Opinions on Physical Firewalls

[Andersonjoe711]

I want to set up a home network. we'll be using Comcast cable internet, and at the moment, it goes into a linksys router and goes to my laptop, my intellistation, and my parents' computer. Wires going through ceilings and walls..not pretty...(they REFUSE to get wireless, even though we'll be in the boondocks of burlington). Anyways, Right now I've setup Norton Firewall, and that's all I got. Should I buy a Firewall/router and use that for sharing the connection? Also, with my current setup Windows warns me that if I share files on a network the world will be able to see them because all the comuters connect directly to the internet.

What Id like to do is safely connect at least my laptop and intellistation without having any major security threats. It mentioned a residential gateway, but I can't seem to find them anywhere other than E-bay. There has to be a better way.....any suggestions?

[aaa]

Most routers/modems have a simple firewall on them already. Easy way to test is to look at your IP address in Windows (click the connection and it should be under the "Support" tab, under Details). Then compare that to http://www.whatsmyip.org . If they don't match, then there's a simple firewall already somewhere in your system, that blocks all incoming connections.

[leoblob]

I want to set up a home network. we'll be using Comcast cable internet, and at the moment, it goes into a linksys router and goes to my laptop, my intellistation, and my parents' computer...

I'm far from an expert here, but if the computers are connected to the router (which then connects to your cable modem), I'm pretty sure you are all set as far as a physical firewall. Then add a software firewall (via XPP) and I think you'd be all set... ??

That's the exact set-up I have here (cable modem to router, then hard-wired to all computers)... but using Zone Alarm (since WIN2K doesn't have a firewall built in).

[carbon_unit]

What model of Linksys router do you have? It is probably a good enough firewall for home use.

[bill bolton]

I want to set up a home network. we'll be using Comcast cable internet, and at the moment, it goes into a linksys router and goes to my laptop, my intellistation, and my parents' computer.

Unless you have seriously modified the default settings in your LinkSys router, it will be applying a NAT layer between the Internet and your local network. This will effectively isolate the local network from the Internet as far as any accidental visibility into your local network from the Internet is concerned.

For the domestic circumstance you describe, you don't need a hardware firewall and are not likely to get an benefit from having one.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[tylerwylie]

What Bill B said is true. If you're feeling like a tinkerer and what to play around with a physical firewall, look at pfsense! Works great in making use of an old machine

[phool@round]

I, personally go this route (no pun intended); http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=monowall

[Andersonjoe711]

thank you for the info! I'll find the router model number tonight.

So looks like a Physical Firewall wouldn't be beneficial to me at all.
What are they good for? Commercial use?

Also, what would be the ideal layout to do what i want to do, and have windows not give me that stupid warning about my data being visible to all?

Would I need one of those residential gateways? What are those?

I feel so dumb sometimes........

[carbon_unit]

A commercial firewall is geared more toward providing secure remote access through a VPN and controlling traffic in and out of the network. It needs to be highly configurable so you can allow some thing while dis-allowing others.
A home router is preconfigured to allow the most common thing while blocking most of the rest.

For home use I would recommend using your linksys router and turning on the windows firewall. That should do a decent job of keeping you fairly safe. Of course that all depends on where you surf and what attention you bring to yourself.
A determined hacker can get in almost anywhere regardless of what firewall you have.

[Kyocera]

Windows warns me that if I share files on a network the world will be able to see them because all the comuters connect directly to the internet.

This is just a warning for those who have zero protection.

It has been and is still recommended to not use your administrators account when surfing, that being said I don't follow this rule but you could if you are worried. Also the information above is pretty much right on, your linksys is using NAT which is effectively keeping your private ip's private. You need a decent AV software, and some do come with software firewalls, however, you may have to "tailor" it for your use. Like carbon unit said, your surfing behaviour is very relevent to keeping yourself free from threats.

[tylerwylie]

Also, a pretty decent solution is getting a cheap ole Linksys WRT54G, and putting something like kamikaze or DD-WRT on it to play with.

[leoblob]

Hopefully this is still on topic. My computers are behind a D-Link DI-808HV router. I am using ZoneAlarm. In the year I've had my Intellistation, ZoneAlarm has blocked 1370 intrusion attempts. How can so many be getting thru my router? Is this a problem? Somehow it doesn't seem right to me, yet nothing bad is happening (that I'm aware of, at least)

[Kyocera]

leo, what is ZA blocking, could be something fairly benign, could be some program you're using pinging it's website for updates or something. I used to use ZA when it was freeware, but seems like the newer versions were trying to block anything and everything until you spent a couple of days letting it know what was an actual "threat".

[aaa]

Hopefully this is still on topic. My computers are behind a D-Link DI-808HV router. I am using ZoneAlarm. In the year I've had my Intellistation, ZoneAlarm has blocked 1370 intrusion attempts. How can so many be getting thru my router? Is this a problem? Somehow it doesn't seem right to me, yet nothing bad is happening (that I'm aware of, at least)

I'd guess that it's coming from another computer on your network, if you have one. Keep in mind that these software have a pretty broad definition of "threatening". It could be normal stuff from another computer being flagged, or maybe the second computer was infected at some point, or the software might be flagging outgoing attempts and not just ingoing...

[Andersonjoe711]

cool, thanks for the info! Most of my surfing is this site, E-mail, wikipedia and facebook and such. Nothing too threatening.......I hope. I feel a bit more comfortable now that I know what's going on.

Just one more question....... What's a residential gateway?

[Stan]

I’ve used a descent modem/ router for years and backed it up with ZoneAlarm with no problems.

Don’t forget that software Firewalls need to justify their existence by reporting every fart on the network, and almost all of those reports will be of no consequence to the end user.

If a problem does occur, then the modem/ router will crash and cut off any network access. The software firewall is just a (worthwhile) belt and braces approach to running a network, in my opinion.

Get a good modem/ router and back it up with a software firewall (even the Windows one will do, but it has no control over outgoing programmes) and the worst case scenario you will likely see is that the modem/ router stops responding and needs to be re- booted.

If it does get truly compromised then you may have to restore it to default configuration and then input any changes you made to it since you installed it on your system.

Most good quality modem/ routers will protect you to the point of self-destruction, but they (most often) can be re- set and will continue to do the job.

I love them.

[BeeJayEmm]

... What's a residential gateway?

I believe it's a device which combines a modem, wireless access point and router (usually with ethernet ports, DHCP and NAT firewall). I used to use one by TwoWire when I first got DSL, but it was only 802.11b so I dumped it after a while for a g router. Mine worked well and, because it was integrated, took up little space.

Brian

[tylerwylie]

IPTables is a great tool as well. It'll run on your wireless router with the appropriate firmware and do most of the firewalling you'll need. Then you'd supplement that with a lax, but still present software firewall on your internal machines.

[leoblob]

Thanks for the responses to my off-topic question.