Port Closed - Noob Question

[TheBard]

I have been happily seeding and leeching for a little while now, but, for some reason, my port now shows up as closed on the site that I use most often.
When I go to Help -> NAT / Firewall test, both my TCP / UDP ports fail :(

After some reading around, I think I can choose other ports to use, but as a TOTAL noob in this kind of area, I thought I'd come here for some advice before I start messing around with my settings...

I use a Mac and am at home, so no firewall etc.

Be grateful for any pointers on how to proceed.
Thank you in advance.

[GaryE]

Most (if not all) modern modem/routers supplied by your ISP have a firewall.  Mac OS also has a firewall (I can not remember if it is enabled or disabled by default though).  If you use a stand alone wireless router they often have a firewall.

The bottom line is that you need to forward your ports in all of the firewalls you have.  You almost certainly have one in your ISP supplied modem/router . . . you might have others as well.

First if you have the OS X firewall turned on . . . disable it . . . it is pretty useless.

If you have a stand alone wireless device to give you wireless connectivity use a good security stetting (like WEP 64 bit or better) on it and lock it down with a good strong password then disable that firewall.

Then head over to portforward.com and find your brand of modem/router and forward your ports manually.  (use a port in the roughly 50,000 + range)

If following portforward.com is beyond your technical abilities.  Just figure out how to enable uPnP on your modem/router (call your ISP if you have to but do not mention torrenting say you need it for a game for your console and be vague lol).  Once uPnP is enable on your modem/router then enable it in Vuze . . . it has been about 8 years since I have messed with setting up uPnP so I can not remember how I did it . . . but it is pretty straight-forward as best as I can remember it.

If you need help setting up uPnP start a new thread and someone will help you out.

Good luck!

If any of this is unclear let me/us know and I or someone will try to get you sorted out!