How to Set Up Port Forwarding on a Router.

Open your router's admin console by typing its standard IP address into your web browser's URL box. For most routers, this will be either 192.168.0.1. or 192.168.1.1. However, if you want to figure out the IP, here's how to do it:

• For Windows: Open the command prompt and enter ipconfig /all.
• For Mac: Open the command prompt and enter netstat -nr.
• For Linux: Open the command prompt and enter route.

 Enter your username and password. If you've already configured the security settings for your router, enter the username and password you chose then. If not, here's what to do:

• On Linksys routers, type "admin" for both the username and the password.
• On Netgear routers, type "admin" for the username and "password" for the password.
• On other routers, try leaving the username empty and entering "admin" for the password.
• Here is list for all default router passwords

 Open the Port Forwarding or Applications and Gaming tab. Each router will be slightly different, but look for these two options. If you don't see them, try Advanced Settings and look for a Port Forwarding subsection.

Enter your application name. For a list of which ports an application might use.

Select the ports you wish to use. If you only want one port open, enter the same number in Start and End. If you wish to open a range of ports (say 5), you might type 3784 in Start and 3788 in End.

Select Both if you're asked to choose between TCP and UDP.

Enter your IP address. Your router might ask for the whole address, or only the last three digits.


Save your settings.


Source for this tutorial is (http://www.wikihow.com/Set-Up-Port-Forwarding-on-a-Router)

• Some routers (such as D-Link's) have a "trigger port" feature that can allow some games to work without changing the IP address. This feature works by monitoring the game's outbound connections and automatically setting up the specific port forwarding rule to the game's IP address. The trigger port feature usually needs to be manually enabled in the router's home page (located at the gateway IP).
• Recognize that your computer's IP address and your connection's IP address are different. The two are different because of the NAT security built into your router, which allows multiple computers to use the same connection. The IP of your computer, considered private, often begins with 192.168. The IP of the Internet connection, an external or public address, begins with different numbers. If your computer's IP address is outside the private IP range, it is generally not connected though a router and it is not necessary to port forward.
• Look in your router's manual for details on accessing the control panel, and how to set up the forwarder specific to your model.
• If you are port forwarding PS3 or Xbox games using the Automatic method, scroll down the "Application name" box until you reach the game names that begin with "PS3" or "Xbox" respectively. If the game you wish to port forward is not on the list, click "Tools > Update application list from Web". The latest games, such as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 which is not usually included with the download, are added to the list. It is possible that the user hosting the private match and the user joining the private match will both need to port forward.
• Understand what kind of public IP address your ISP assigns. Having a static IP address (a public, external IP address that does not change) is helpful but not required. Most broadband ISPs assign dynamic IP addresses to their subscribers that periodically change.
  
  If you run certain servers (such as remote access or Web servers) from a dynamic IP address and will be port forwarding on a long-term basis, consider signing up for a service that will give you a domain name for your Internet connection if you run their software.
• To open the Command Prompt on Windows Vista or Windows 7, click Start, then type cmd on the Search box and press Enter (For Windows XP users, click Start, Run, type cmd on the popup box and then press enter). To open it on a Mac, click Finder, Applications, Utilities, and Terminal. On Linux, the shortcut may vary according to the distribution you're using, but as a general tip, you can simultaneously press Ctrl + Alt + F2 to get in the console terminal and then type your username and password to log in it. (When finished, simultaneously press Alt + F7 to return to your graphical environment.)
• Make sure you type all numbers correctly. A wrong port will cause the program to not work properly, so double check everything.
• Every time your router is turned on or off, your computer may be assigned a different IP address. If this happens, go to your routers "webpage" / admin console and change the information in port forwarding. To prevent this, set up a static IP address.
• Disable all desktop firewalls if you have problems. The firewalls of Norton Internet Security and similar products can be especially problematic and the Windows Firewall should be used instead.
• Find out what ports (TCP or UDP) ports your specific game or software needs. In some cases, both TCP and UDP port numbers will be needed.
  • The ports to forward for BitTorrent are TCP ports 881-6889.
  • If you are port forwarding PS3 or Xbox 360 games using the manual method, the ports to forward are usually 5223 and/or 3074.