old Notebook as firewall Q's

The Linksys NAT router has a built-in *switch* that will take full advantage of full duplex for any machines connected to the LAN ports of the router or if another standalone switch is connected and machines are connected to it. Most NIC(s) will work in full duplex mode in that situation.

If the machine is compormised with malware, you need to find it.

What's wrong with the Linksys NAT router as the gateway device and provides protection from the WAN for the LAN?

I don't think you need to be using Linux to do anything here IMHO.

I'll have to question the whole laptop thing period.

Duane :)

"Duane Arnold" wrote in news:AMEwf.814$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net:

I just figured I would be reformatting the drive anyway if I was going to load Linux onto it, so that should take care of the malware

This is what I don't understand. I have recently been looking at the AlphaSheild hardware firewall, as a firewall solution. My problem is that I want all the machines in the house to have their XP firewall down to make file sharing easier. My understanding is that the Linksys router I use does not act as a firewall. There are no firewall settings on the router.

Maybe I just need to learn how to use my router properly.

Is it safe to say that anyone with a Linksys router would never employ a hardware firewall, between the router and the modem?

Thx for the help; I'll check out the links

A

But the Linksys NAT router does provide protection protecting the LAN from the WAN/Internet by not forwarding unsolicited inbound requests from the WAN to the machines on the LAN behind the router. In the basic sense, the NAT router separates two networks the WAN/Internet it is protecting from and the LAN/(the machines it is protecting connected to it). You can do resource sharing between machines on the Windows Networking Ports because the ports are closed by default on the router. The only way the machines can be attacked on the WNP(s) is you manually open those ports on the router.

Well most likely they would use a personal FW solution behind a NAT router the cannot stop outbound. If you had a packet filtering FW router or a FW appliance that stops inbound and outbound traffic by setting filtering rules, then one doesn't need a PFW solution on the machines behind them, IMHO. In either of the cases, they would be sitting between the modem and the machines as a border solution. The FW solutions can stop traffic between LAN IP(s)/machines(traffic between LAN machines by setting rules) or they can stop traffic between LAN IP(s) and WAN/Internet IP(s).

As far as the AlphaSheild, I think you're better off with that Linksys that has logging and maybe SPI if it has SPI. You can always get a higher end FW router or a low-end FW appliance that meets the specs in the link below. That AlphaShield I am pretty sure doesn't meet the specs. You can also get FW routers or FW appliances that are used, refurbished with a full warrantee and support for a low price from reputable dealer.

What does an Internet FW do?

This link may also help you understand FW(s) host software or appliance based.

Duane :)

IPCOP is a very reliable linux firewall. It can run on vurtually any equipment (old and new). I've connected a Linksys router to an old PIII laptop running IPCOP without any problems. The IPCOP does a better job than the Linksys router as the router does not have good logging facility. And the best of all, is that IPCOP is free

In message , ABC writes

You will need to see whether your "CATC NetMate usb adapter" will work in IPCOP, that may depend on whether there is a Linux driver for it. The 3COM sounds more certain though.

The "full duplex" would not matter greatly to you here. All Ethernet NICs will work out as well as in. "Full Duplex" just means that it can work in & out simultaneously at full speed, but your Internet connection will not be anything like quick enough to tell the difference, I think.

An old laptop can be a good choice as a firewall, because it is small, uses little power and is quiet.

That said, IPCOP does take a little learning, especially if you have not used Linux before and your time might just be better spend learning to get the most from your Linksys.

Good luck!

Depends on his network. A 10mb connection at half duplex is very noticeable. I had one machine here with a 3com NIC that refused to configure as full duplex. It felt like a modem connection compared to running full duplex. But a 100mb running half duplex would still be faster than the internet connection, so that probably wouldn't be noticed.