TCPIP port restriction for network security

I need some opinions - ok, dumb statement :-)

For security purposes our firewall has most of the ports closed to the outside
world.  I know when we started some outside work with a  consulting company I
had to pull teeth to get port 1352 (Notes) open for some people in our company.

My question is, and I realize this isn't necessarily AS/400 (umm...iSeries)
related but what do people do and why with regards to their firewall and ports?
Is it that bad to really open up a port across the board?  Let me back up a
little.  We are starting to use SameTime with the same consulting firm and it
has a chat function.  This chat function does not by default use port 80.  So,
my options are either open up the port or investigate the changing of the
default port.  Typically, I hate to mess around with changing default ports
because it always seems to cause me some sort of problem later.

Any thoughts/ideas/opinions from you security and network minded people?  If I
go to my network people all they do is give me grief.  They may be right but I'd
like to hear what anyone else has to say.

Thanks.



Michael Crump
Saint-Gobain Containers
1509 S. Macedonia Ave.
Muncie, IN  47302
(765)741-7696
(765)741-7012 f
(800)428-8642


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