[lug] eth0 Permiscious mode

[Justin]

I was wondering what exactly happens to an ethernet interface when put in
permiscious mode. I usually run sniffit -i on my eth0 whenever I am having
firewall problems and need to see where problems might be occurring. The odd
thing is, with a couple problems that I've had lately, once I put the
interface into permiscious mode the problem goes away and my connection go
through the firewall. To be more specific, I was having problems sending mail
thru my firewall with Outlook Express on a windows box. The connection would
just timeout saying it can't contact the smtp server. But as soon as I put the
eth0 in permiscious mode it goes right thru with no hesitation. Also, when
trying to get a Half Life internet game going, I can't connect to game servers
until I put the eth0 into permiscious mode. Otherwise I get a connection timed
out error as well. Now not only does this make it hard to trouble shoot, I
have no idea why putting the interface in permiscious mode would make things
work. Can anyone enlighten me on what is happening? Thanks in advance.

Justin

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