A port may refer to any of the following:

  1. When referring to a physical device, a hardware port or peripheral port is a hole or connection found on the front or back of a computer. Ports allow computers to access external devices such as printers. Below is a short listing of the different computer ports you may find on a computer. The picture shows an example of a type of port on the back of a computer.

Computer port examples

  • AT port (old keyboard port)
  • Display Port
  • DVI port
  • Firewire port (IEEE-1394)
  • Gamepad / Joystick port
  • HDMI port
  • LAN or network port (RJ-45)
  • LPT port (printer port)
  • Modem or phone port (RJ-11)
  • Power port
  • PS/2 port (keyboard port and mouse port)
  • Serial port (DB9)
  • USB port
  • VGA port
  1. In addition to the hardware port mentioned above, a hardware port or port may also refer to a computer memory I/O port. See our I/O port definition for further information on this term.

You can add more ports to a computer by installing an expansion card into the computer. For example, if your desktop computer did not have a FireWire port you can add an expansion card with a FireWire port.

  • What is the difference between a connector, jack, plug, and port?
  • See our connection page for a full list of internal and external ports.

  1. A port is a term used to describe the process of taking a program that has been written for specific operating systems and moving it to another operating system. For example, taking a program written for Microsoft Windows and moving it to Linux.

  2. When referring to a network or the Internet, a software or network port is a location where information is sent. For example, port 80 is the http network port. A listing of commonly known and used ports can also be found on the below listing. Users running Microsoft Windows can utilize the netstat command to view currently active connections that include ports currently being used.

Users who want to block ports on their computer or network can use a software or hardware firewall. If you cannot get access to a particular port it’s likely that a firewall is already present on the Network or other network settings set by the administrators have been set up.

Controller, Externet Port, Firewall, Input/output port, Interface, I/O port, Operating system terms, Port bar, Port forwarding, Port scanner, Port triggering, Uplink

  • How to allow a program or game through the Windows Firewall.
  • How to open or forward a port on a router.
  • Network and network card help and support.