutes after I posted it. I would have been able to edit it no problem. Does that sound right, i.e. is a part of the change that we can no longer delete posts? It was literally 2 minutes after I posted (at least I'm pretty sure!!).

Yes, it definitely was - see my second post above, which was made within 10 minutes of the first one. I posted that second post after trying and failing to delete the first one. I was going to delete the first one because for a moment I thought I had figured out my own problem.

FanOfFridays · Jan 21, 2006

I'll try one bump on this question before I go downtown and start bugging the store guys about it. I tried emailing Google but they sent me a polite and quite funny reply which basically asked me if I was crazy, and did I really think that with the volume of email they get, that they could actually send me a personal response.

Anyone know anything about this Port 995 thing vis-a-vis the Google Desktop archiving process?

Vince1 · Jan 21, 2006

I just installed the Google desktop to see if the port 995 error message would show up and everything went well (I have a modem firewall). Maybe you should just uninstall/reinstall++

Bsulli · Jan 22, 2006

Quote from traderNik:

I've been using the Google desktop search which allows me to do super fast searches of my own computer. It is turning into a very handy tool. However, when I was doing my initial archiving, the s/w told me that it was unable to archive the contents of my Google email account, and to do this I would need to unblock Port 995. The Google site says that my firewall may be blocking that port but a Google search for "port 995" and "google desktop" shows that in fact port 995 is already being used by my other email clients (or this is my interpretation of it). Is this wrong - is port 995 blocked? I did a search through windows help and it suggested that only ports 1024 and higher are used by windows - did I get that wrong? It was in the Component Services area and I was in over my head. The other help result had to do with printer ports.

Strangely, my usual guys at techguy.org didn't have much to say about this problem - they essentially told me that I had to configure my firewall. I am using the free ZoneAlarm and I cannot figure out how to get into an area that would allow me to open a port. Someone at techguy said that I may not be able to do this unless I pay for the pro version of ZoneAlarm. I think it's time for a hardware-based firewall...

MS uses other registered ports above the well known range of upto 1024. There are many many ones registered to various companies for specific uses. Port 995 is a well known port for moving encrpyted email, pop3 traffic and your existing email client may very well be using it so check with them.

http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers

Here is the official list of assigned ports.

This program will show you which ports are open by apps on your computer.

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/TcpView.html

Open your existing email client first and see if they are using port 995 with the app from the link.

And yes, hardware firewalls are by far better. ZA is a good product. I used both a hardware firewall for inbound protection and the software based ZA on the pc for outbound notification of software that is trying to contact the internet.

Bsulli

FanOfFridays · Jan 23, 2006

Quote from Vince1:

I just installed the Google desktop to see if the port 995 error message would show up and everything went well (I have a modem firewall). Maybe you should just uninstall/reinstall++

Hi guys

Thanks for the replies. So Vince, you basically have a hardware-based firewall, right? I will try uninstalling/reinstalling tonight. I assume that if I uninstall the app, the archive will go with it?

Bsulli, thanks a lot for the links, I will be checking them out tomorrow and I will post back here with my results. It's weird because I see so many references to Port 995 that seem to indicate that it is not blocked on my machine. Could it be that if my email client is using it, that it becomes unavailable to other apps, even when the email client is not launched?

Nik

Bsulli · Jan 23, 2006

Quote from traderNik:

Hi guys

Thanks for the replies. So Vince, you basically have a hardware-based firewall, right? I will try uninstalling/reinstalling tonight. I assume that if I uninstall the app, the archive will go with it?

Bsulli, thanks a lot for the links, I will be checking them out tomorrow and I will post back here with my results. It's weird because I see so many references to Port 995 that seem to indicate that it is not blocked on my machine. Could it be that if my email client is using it, that it becomes unavailable to other apps, even when the email client is not launched?

Nik

Load up the last link I posted. If 995 is already open by some app whether or not it's block then google can't use it until the app that is using it is shutdown.

FanOfFridays · Jan 24, 2006

Quote from Bsulli:

Load up the last link I posted. If 995 is already open by some app whether or not it's block then google can't use it until the app that is using it is shutdown.

Ok... ran that app with my email client open, and interestingly, port 995 did not show up. I assume the numbers beside the processes are the port numbers that I am looking for.

Bsulli · Jan 24, 2006

Quote from traderNik:

Ok... ran that app with my email client open, and interestingly, port 995 did not show up. I assume the numbers beside the processes are the port numbers that I am looking for.

Yes, just having the email client open on your desktop may not keep 995 open. Generally if it uses 995 it will only use it during sent/recieving of emails then close the port. Open the tcpview program click send/recieve or send an email to yourself with an attachment large enough to stay in send mode for 20 seconds or so to see if it shows up. If it not using it then try the archivig with Google again and see if it tries to open 995. If it opens it for a split second then fails it might be ZA. At that point shutdown ZA briefly and try Google again. If it goes that time then ZA is the issue.

Good luck, nothing more frustration then chasing ip port issues.

Bsulli