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With XP SP2, Microsoft changed the half-open limit in Windows to 10 in an attempt to slow down virus propagation and limit the computer's ability to participate in a DoS attack.
The result of this was to limit the computer's speed of connection to other computers by putting a cap into the TCPIP.SYS driver. When many users look in their event viewer (Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Event View > System) they will find numerous "Error 4226" entries. This means that the security limit was reached and the program was temporarily denied access to the internet, thus slowing the system down.
This limit is especially critical for P2P programs (µTorrent, BitComet, eMule, P2P TV etc.). P2P programs tend to try to connect to huge numbers of other computers on the internet to do their job. With this limit in place, Windows can only connect to 10 computers at a time.
Half-open limit fix allow the user to change this limit to whatever value they wish (previous Windows versions allowed 65,535 half-open connections). For the majority of users, a limit of 100 will be sufficient to allow P2P programs to work without undue limitations while maintaining the rest of the system's ability to connect to the internet as well.
Home:
http://www.half-open.com/home_en.htm
Download Page:
http://www.half-open...download_en.htm
Windows Half-open limit fix 3.4:
http://www.half-open...mit_fix_3.4.zip
Edited by dobhar, 24 January 2009 - 01:11 AM.
