Firewalls?

"The Crow" snipped-for-privacy@poor.service.org> wrote in news:417779a7$0$59460$ snipped-for-privacy@ptn-nntp-reader03.plus.net:

A router provides pretty good incoming protection. If it has firewall components, that is even better. However, for any outgoing connection protection against worms, spyware, etc., you need a software firewall. It seems obvious to me that if you use wireless connections, a software firewall is even more necessary. Regardless, I would continue to use Sygate if I were you - layered incoming protection is wise.

If you have a wireless router, anyone who connects to the wireless side is on your side of that hardware firewall.

Also, the default setting for the WinXP-SP2 firewall (and simple to do in ZoneLabs firewall) is to make your local subnet "trusted", which you don't want on wireless for the same reason.

And if you have a wireless laptop, you might carry it out to a public hotspot, where you certainly want a personal firewall.

Hi

Assume that you have a wifi port on the rooter? You need protection from both directions. Internet has plenty of bad guys just looking for open ports. If your wifi signal goes outside of what you think your range is, now you have possible bad guys on your inside network. WEP doesn't work. Hiding SSID doesn't work. WPA hasn't been truly tested ...yet... but I have seen no wide open holes ... yet. Jeff probably knows more.

Methinks that the best way to do this is to have separate devices. Firewall/router for the internet, Firewall/router for the wireless network. I even go as far as having seperate networks on the internal side of things. For instance, the local wired network could be

192.168.2.0/24 while the wireless network could be 192.168.3.0/24 and only permit known good hosts to talk between.

tod

The Crow wrote: