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j8ear · 11-20-2003, 12:34 PM

A router by it self will do nothing to protect a network. Well, that's not etirely true but for the home user it essentially is.

If you want to protect your network and the workstations on it you need to do a couple of things:

1. Make sure you are up to date on all OS patches for all of your appliances.
2. Change all default passwords.
3. Turn off all unused services.
4. Add a firewall. Zone alarm is a good home grade software based firewall, and will provide decent security for the most part. Better still would be a standalone firewall. I prefer to use BSD unix for firewalls.

Some SOHO routers include some basic firewall functionality, like NATTing, port mapping, and service blocking. So in that regard a router with these features would be a good idea.

-bear

11-20-2003, 12:34 PM	#3 (permalink)
j8ear Gentlemen Farmer Location: Middle of nowhere, Jersey	A router by it self will do nothing to protect a network. Well, that's not etirely true but for the home user it essentially is. If you want to protect your network and the workstations on it you need to do a couple of things: 1. Make sure you are up to date on all OS patches for all of your appliances. 2. Change all default passwords. 3. Turn off all unused services. 4. Add a firewall. Zone alarm is a good home grade software based firewall, and will provide decent security for the most part. Better still would be a standalone firewall. I prefer to use BSD unix for firewalls. Some SOHO routers include some basic firewall functionality, like NATTing, port mapping, and service blocking. So in that regard a router with these features would be a good idea. -bear __________________ It's alot easier to ask for forgiveness then it is to ask for permission.