Member Avatar for PaulPool

Hi, I have a question about the firewall in my Broadband router.

I have been trying to host games on StarCraft. I think the problem is my Router firewall.

I have a Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router model WRT54G

To add a port, I have to go through all these steps, and even to do THAT I have to set up a Static IP. I already tried adding ports to my Mcafee firewall and all.

Is there not just a way I can temorarly shut OFF the router firewall, and then back on when I'm done, like my software firewall?

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Good to see hosting worked for and that steered things toward port-opening instead of just switching the router firewall off. A few clarifications and practical checks that often get missed will help keep the firewall in place while improving playability.

Common causes of host-side lag include wireless interference, upstream bandwidth saturation (hosting uses upstream), local CPU or disk contention, and NAT problems created by multiple gateway devices. Useful diagnostics are: test the host on a wired connection to rule out Wi‑Fi issues; run simple latency and traceroute checks to look for packet loss or big hops; observe host CPU/network load and background uploads; and measure upload bandwidth at the times lag appears. Temporarily disabling a software firewall is fine for controlled testing, but long-term rules should explicitly allow the game executable or traffic instead of leaving protections off.

NAT and router features matter. UPnP can automate port pinholes but is less explicit than manual forwarding; DMZ is useful for short tests but exposes the host and should not be permanent. If an ISP-supplied gateway and a personal router both do NAT, that “double NAT” can break or slow hosting — resolve it by putting the ISP device in bridge mode or moving the game host into the upstream device’s DMZ for testing (with the usual security caveats). Older home routers can gain better QoS and monitoring via well-supported third-party firmware, but flashing carries risk and should be done only if comfortable.

In short: keep the router firewall enabled, give the game host a stable LAN address (DHCP reservation), use explicit forwarding or UPnP rather than turning protections off, test wired vs wireless and check upstream capacity, and look for double-NAT or QoS remedies if lag persists. These steps build on ’s advice and cover the usual gaps that produce intermittent host lag.

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Member Avatar for DMR

Is there not just a way I can temorarly shut OFF the router firewall, and then back on when I'm done, like my software firewall?

In the WRT54G's configuration utility, go to Security->Firewall; Enable/Disable is the first option on the Firewall page.

Member Avatar for PaulPool

In the WRT54G's configuration utility, go to Security->Firewall; Enable/Disable is the first option on the Firewall page.

Thanks for answering!

Could you perhaps tell me where I can find the config utility? I did a search and tried a few places in my PC, but I can't think where it is. (maybe it's becuase I'm hungry right now, my mind is else where, lol)

I don't see it in All Programs or progam files.

Member Avatar for DMR

The configuration utility lives in the router itself, and you can access it through any web browser. By default, the WRT54G's IP address is , so you just need to enter the following in your browser's address/location bar:

That will take you to the main login page. For the login, enter the following:

username: leave this box blank
password: admin (all lower-case)

Member Avatar for PaulPool

Thank you!

Now I'm off to see if it allows me to host games.

Member Avatar for DMR

OK- Let us know how it goes.

I will suggest that's it's better from a security standpoint to try to get the port-forwarding for StarCraft (TCP and UDP ports 6112) working rather than disabling the router's firewall entirly. The "Applications and Gaming" section of the router setup is where you do this; it's very straightforward.

Member Avatar for PaulPool

It worked. I can host games now. But it's too laggy. I think I'll try later on. In the morning usually all the SC games lag.

So I can turn my firewall back on, and just have the port working?

Member Avatar for DMR

Glad you at least got it working. :)

If it turns out that the lag doesn't seem to be related to certain times of the day, there might be some software settings you can twiddle with to reduce the latency. Just as a test, the first thing I'd try is to play the game with McAfee's firewall entirely disabled. I'm obviously not suggesting you actually run the system that way, but the firewall would be the first possible suspect to eliminate.

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