Robotics 8054 vs. Zone Alarm

Hello Group,

I know next to nothing about routers and their firewall properties. For this reason I am asking for your friendly advice.

So far I have used ZoneAlarm. It seems to have worked well. Unfortunately it is no longer being updated for my OS, Win2k.

A friend of mine gave me a Robotics 8054 router. I under- stand that this device acts as a firewall. I do not intend to connect a number of PCs to it, just the PC I use for the internet and I intend to use a cable.

Question: how good is the security with this router? Is it better than with ZoneAlarm? What do I need to know to set it up properly in terms of its firwall function. (I do know how to connect it.)

Hopefully somebody will be able to help me. Thank you in advance.

GR.

Reply to
NoSpam
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If you have the router properly configured, it (plus proper precautions by the user) will be more effective than any software firewall. The basics: an adequate admin password on the router, firewall on, NAT on, UPnP off, encryption WPA2 if available (otherwise WPA) with a strong encryption key. Beyond that, read the manual, making sure you understand the different features.

At the same time, using an outdated, unsupported OS is unwise. You should strongly consider upgrading if your hardware can support Vista or the forthcoming Windows 7. If your hardware doesn't meet the requirements (or even if it does, depending on your situation & willingness to learn something new), consider at least trying out a distribution of Linux (Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS, MEPIS, etc.) or BSD (PCBSD, DesktopBSD, etc.).

Reply to
G

Win2K will still be supported with security updates until next summer.

As for ZoneAlarm, there is no need to constantly update it. If you add any router in front (NOBODY should ever directly connect a computer these days), it will offer some good front-line protection. ZoneAlarm will help control outgoing connections if you want.

Reply to
Andrew Rossmann

There isn't? So you mean to say that any vulnerabilities will magically fix themselves?

[...]

And why exactly might that be? Hm? Why shouldn't I connect a computer that doesn't have any services available on the external interface directly to my ISP?

BTW, you do realize that routers are computers as well, don't you?

[...]

No, it won't.

cu

59cobalt
Reply to
Ansgar -59cobalt- Wiechers

Thank you for your time to reply to my post!

Your advice on how to set up the router were valuable. I shall try to read up on the various terms like NAT, UPnP etc.

You mentioned Ubuntu as an alternative OS. I do have Ubuntu installed on my internet PC as a second OS, first is Win2k. I am not sure how Ubuntu would help in my situation. Can one use Zone- Alarm with it? Would it work with the Robotics router? What ad- vantage would it have for connecting to the internet? Problem with getting rid of Windows 2000 is the hassle with registering newer versions with Microsoft everytime one changes hardware and the fact that I have a wide carriage Epson printer (Epson Styus Pro

1520 for which no driver is available other than Windows 2000 and earlier.

Thanks for any additional thoughts GR.

Reply to
NoSpam

Dear Andrew,

Thank you for your reply. The idea to update Zone-Alarm came from ZoneAlarm which reminded me to update. When I tried to do so their site informed me, that there was no update for my system.

As far as outgoing protection is concerned, why would I need it? Is it of value when some rogue program or a program masquerading as le- gitimate asks for outgoing connection? I have noted over the years that quite a few programs are asking for outgoing permission. Usually they seem to be programs trying to communicate with their mother site before or during an update. Sometimes it is not clear what the program does which is asking for outgoing permission. I find this to be one of the dis- advantages with Zone Alarm. Would a router not resolve this problem?

Greetings GR.

Reply to
NoSpam

No. But you wouldn't need ZoneAlarm any longer.

Yes. Your router is OS independent. It will work with any OS that recognizes your network card.

Security. Linux presents fewer problems from a security standpoint. For one, the overwhelming majority of viruses, worms, etc. are designed to infect Windows. This is particularly important with older versions of Windows. And when the security support runs out for Win2k, you're out of luck. There is no way around upgrading the OS.

Ubuntu on the other hand, is consistently updated every 6 months and will remain completely free.

I don't know about the printer driver issue. But I'd be surprised if one doesn't exist for an Epson product.

In any case, when the Win2k security updates run out, you really have no choice but to upgrade if you don't want an infection. Since you already have Ubuntu installed, I would suggest starting to use it as your primary OS, switching back to Win2k when necessary. Then, when the death of Win2k support comes, it won't be a very big deal... and you won't have to fork out hundreds of dollars for the latest Windows. Even replacing your printer, if necessary (which I doubt), would cost much less.

Reply to
G

O.K. Thank you again!

What you say makes sense and in fact I have anticipated some of your advice by installing Ubuntu. There is a question however regarding the interaction of Ubuntu and Win2k installed on the same PC. I have Win2k on the master drive and Ubuntu on its slave. Ubuntu can see the Windows' directories and read from them and write to them. Using Ubuntu for internet connection might therefore expose the Win2k installation to the net. Is this true or not?

Regarding the Epson printer it can easily be verified by looking at Epson's download center that their 1520 printer does not have drivers beyond Win2k. I guess this is a way to keep the market for printers alive.

Sincerly GR.

Reply to
NoSpam

I suppose it's theoretically possible, but highly unlikely. The target is security holes in the OS. If someone wants to exploit Windows, they will try to find a security hole they can expose to accomplish their purposes. They won't be trying to exploit a flaw in Linux to try to do harm to a separate Windows partition.

That doesn't necessarily mean there is no driver for it. It may already be built into later versions (like XP). The manufacturer might very well not provide a Linux driver. That is often the case. But there is an excellent chance that you will find one with a little diligence in searching forums and the web in general.

Reply to
G

Thank you for a very helpful discussion. GR.

Reply to
NoSpam

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