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desperate need of firewall help!!!

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by tuttle425

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Hey all, I could really use some help setting up my firewall and picking what to use. I have a win2k server and am running a couple websites and email on it and would like to protect it with a firewall. I don't want to spend much money so, what could I do to get my server protected from the most common attacks. I bought McAfee Internet Security, but it is junk so I would like to get something else. Please help.

8 replies

by apaj

I prefer Tiny myself. It's free, more configurable, but also has a higher learning curve than other "plug and play" software firewalls. It can be configured for incoming and outgoing rules. I believe it operates at a lower level than Zone Alarm Pro but don't quote me on that. Very small memory signature on top of all that. Logs are a bit clumsy though.

by linz

When choosing a firewall I don't feel it's wise to look at cost (think how much time is lost if someone gains access).
Zone Alarm pro I have used for quite a while and find it very secure, easy to set up and run.
Whichever firewall you try go to http://grc.com and run the tests there if your firewall fails either reconfigure it or change it.

by madroxxx

For a web server you should probably consider a firewall that runs on another box. If you use a "firewall" software that runs on your box traffic is already on your box before it is analyzed. A small external firewall can sit between your server andthe web and inspect before it passes traffic to your server.

by isys

They have products that scale and should fit your price range. Remember, software firewalls still leave the operating system exposed to the Internet. A firewall appliance has a hardened OS that is designed to resist intrusion. You will have to examine how many dollars you are willing to invest in a firewall against how much reconstruction you will have to do if vandals trash your servers.

by assamite

If you have a spare box laying about somewhere with 2 nic cards, try out smoothwall 2. it's free from www.smoothwall.org if you want the beta version, does port fowarding etc and will give you a overall better level of protection. You really shouldnt be installing a firewall solution on the same server thats hosting the services anyhow as the firewall should be hardened and a dedicated appliance/box thats contains no shares or passwords with your main network. If you are not overly concernedwith price you should look into a hardware solution, or a checkpoint solution maybe.

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