Trying to get the firewall to work with CallWave

[sueann56j]

Hello everyone,
I've just downloaded PC Tools Firewall Plus.
I like it, but I do have a problem hopefully I can solve it, with help.
I've got CallWave, an internet answering machine. Right after I downloaded and installed this firewall, my CallWave had a yellow x in the system tray, which meant it was trying to logon, and after 2 minutes the yellow x over the callwave icon was still there. CallWave is set to start with windows.
I allowed CallWave in the applications, but I still get the yellow x on my Callwave icon in my system tray. I never had a problem connecting to CallWave before. I was using XP Firewall before, and I really don't trust it.
I checked their help section and it says this, and I don't understand what to do:

If you're setting up a firewall yourself, you'll need to allow two types of connections:

1. Port 80/tcp and 443/tcp for outbound connections to CallWave servers. (These ports are usually already open for basic web browsing.)

2a. [Stateless firewalls]: Port 9283/udp inbound and outbound.

2b. [Stateful firewalls]: Port 9283/udp outbound. The firewall's stateful timer needs to be greater than 2 minutes. If you have a stateful firewall that has a shorter timer that can't be tuned, use the stateless approach above.

Do not bother configuring a firewall with knowledge of CallWave's IP addresses. These addresses change too often.


I'm using XP Pro, IE6, and I'm on dialup.
If anyone can help me out, I'd be grateful.

[AChen]

Hi sueann56j,

The current version of the PC Tools Firewall software will allow applications to connect to the Internet if the user requires but still may block several protocols if they are not allowed by the rules. A solution for this version (future version will have an automatic rule creation) is to create an appropriate rule for CallWave. We have created one that we think should work for you but since we do not have Callwave installed we are unable to test it, basically we have added a Filtering rule that allows inbound and outbound UDP connection to port 9283, you can see this rule, it is called AllowCallWave. Can you please send a private message with your email address and I will send you this file "Ruleset.rls" and you will need to replace the original file with that one. To do this please see below:

1. Shut down the firewall
2. Replace the file in c:\Program Files\PC Tools Firewall Plus\ directory
3. Restart the Firewall and test the application. If the rule we have added is not enough its probable that you might need to add more rules

Thanks,
Anthony