What does "Accept Incoming Connections" mean?

[BeegReeg]

A few months ago I successfully installed a Netgear R7900P router, and it seems to work fine, tho I end up rebooting it more often than I think I should. Often (not every time) I turn on my computer "NetGear Genie" is open and a tab asks me if I want to Allow or Deny "incomming network connections". What does that mean and why does it keep popping up? I have tried both options and don't notice any difference. Do I even need Netgear Genie for the router to work? Seems like it shouldn't keep opening by itself.

[michaelkenward]

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@BeegReeg wrote:

Often (not every time) I turn on my computer "NetGear Genie" is open and a tab asks me if I want to Allow or Deny "incomming network connections". What does that mean and why does it keep popping up?

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It means that the desktop genie is running and you have set it to "Show network connectivity change". You can turn that off from the notification area icon.

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@BeegReeg wrote:

Do I even need Netgear Genie for the router to work?

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No.

[BeegReeg]

Thanks- so...I take that to mean that “incoming connection” refers to a new device (tablet/computer etc) added to the network, rather than data-possibly in the form of malware-admitted through the connection.