Device programmable network based packet filter

1. A method for filtering unwanted packets in a communication system, the communication system including a first network, a wireless network and at least one wireless communication device, the method comprising:

at a packet filter:

receiving an automatically-generated block request from a wireless communication device, the automatically-generated block request including blocking criteria, the blocking criteria indicating:

that a previously installed application using a port previously unblocked by the packet filter is not running; and

the previously unblocked port;

receiving a first packet from the first network, the first packet destined for the wireless communication device;

determining whether the first packet exhibits blocking criteria included in a blocked list;

responsive to determining that the first packet exhibits blocking criteria included in the blocked list, discarding the first packet before the first packet can be distributed by the wireless network;

receiving an automatically-generated unblock request from the wireless communication device indicating:

that a new application is using a port previously blocked by the packet filter; and

the previously blocked port; and

forwarding subsequent packets destined to the previously blocked port in response to the unblock request.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the blocking criteria included in the blocked list includes at least one of a destination Transmission Control Protocol (“TCP”) port number, a destination User Datagram Protocol (“UDP”) port number, an originating TCP port number, an originating UDP port number, an originating Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, and a range of IP addresses.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication device creates a block request by:

receiving at least one packet;

automatically determining whether the at least one packet is targeted for a port used by the previously installed application, the previously installed application currently running on the wireless communication device; and

responsive to determining that the at least one packet is not targeted for a port used by the previously installed application, automatically creating the block request without human intervention.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining whether the at least one packet is targeted for a port used by the previously installed application comprises checking a protocol stack for port assignments.

5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising prior to creating the block request, receiving a predetermined amount of packets targeted for the port used by the previously installed application.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the blocked list is programmable by the at least one wireless communication device without human interaction.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sending a list of default filters to the wireless communication device.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising receiving from the wireless communication device a subset of the default filters to be deleted.

9. A programmable packet filter for filtering unwanted packets in a communication system, the communication system including a first network, a wireless network and at least one wireless communication device, the programmable packet filter comprising:

at least one communication interface configured to:

receive an automatically-generated block request from a wireless communication device, the automatically-generated block request including blocking criteria, the blocking criteria indicating:

that a previously installed application using a port previously unblocked by the packet filter is not running; and

the previously unblocked port;

receive a first packet delivered through the first network, the first packet destined for the wireless communication device; and

a filter module communicatively coupled to the at least one communication interface, the filter module configured to:

determine whether the first packet exhibits blocking criteria included in a blocked list; and

responsive to determining that the first packet exhibits the blocking criteria included in the blocked list, discard the first packet before the first packet can be distributed by the wireless network;

receive an automatically-generated unblock request from the wireless communication device indicating:

that a new application is using a port previously blocked by the packet filter; and

the previously blocked port; and

forward subsequent packets destined to the previously blocked port in response to the unblock request.

10. The programmable packet filter of claim 9 , wherein the programmable packet filter is electrically coupled between the first network and the wireless network.

11. The programmable packet filter of claim 10 , wherein the blocking criteria included in the blocked list includes at least one of a destination Transmission Control Protocol (“TCP”) port number, a destination User Datagram Protocol (“UDP”) port number, an originating TCP port number, an originating UDP port number, an originating Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, and a range of IP addresses.

12. The programmable packet filter of claim 9 , wherein the blocked list is programmable based on receipt of an instruction from at least one wireless communication device.

13. A wireless communication device for use in a communication system, the communication system including a first network, a packet filter in the first network, and a wireless network, the wireless communication device comprising:

a plurality of logical ports;

a transceiver configured to receive at least one packet through one of the logical ports, the at least one packet originating from the first network; and

a filter module electrically coupled to the transceiver, the filter module configured to:

determine whether the at least one packet is targeted for a logical port used by a previously installed application;

determine whether the previously installed application is currently running on the wireless communication device;

responsive to determining that the at least one packet is not targeted for a logical port used by a previously installed application:

create a block request, the block request indicating a port to be blocked; and

cause the block request to be transmitted to the packet filter to cause the packet filter to block the indicated port;

responsive to determining that the previously installed application is not currently running on the wireless communication device, send an automatically-generated block request to the packet filter, the automatically-generated block request indicating the logical port used by the previously installed application; and

responsive to a new application using the previously blocked port, send an automatically-generated unblock request to the packet filter, the unblock request indicating the previously blocked port.

14. The wireless communication device of claim 13 , wherein the transceiver is further configured to program the packet filter by sending the block request to the packet filter without human intervention.

15. The wireless communication device of claim 13 , further comprising:

a protocol stack including port assignments for previously installed applications; and

wherein the filter module determines whether the at least one packet is targeted for a port used by the previously installed application by checking the protocol stack for port assignments.

16. The wireless communication device of claim 13 , wherein the filter module monitors packets and, based on knowledge of applications running on the wireless communication device, automatically generates a block request responsive to an unwanted packet being received.