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Posted by NoSpam on June 22, 2009, 8:14 pm
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Hello Group,
I know next to nothing about routers and their firewall
properties. For this reason I am asking for your friendly
advice.
So far I have used ZoneAlarm. It seems to have worked
well. Unfortunately it is no longer being updated for my
OS, Win2k.
A friend of mine gave me a Robotics 8054 router. I under-
stand that this device acts as a firewall. I do not intend to
connect a number of PCs to it, just the PC I use for the
internet and I intend to use a cable.
Question: how good is the security with this router? Is it
better than with ZoneAlarm? What do I need to know to
set it up properly in terms of its firwall function. (I do know
how to connect it.)
Hopefully somebody will be able to help me. Thank you in
advance.
GR.
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Posted by G on June 22, 2009, 11:11 pm
If you were Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
says...
>
> Hello Group,
>
> I know next to nothing about routers and their firewall
> properties. For this reason I am asking for your friendly
> advice.
>
> So far I have used ZoneAlarm. It seems to have worked
> well. Unfortunately it is no longer being updated for my
> OS, Win2k.
>
> A friend of mine gave me a Robotics 8054 router. I under-
> stand that this device acts as a firewall. I do not intend to
> connect a number of PCs to it, just the PC I use for the
> internet and I intend to use a cable.
>
> Question: how good is the security with this router? Is it
> better than with ZoneAlarm? What do I need to know to
> set it up properly in terms of its firwall function. (I do know
> how to connect it.)
>
> Hopefully somebody will be able to help me. Thank you in
> advance.
>
> GR.
If you have the router properly configured, it (plus proper precautions
by the user) will be more effective than any software firewall.
The basics: an adequate admin password on the router, firewall on, NAT
on, UPnP off, encryption WPA2 if available (otherwise WPA) with a strong
encryption key. Beyond that, read the manual, making sure you understand
the different features.
At the same time, using an outdated, unsupported OS is unwise. You
should strongly consider upgrading if your hardware can support Vista or
the forthcoming Windows 7. If your hardware doesn't meet the
requirements (or even if it does, depending on your situation &
willingness to learn something new), consider at least trying out a
distribution of Linux (Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS, MEPIS, etc.) or BSD (PCBSD,
DesktopBSD, etc.).
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Posted by Andrew Rossmann on June 23, 2009, 8:51 am
If you were Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
> says...
> At the same time, using an outdated, unsupported OS is unwise.
Win2K will still be supported with security updates until next summer.
As for ZoneAlarm, there is no need to constantly update it. If you add
any router in front (NOBODY should ever directly connect a computer
these days), it will offer some good front-line protection. ZoneAlarm
will help control outgoing connections if you want.
--
If there is a no_junk in my address, please REMOVE it before replying!
All junk mail senders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
law!!
http://home.att.net/~andyross
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Posted by Ansgar -59cobalt- Wiechers on June 23, 2009, 9:34 am
If you were Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options > As for ZoneAlarm, there is no need to constantly update it.
There isn't? So you mean to say that any vulnerabilities will magically
fix themselves?
[...]
> (NOBODY should ever directly connect a computer these days),
And why exactly might that be? Hm? Why shouldn't I connect a computer
that doesn't have any services available on the external interface
directly to my ISP?
BTW, you do realize that routers are computers as well, don't you?
[...]
> ZoneAlarm will help control outgoing connections if you want.
No, it won't.
cu
59cobalt
--
"If a software developer ever believes a rootkit is a necessary part of
their architecture they should go back and re-architect their solution."
--Mark Russinovich
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Posted by NoSpam on June 23, 2009, 10:16 am
If you were Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
> geoffstempbox-usenet@yahoo.com says...
> > says...
> > At the same time, using an outdated, unsupported OS is unwise.
>
> Win2K will still be supported with security updates until next summer.
>
> As for ZoneAlarm, there is no need to constantly update it. If you add
> any router in front (NOBODY should ever directly connect a computer
> these days), it will offer some good front-line protection. ZoneAlarm
> will help control outgoing connections if you want.
>
> --
> If there is a no_junk in my address, please REMOVE it before replying!
> All junk mail senders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
> law!!
> http://home.att.net/~andyross
Dear Andrew,
Thank you for your reply. The idea to update Zone-Alarm came from
ZoneAlarm which reminded me to update. When I tried to do so their
site informed me, that there was no update for my system.
As far as outgoing protection is concerned, why would I need it? Is it
of value when some rogue program or a program masquerading as le-
gitimate asks for outgoing connection? I have noted over the years that
quite a few programs are asking for outgoing permission. Usually they
seem to be programs trying to communicate with their mother site before
or during an update. Sometimes it is not clear what the program does
which is asking for outgoing permission. I find this to be one of the dis-
advantages with Zone Alarm. Would a router not resolve this problem?
Greetings
GR.
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