| Author |
Topic: Router & Firewall |
Dave Little
From:
Atlanta
|
Posted 3 Sep 2003 10:11 am |
|
| At work and home I have a freestanding box that receives the DSL signal (is this a router?). Then a CAT5 cable from there to a hub. Indivual computers are also connected to the hub. Do I need a Firewall? |
|
|
|
Doug Brumley
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
|
Posted 3 Sep 2003 11:55 am
|
|
Dave, from your description it sounds like you should put software firewalls on each computer. Your DSL modem (your "freestanding box," I believe) and your hub won't serve as hardware firewalls. In my case, I have DSL coming from the phone line to the modem, then from the modem to a Linksys NAT router that shares the DSL over my 3 computers. NAT (network address translation) basically means that the router serves as the visible IP for your network (masking the IPs of each individual computer). Plus this hardware has a "switch" built in that works as a traffic cop, directing incoming Web pages, etc., to the specific computer that requested them. As I understand it, a hub will just pass all incoming information to all computers.
To answer your question more directly, without such a hardware firewall, you should put a good software firewall on each computer. It will not only help prevent unexpected activity from penetrating your computer, but it will also prevent a trojan horse virus from sending information out from your computer to the Internet without your knowledge.
I would recommend Zone Alarm. It's free, and pretty easy to configure. (There is a paid version, but the free one is all you need. And there's no Mac version.) You can download it here:
Zone Labs
I have heard that hardware firewalls are better than software firewalls, but Zone Alarm will probably serve you just fine. If you want to with hardware instead--like the Linksys Router with 4 Port Switch--they run about $50-$60 for the ethernet versions (meaning, non-wireless).
Hope that helps,
Doug |
|
|
|
Dave Little
From:
Atlanta
|
Posted 3 Sep 2003 2:27 pm
|
|
| Thanks Doug. Your answer is exactly what I needed to know. |
|
|
|
Ron Page
From:
Penn Yan, NY USA
|
Posted 4 Sep 2003 8:26 am
|
|
Turning this around a little, if I have a NAT Router with firewall support do I need to shutdown ZoneAlarm and/or the XP Firewall?
I'm getting ready to connect two computers to RoadRunner via cable modem and router. I thought I read where I should disable the software firewall when connecting the router. |
|
|
|
Doug Brumley
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
|
Posted 4 Sep 2003 9:36 am
|
|
Ron, you should be able to run both the hardware and the software firewalls without any problems. You'll just be taking a belt-and-suspenders approach. The software firewall really isn't necessary with the hardware one, but it could be helpful in the case of a program or virus on your computer trying to send info out from your computer. ZoneAlarm will alert you to such activity.
Also, be sure to change the default password on your router! |
|
|
|
Jeff Agnew
From:
Dallas, TX
|
Posted 5 Sep 2003 3:50 am
|
|
| Quote: |
| ... if I have a NAT Router with firewall support do I need to shutdown ZoneAlarm and/or the XP Firewall? |
You shouldn't be running both ZA and XP's built-in "firewall". I'm using quotes because XP's version does not monitor outbound connections at all and is not a very robust solution. Regardless, you shouldn't run two software firewalls on the same machine. Turn off the XP feature and run ZA, Kerio, or Sygate instead.
Finally, download the latest firmware for your router. The Linksys products, in particular, should be patched as there are some existing exploits which hackers have used to compromise a network. |
|
|
|
Ron Page
From:
Penn Yan, NY USA
|
Posted 5 Sep 2003 9:19 am
|
|
Thanks guys. I appreciate the pointers on the router firmware and password.
I'll double check that my daughter's box doesn't have both XP and ZoneAlarm active. I don't think it does...
I should actually have said ZoneAlarm OR XP... because her room mate's box has XP but not ZA, yet. |
|
|
|
Mark Ardito
From:
Chicago, IL, USA
|
Posted 5 Sep 2003 12:49 pm
|
|
Hey guys, I have been away for a couple of days...
Doug, great tip on changing the default password on the NAT router. If I were a hacker and I wanted to get on your network, the first password I would check is the default. Unfortunately most companies issue the SAME username and password for their routers by default.
The software firewall and the hardware firewall is a little "much". I prefer a hardware firewall, but that is just me. If you have a small little home network, then the ZoneAlarm firewall will be just perfect for you. Currently at my house I have 7 PC's on the internet. I like the hardware firewall over the software.
Some people believe that if you have a NAT router then it is enough for protection, but don't be fooled by that. You need to be filtering in and out traffic.
I know that the Linksys router comes with a version of Zone Alarm built into the firmware of it. This is fine, but just as long as you update your firmware for the Linksys router. They release new firmware versions all the time.
Mark
------------------
Sho~Bud Pro I, Fender D-8 (C6&E13) http://www.darkmagneto.com
|
|
|
|
Ray Minich
From:
Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra
|
Posted 5 Sep 2003 6:27 pm
|
|
You can also get a copy of Tiny Personal Firewall from Tiny Software (it's free, do a Google or Yahoo search for it on the web). I run TPF and a hardware router (SMC 7400ABR) on dial up. The 7400ABR gives a solid connection and TPF tells me when a rogue/errant program in my PC is trying to phone home.
Some other software you can employ includes Ad-Aware, Spybot, and SamSpade. Ad-Aware and Spybot will help in removing "cookies" and spyware. SamSpade is good for determining the source of malicious e-mail.
Do a search on the names and you'll find their sources. The URL's are not available to me right now.
A currently available alternate mail client is Incredimail. It has some benefits over Outlook and Outlook Express.
Most important advice, Don't trust any e-mail, it's all suspect.
Emmons S-10, Dekley S-10, |
|
|
|
