Port scanning - what the hell is going on?

[Mike]

What happens:

Firewall simply counts iptables kernel block messages for any given IP address. As soon as you reach specific limit, IP will be blacklisted for 1 hour.

If your IP was blocked for "port scanning", you should scan your personal computer for viruses/trojans (even if you use MAC), get reliable FTP program that reuses connections or reliable MAIL client. Browser (Firefox/IE) may also cause "port scanning" blocks, especially if you try to modify something simultaneously, via many opened windows.