If I Already Have A Router

[LTJBukem]

I don't have a router at the moment, but i'm getting one next month when we finally get adsl. My understanding, from the research i've done, is that a software firewall is neccesary to prevent any pirated software from phoning home. Also that ZoneAlarm is perfectly adequate for this task.

[abu_has_the_power]

Originally posted by Russo@30 November 2003 - 05:39
Having two firewalls is like having two umbrellas open in the rain. one firewall will catch all the rain, and the other will get hardly nothing

But i use ZA with my router just so i know what programs are trying to access the internet and spy on me

i'd say a router is a big filter, and a software firewall is a small thinner firewall. u get both layers of protection. and u also get peace of mind from the riaa cuz u can't block specific ip adds on ur router

[J'Pol]

As I understand it a NAT Router will stop uninvited traffick from coming into your machine. Basically if one of the PCs didn't ask for it, then it is ignored as the router has no way of knowing where to send it. Great for BOTS etc, as the machine doesn't block them, confirming it's existence, it just ignores them.

Unless you set up one machine as the DMZ (I think) then it will send anything it doesn't know about there. This is necessary for some things to work properly.

However it will not stop things being sent out, it will just get something from the PC and send it to the appropriate address.

So if you wish to control outgoing traffick you need software.

This is my understanding and it could easily be nonsense.

[shn]

Try using your common sense. If you had a router you would not need a crappy software based firewall. And if you have a router and still think you need a peice a crap software like zone alarm to protect you then I suggest you start looking for a "good" router and stop buying that cheap hardware.

Besides if someone really wanted to get into a system they could easily bypass a software firewall because its an application. Its a lot harder to bypass a "physical" device like a router that is physically attached to the network.

[LTJBukem]

Originally posted by shn@30 November 2003 - 19:15
Try using your common sense. If you had a router you would not need a crappy software based firewall. And if you have a router and still think you need a peice a crap software like zone alarm to protect you then I suggest you start looking for a "good" router and stop buying that cheap hardware.

Besides if someone really wanted to get into a system they could easily bypass a software firewall because its an application. Its a lot harder to bypass a "physical" device like a router that is physically attached to the network.

What about outbound traffic; particularly pirated software phoning home?

[shn]

Originally posted by LTJBukem+30 November 2003 - 13:24--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (LTJBukem @ 30 November 2003 - 13:24)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-shn@30 November 2003 - 19:15
Try using your common sense.&nbsp; If you had a router you would not need a crappy software based firewall.&nbsp; And if you have a router and still think you need a peice a crap software like zone alarm to protect you then I suggest you start looking for a "good" router and stop buying that cheap hardware.

Besides if someone really wanted to get into a system they could easily bypass a software firewall because its an application. Its a lot harder to bypass a "physical" device like a router that is physically attached to the network.

What about outbound traffic; particularly pirated software phoning home? [/b][/quote]
I have a good router. It monitors all inbound and outbound traffic. And how exactly does pirated software phone home?

I have to manually configure and enable a pass-through to let actual applications send outbound traffic. And at least when I do that I dont get an annoying message telling me its trying to access the internet like software based firewalls do..

[LTJBukem]

Most software tries to send registration details over the internet, which, as a matter of course, i block with my software firewall. These are the same annoying messages you mention, i just turn off these program alerts and check the log from time to time.

But you&#39;re telling me routers can block such outbound traffic? Is this typical of routers, or is it another part of your supercomputer? Myself and the original poster, i guess, are asking the same question. If you could provide us with some more info i&#39;d be grateful.

[shn]

Originally posted by LTJBukem@30 November 2003 - 14:07
Most software tries to send registration details over the internet, which, as a matter of course, i block with my software firewall. These are the same annoying messages you mention, i just turn off these program alerts and check the log from time to time.

But you&#39;re telling me routers can block such outbound traffic? Is this typical of routers, or is it another part of your supercomputer? Myself and the original poster, i guess, are asking the same question. If you could provide us with some more info i&#39;d be grateful.

Honestly it depends on what type of router you have. If you go out and buy a cheap one that tells you that you need to install software to run it or whatever then its not a good router, just one that will suffice your basic needs. But even then you still should not need firewall software alongside of it.

I run linux a lot so technically if I wanted to I could use one of my linux boxes on my network to serve as a gateway or kind of like a router, in such a way that I would not need a physical device. But since I have other boxes running xp and stuff then I just connect them all through the router and use the router as a gateway.

Good routers are like computers. As they should be, most of them come with manuals and even when you buy one, a good one at least, it will post the specs just like when you buy a computer.

Ever seen a computer for sale at a store and you know its a pretty basic one that may lack a lot of features. Well, the manufactures know that too so thats why they dont post "all" of the hardware specs on it, you have to ask someone in the store or wait until you actually buy the pc to get the full technical specs on it. Then you see it wasnt worth buying because it doesnt have much to offer.

Routers are the same way, a crappy one will just give you a few general specs and tell you its easy to hook up or whatever. A good one will have the full specs listed on the box so you know what you get before you buy.

And actually I was a student in cisco netcad for 2 semesters and I got a great deal on a Cisco 830 Series router that they were offering students at a very competitive price. Something like that for me was worth it because that is a very good router. But I also understand that a lot of people may not need all that and may opt for a more simple solution.

Did you know that you dont need a router or software firewall to stop outgoing traffic. Some people think the built in firewal (icf)l with xp is crap, but I learned its only crap if you dont know about networking. If you have a general knowledge of tcp/ip you can filter and block just about any tcp or udp traffic, in or out just by using the advanced tab in the icf (internet connection firewall) section.

[mulch]

I use a Cisco 801. Yah I know the little one. The IOS I&#39;m running is real cool. A little packet sniffer built right in. DSL ready is what cisco put out. Well it supported PPPOE no prob. I downloaded the IP Ranged that needs blocking in a text file and just pasted it into my config file.

I also run Sniffer Pro just to see whats going and coming. I was suprised to say the least.

[Global Media Trader]

You will have to open ports manually in your router to be able to play some multi player games or FTP transfers. but that is real easy, at least on a D-Link anyway