Port 244 sits in the IANA registry assigned to a protocol that hasn't existed in over 20 years. It's a small monument to obsolescence.
What Port 244 Is
Official Assignment: Port 244 is assigned to "inbusiness" for both TCP and UDP protocols by IANA1. The assignment dates back to the late 1990s.
TCP Port 244 was used to connect to the administrative functions on the Dayna Communications InBusiness line of small office network equipment, circa 19972.
UDP Port 244 was reserved but never actually used2.
Current Status: Officially assigned but functionally abandoned. No active protocol uses this port.
The Company That No Longer Exists
Dayna Communications was a privately held American computer company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company was active from 1984 to 1997 and primarily manufactured networking products for Apple computers3.
In September 1997, Intel announced it would acquire Dayna Communications for roughly $14 million in a stock swap4. Most of Dayna's 73 employees transferred to Intel's headquarters.
The InBusiness product line—the reason port 244 exists—was discontinued in 20022. No other products have used this protocol since.
What "Well-Known" Means
Port 244 belongs to the System Ports range (0-1023), also called the well-known ports. These ports are assigned by IANA using strict procedures: "IETF Review" or "IESG Approval"1.
Getting a well-known port assignment requires going through the Internet Engineering Task Force. It's not handed out casually. Port 244 received this assignment when Dayna Communications' InBusiness line was considered important enough to warrant official recognition.
That recognition outlived the company, the product, and the protocol.
Why Unassigned Ports Matter
Actually, port 244 demonstrates why assigned ports can become functionally unassigned. When companies disappear and protocols die, their port assignments often remain in the registry indefinitely.
This creates an interesting situation: port 244 is technically taken, but nobody's using it. The assignment sits there like a nameplate on an abandoned office.
The IANA registry doesn't remove ports when products are discontinued. It's not designed to. Port assignments are meant to be permanent to avoid conflicts. But permanence means ghost entries accumulate over time.
Security Considerations
Historic Vulnerability: One source claims "a Trojan or Virus has used this port in the past to communicate"5, though specific details are scarce.
Current Risk: Since no legitimate service uses port 244 anymore, any traffic on this port should be considered suspicious. If you see port 244 active on your network, it's worth investigating.
Firewall Recommendation: Block port 244 unless you have a specific (and unusual) reason to keep it open. There's no modern legitimate use case.
How to Check What's Listening
On Linux or macOS:
On Windows:
If something is listening on port 244, figure out what it is. It shouldn't be there.
The Lesson
Port 244 shows you how the Internet accumulates history. Assignments remain long after the protocols die. The registry is full of these ghosts—ports assigned to products that no longer exist, companies that were acquired decades ago, protocols that nobody remembers.
Port 244 belongs to Dayna Communications' InBusiness line. Dayna was acquired by Intel in 1997. The product line was discontinued in 2002. The port remains assigned.
The Internet is a museum that never closes. Port 244 is one of the exhibits.
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