JohnSaint
asked on
Router Firewall security
I have just bought a Linksys WRT54G router. I have networked my laptop (XP) and my PC (98) through the router but am a little confused about firewall security. I had to open up a hole in the XP firewall on my laptop in order to enable the network. I wasn't not sure how vulnerable that left me to outside threats so I started thinking of putting ZoneAlarm on my laptop (It's already on my PC) as it is more powerful and configurable than the XP firewall. In researching this, I kept seeing posts on various sites by people saying that they didn't have to worry about firewalls as they had routers! I can see no reference to firewall functionality in my Router documentation and have not had to configure anything (The router just plugged in and worked).
Do I have firewall in my router or what? I don't mind installing zonealarm but want to know if it's necessary.
Cheers,
John
Do I have firewall in my router or what? I don't mind installing zonealarm but want to know if it's necessary.
Cheers,
John
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ASKER
I was just pondering that, Psuedocyber. Thanks for confirming.
So, in summary...
I have anti-virus software on both machines.
I am hiding behind a router.
Do I need s/w firewalls on each machine?
I run ZoneAlarm on old pentium III and it doesn't seem too intrusive but I do like idea of using the minimum amount of components necessary.
That said, if there is a single valid reason for having firewalls on both machines, I would not hesitat to install. StevenLewis (above) gives a reason but I don't fully understand it.
I am happy to dish out more points (dummy question?) for more clarification. This is all good stuff for a network newbie like me.
So, in summary...
I have anti-virus software on both machines.
I am hiding behind a router.
Do I need s/w firewalls on each machine?
I run ZoneAlarm on old pentium III and it doesn't seem too intrusive but I do like idea of using the minimum amount of components necessary.
That said, if there is a single valid reason for having firewalls on both machines, I would not hesitat to install. StevenLewis (above) gives a reason but I don't fully understand it.
I am happy to dish out more points (dummy question?) for more clarification. This is all good stuff for a network newbie like me.
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ASKER
That's seems reasonable. Do you want some points?
I don't care too much about the points :)
Award as you see fit.
Do you have any more questions on this subject?
LucF
Award as you see fit.
Do you have any more questions on this subject?
LucF
ASKER
Sorry mate, I got confused there. Your getting the lion's share anyway.
Many thanks.
Many thanks.
ASKER
...And I think Pseud was replying to GinEric, not you.
The router you use, uses Network Adress Translation (NAT) so the internal IP is extremely hard to find for any external source. Which effectively gives you a terrific hardware firewall.
99% of the treats come from virusses trying to exploid a hole in the security of windows, but the first thing the virus hit's when trying to access your network is the router which can't be caught by those virusses to spread it onto your network (as those virusses are mostly written for windows OSes)
That you had to open a port in your software firewall to allow networking is normal, no network can function without being able to make a connection.
You're as safe as you can get behind you router, further security isn't really needed, especially not for home-use.
Things you might want to check:
- See if any external access is allowed on your router (the configuration screen should only be accessible from the inside of the network)
- See if you have any "port-forwarding" setup, if you don't, you won't be extra vulnerable.
- Check if your router includes a firewall to protect you from some kind of other things like a syn-flood (sorry, I never used Linksys, so I can't tell you if this is possible)
Greetings,
LucF