UPnP is a group of protocols that enable home-based XP networks to be self configuring and reduce the technical acumen users need to implement peer-to-peer networking. Unlike the Plug and Play (PnP) protocol the OS uses to detect the presence or absence of locally connected PnP-compatible hardware devices, UPnP is designed to locate UPnP-compatible network devices. If you haven’t yet tackled the constant UPnP chatter on your network, read on to discover what UPnP traffic is, the security issues around UPnP, the XP services and components that generate UPnP traffic, and a few commands you can use to identify and kill the responsible process. Aside from the fact that these packets consume bandwidth and are useless on a corporate network, UPnP events clog the firewall log.

Every time the UPnP specter raises its ugly head, the traffic pattern is always consistent: The firewall logs four UPnP packets every 25 seconds from each system, 24 hours a day.

Last week, I did a routine check of a client site's firewall log and discovered, as usual, the log was clogged with records showing that the firewall had blocked Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) packets from three Windows XP systems on the network.

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