Firewall Help

cubboyroy1826 · 01-13-2005, 12:27 PM

Hey guys and girls i could use some firewall help. I am moving into a new house that i had wired with a network. I am a mortgage broker and will be doing a lot of work from home and would like some firewall safety. I have no clue in this area so any suggestions would be great. I will be using Comcast cable internet as my service provider. Thanks in advance.

albionmoonlight · 01-13-2005, 12:37 PM

Zone Alarm provides a good free software firewall. I had them until internet buzz indicated that one of their updates caused a lot of machines to go screwy. I have no idea if they got back on track or not.

Right now, I have Norton Internet Security, which is an antivirus and firewall all in one. I have had almost no problems with it, though some have said that it is not compatible with all systems.

Your best bet, I have heard, is to get an external firewall--but I was unable to find one that was not also a router--which I didn't need and for which I didn't want to pay extra.

So--in short, I have NIS, and I like it.

Franklinnoble · 01-13-2005, 01:01 PM

Ping: Router Help

rkmsuf · 01-13-2005, 01:02 PM

He wants firewall help so shouldn't he ping Firewall Help? duh.

Lonnie · 01-13-2005, 08:21 PM

You could get by with any of the Linksys firewall cable/dsl routers. They are inexpensive and will provide the protection you need. If you go with a wireless one I do recommend setting up WEP or MAC filtering for additional security. It should explain how in the manual. Look for the BEFSX41, that should do the trick. You can find them for $60-$70.

If you want a more industrial quality one go for a Cisco PIX 501 or Checkpoint Safe@Office 110. They'll run $300-$600.

bosshogg23 · 01-13-2005, 08:38 PM

You can certainly run ZoneAlarm or Norton and be ok if you keep the firewall settings fairly high. The annoying problem is if you have a personal computer on the same network, your accessibility to normal web surfing/game playing will be quite limited.

Otherwise I think your best bet is an external firewall like others said.

Draft Dodger · 01-13-2005, 09:07 PM

Firewalls on the basic level do 2 things - one is to prevent unwanted incoming traffic (ie from the web) and the other is to prevent (or monitor) outgoing traffic (a program on your computer accessing the web without your permission).

Any external router (like the Linksys) have a firewall built in that does fine against the first thing (basically, it "hides" your computer from random pings and stuff). But it doesn't really do much for the 2nd aspect.

A software firewall (for example, Zone Alarm), will handle both things, and is generally easier to both configure and monitor than routers. However, it does take up system resources (it's running in the background) and, personally, I find it to generally be more annoying than anything.

In my case, I just use the firewall in the router. If I ever get suspicious about stuff accessing the net on my PC, it's always possible to just run Zone Alarm for a day or so to see what's up.

01-13-2005, 01:02 PM	#4
rkmsuf Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2001	He wants firewall help so shouldn't he ping Firewall Help? duh. __________________ "Don't you have homes?" -- Judge Smales

01-13-2005, 08:21 PM	#5
Lonnie High School Varsity Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Midlothian, TX	Firewall Help You could get by with any of the Linksys firewall cable/dsl routers. They are inexpensive and will provide the protection you need. If you go with a wireless one I do recommend setting up WEP or MAC filtering for additional security. It should explain how in the manual. Look for the BEFSX41, that should do the trick. You can find them for $60-$70. If you want a more industrial quality one go for a Cisco PIX 501 or Checkpoint Safe@Office 110. They'll run $300-$600. __________________ Lonnie Last edited by Lonnie : 01-13-2005 at 08:22 PM.

01-13-2005, 09:07 PM	#7
Draft Dodger Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Keene, NH	Firewalls on the basic level do 2 things - one is to prevent unwanted incoming traffic (ie from the web) and the other is to prevent (or monitor) outgoing traffic (a program on your computer accessing the web without your permission). Any external router (like the Linksys) have a firewall built in that does fine against the first thing (basically, it "hides" your computer from random pings and stuff). But it doesn't really do much for the 2nd aspect. A software firewall (for example, Zone Alarm), will handle both things, and is generally easier to both configure and monitor than routers. However, it does take up system resources (it's running in the background) and, personally, I find it to generally be more annoying than anything. In my case, I just use the firewall in the router. If I ever get suspicious about stuff accessing the net on my PC, it's always possible to just run Zone Alarm for a day or so to see what's up. __________________ Mile High Hockey

01-13-2005, 12:37 PM	#2
albionmoonlight Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: North Carolina	Zone Alarm provides a good free software firewall. I had them until internet buzz indicated that one of their updates caused a lot of machines to go screwy. I have no idea if they got back on track or not. Right now, I have Norton Internet Security, which is an antivirus and firewall all in one. I have had almost no problems with it, though some have said that it is not compatible with all systems. Your best bet, I have heard, is to get an external firewall--but I was unable to find one that was not also a router--which I didn't need and for which I didn't want to pay extra. So--in short, I have NIS, and I like it.

01-13-2005, 01:01 PM	#3
Franklinnoble Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Placerville, CA	Ping: Router Help

01-13-2005, 08:38 PM	#6
bosshogg23 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Philly	You can certainly run ZoneAlarm or Norton and be ok if you keep the firewall settings fairly high. The annoying problem is if you have a personal computer on the same network, your accessibility to normal web surfing/game playing will be quite limited. Otherwise I think your best bet is an external firewall like others said.

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