Thx much for this Gyt! I'll be sure to try this out sometime before the weekend. Will let you know

A few things to add:

1. If it is implemented correctly in your router's firmware, turning on UPnP should be all you need to do. Port forwarding, as described in the first post, should not be necessary. Of course, the firmware on most consumer routers is utter ****, so their UPnP implementations may very well be incorrect. In which case, you would need to fall back to trying port forwarding.

2. Following up on Khazad's post, Wikipedia has a pretty good list of commonly used ports. Try to use a port that's not on the list.

3. It is unsafe to leave your router's admin password as the factory default. That is just asking to get your router hacked. You should change the password on a router immediately after buying it. If you fear being unable to remember the password, use a password manager,* or simply write it down and tape it to the side of the router, or both.

(*I would recommend PasswordSafe, originally written by famed cryptographer Bruce Schneier, and OPEN-SOURCE. Never use a closed-source password manager; they cannot be trusted.)

4. The ultimate remedy for shitty router firmware (for instance, with buggy UPnP implementations) is to reflash the router with open-source firmware -- either OpenWRT or DD-WRT. This will generally result in a functionality upgrade (both in terms of replacing buggy stuff with stuff that works right and in terms of adding features that just don't exist in the manufacturer's firmware) and also a security upgrade (consumer router firmware is notorious for major security flaws that are never patched). This can turn your $40 cheapo router into a super-router superior to anything available in the consumer market. Installing OpenWRT is very easy and takes maybe 15 minutes. Basic configuration is straightforward. (Example: setting a firewall rule to prevent any communication between the internet and your printer (which has no legitimate reason to talk to the internet.)) Configuring it for more fancy stuff like using encrypted DNS from OpenNIC is trickier. (But it's possible. And you'd never even dream of doing something like that on the manufacturer's firmware.)

(Note: If you're even thinking about reflashing a router with open-source firmware, you'd better get the router you plan to use soon. Thanks to some FCC dumbfuckery, it may become a lot harder to find compatible routers starting this June.)

Just got a little paranoid so i went back over your tut @gytfunke and removed your references to actual port numbers 

Heyya Chthon! Okay this is good to know. Thanks!