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Firewall Protection

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by c.o.

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I have cable modem service at home, two home computers and a laptop from work, all running Windows 98. Will I be be better off with a software package, such as BlackIce on my home computers (about $40 ea) and trusting the integrity of my workplace firewall re my laptop, or would the Linksy BEFSR41 - EtherFast 4-port Cable/DSL route (abt ($90+) be a better solution?

9 replies

by ann777

http://www.itaudit.org/forum/internet/f409in.htm

Read the above article. Basically your question boils down to a question of preference. Hardware versus software?

Hardware boxes are constructed using simple NAT (network address translation) technology. They have a single function; to make connections. They are limited in the sense that you can only open ONE NAT -- in other words you can only connect to one ip address through the box.

This may meet your needs or not. Personally Ido use the LinkSys 4-port Cable/DSL router at home... where i maintain a server and a few workstations at home. Ultimately, this suits my purposes exactly.

by some guy in seattle

The cost issues alone - it is obviously cheaper to put in the Linksys box. It is probably easier to maintain as well rather than having to upgrade/monitor four installations of BlackIce.

Another issue is speed. Running the BlackIce software is going to take up resources on each machine. Let some dedicated device do the firewalling/connectivity and leave your PCs to do what they are designed to do (play Quake :-) ).

Hope that helps -

by old-flyer

I use a combination of both the Linksys BEFSR41 and ZoneAlarm. ZoneAlarm is free for personal use and I have seen it catch some traffic that my have been an IP spoof.
If you go to the web sit http://www.grc.com and follow the links you can download it from there. The site also has a pretty good test that will show you how exposed you are or not. Blackice has been reported to let some things through. There was a comparison done in one of the PC World mags.

Ron

by tslighter

Depending upon the money you are willing to invest and how important you consider your resources on your home network. Myself, I purchased the Netscreen-5. This allows you to deploy an invalid network on your home PC's and NAT to the IP of the external. Following that implement a default rule on the external to deny/reject any any. Cost would set you back around $500 if you went straight retail but they are available on Ebay for $350 or so.

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