What are "ports" and "protocols"?

Basically a port is an access channel and a protocol is a standardized way for computers to exchange information.

Your computer must send and receive data to participate on the Internet. The data is sent and received by software that usually comes with your computer.

This software automatically organizes the data to be sent into packets. These packets are made in a standardized way (a protocol) so other computers can recognize them as data. Similar software is used at the receiving computer to automatically join the packets so the original message is duplicated.

The Internet is constructed so many different routes can be taken by the data traveling on it. In this way, if part of a route is too busy or breaks down then the packets are simply sent on another route. This routing is handled by equipment called routers, which are located throughout the Internet. Each data packet is routed independently so a message broken into 10 packets could take 10 totally different routes over the Internet. Routers know which computer on the Internet a packet is supposed to be sent to because each packet contains that computer's address, very similar to a letter going through the post office.

Your computer has different ports or channels for this data. These ports are given standardized numbers so one port is used to send data and another port receives data. In this way, the packets of data coming into and going out of your computer don't collide or get confused. The port number is included as part of the address a packet is given. Ports can have numbers from 1 to 65535.