BleepingComputer.com: Performance Systems International, Inc.

I was looking thru the out going logs of my Linksys WRT54G router and I found that my father's PC has an out going signal that showed it's destination as 38.118.85.21 I did a whois search on it from my Intego NetBarrier Firewall app and got this.

Performance Systems International Inc. PSINETA (NET-38-0-0-0-1)
38.0.0.0 - 38.255.255.255
Performance Systems International Inc. COGENT-NB-0002 (NET-38-112-0-0-1)
38.112.0.0 - 38.119.255.255

Who are they, what apps would be transmitting to them? But more importantly, should my father be worried?

Thanks.

Is there anything in the log that indicates what program, task, or file is sending out to them?

Is there a way that you can set the firewall to ask the user before letting applications connect to the internet? If so, set it that way to discover what is doing it.

Orange Blossom

Orange Blossom,

Thanks for replying.

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The only things that are shown on my Linksys logs are LAN IP, Destination URL/IP and Service/Port Number. It was listed as www in the Service/Port Number.

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From the Linksys? IDK, I don't think so. From my Firewall? No.

Hmm. What firewall are you using?

By any chance, are there peer-to-peer programs on the computer? If so which ones?

Orange Blossom

Found on the web:

performance systems international... PSI, one of the 'older' ISP's around, based out of N. Virginia ( think they even have/had a stadium named after them - PSI Stadium ).

Ah, but is that YOUR internet service provider?

Orange Blossom

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I am using Intego's NetBarrier on my PowerBook G4. My father is using Norton? I'm not quite sure, but he has Norton on his PC.

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I don't think so, he doesn't download very much. Mostly updates to his XP Home, AV and Anti-Spy programs.

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It's gci.net.
I never looked to see if my PB is contacting the same IP, I'll look but I'm pretty sure it's not because Little Snitch doesn't show that any of my apps are contacting that IP.

Thanks again.

I'm not familiar with that firewall. It's your father's computer that has the problem right? So we need to know which firewall is on HIS computer.

It's possible that there is something on the computer that shouldn't be there making these connections. It's also possible that something that should be there is making connections it shouldn't be, and there is a slim chance it's legit. That's why I want to know which firewall is on the computer that has the problem so it can be set up to ask the user before anything makes connections. That way we can identify the culprit and determine whether it's good, bad, or indifferent and what to do next if anything.

There are free firewalls that can be configured this way and that will identify the application. Zone Alarm Free and Kerio Personal Firewall Free are both examples. I personally prefer the later as it provides more specific information. You might consider installing one of those, uninstalling the other one first, temporarily at least until the problem is solved.

Orange Blossom

Orange Blossom,

Yes, it's my father's PC that is connecting. He had a license for Zone Alarm but probably got frustrated with all the "questions" from it, same thing with Spybot. He uninstalled those along with AVG and installed Norton, which has a firewall but I don't think it asks if a signal going out should be denied or not.

NetBarrier is a Mac application.

I understand that if you are using iTunes it will connect to PSI for automatic updates etc.

Budapest, on Dec 4 2006, 01:20 AM, said:

He doesn't use iTunes, the only Apple product he has on his PC is Quicktime. Does Quicktime connect to PSI? I would of thought that Mac apps would connect to Apple for updates or whatever.

If I remember correctly Quicktime has advertisements and links that show up when you open it, and it is this third-party content that might come from PSI. I've heard that the programme "Little Snitch" can tell you which application on your system is connecting to PSI, although I've never used it myself.

Little Snitch does tell which application is trying to send a signal out and to where it wants to send it. It's for Macs only and my father's comp is a PC. Could be a program from Quicktime but I have never seen him use Quicktime before, but that doesn't mean he doesn't use it.

Sorry, I didn't realise that Little Snitch is only for Macs. You might want to check his Quicktime settings. The latest versions have an application that runs at start-up and checks for updates etc. First time I installed it I ended up with a little Q symbol in my task bar, but you can set the options so it doesn't run at start-up.

No problem.
Will do, but I've never seen a letter Q on his taskbar nor do I think he's ever updated Quicktime before. Where can I find the list of his start-up items?