Port Forwarding - Please Help!

Any help with my questions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm trying to use a Peer-to-Peer program called uTorrent. Apparently to properly use any torrent client software you need to set up port forwarding on your router so there is a dedicated port for the program to use. Otherwise your connections slowly deteriorate and then no longer work with the program.

The program has very vague instructions for port forwarding. From what I understand though in order to properly set up port forwarding you need to have set your router for a static IP address.

I am nervous that if I set up the port forwarding for this program that it will somehow effect my network and the connections of the other 3 computers on my home network, and somehow negatively effect the internet connections of other computers. Will setting up port forwarding and setting up a static IP address effect the other 3 computers on my network? And do I create security issues by doing this?

How do you set up port forwarding through your router? And once this has been done, can it be undone or is it permanent?

I am a newbie, and although I an no stranger to simple networking I will get lost and confused when something gets explained in a over technical way when someone assumes I know more than I do. I posted on another forum and the help I got may as well been written in a foreign language. So please be patient. Any real help would be so greatly appreciated.

My home set up consists of 4 computers, all running Windows XP Pro SP2, all running through a Netgear MR814 Wireless Router which then goes to a high speed cable modem. My provider is Comcast.

Thanks!!!

We had the same problem when we first started dowloading torrents this is the wesit I used to set up a static IP and it also has the info for port forwarding. Hope this helps

http://www.portforward.com/networking/static-xp.htm

Generally, you need to go to the router configuration page.

I was writing up instructions, but then found this web page which is entirely more detailed for configuring port forwarding on a Netgear MR814..

http://kbserver.netgear.com/kb_web_files/N101145.asp

Hope it helps...

I use Utorrent and I don't have any issues that require I forward any ports, in fact I use random ports each time I start UTorrent.