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There have been numerous incidents regarding weak NAT. Vulnerabilities from overflows, DoS, or just stupidity, implementations vary. Sometimes wildly from the classic idea of NAT. Keep your border code up to date. Be it Linksys, Linux or BSD they can all have issues. At least read the change histories and cert/securityfocus/etc for reports on your flavor. Secure is a moving target.
Don't think I've seen mention of the best feature of software firewalls. They're veeerry useful for keeping a handle on outgoing connections, what with all the "phone home" software shipping these days.
As for the intermittent connections, that could be a signal quality issue. Bad DSL "modem", skwerlz nesting in the wires, whatever. Could be something at the CO. Call the service center and ask them to check your connection. They should be able to tell you something about the drops. I'd start by unplugging all the other phones in the house. Ideally run a cord directly to the NID to eliminate household wiring. If it still has issues it's between your modem and the CO.
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There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195
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