wireless firewall wanted

theGrinch

Hello,

I have been advised to get a physical firewall (Switch/Firewall/Routers). Recommended makes, Linksys, Netgear, Belkin, DLink, Buffalo.

Minimum:

802.11b/g wireless
4 port switch

Can anyone recommend something around £30 and where I can find it online?

Browntoa

not sure why, i've turned mine off and rely on the software one's

superscaper

Have to agree, there's no reason to go and specifically get a hardware firewall. Even with one I'd advise every computer on the network still have it's own software firewall installed.

EDIT: Ignore this post I thought OP was talking about a pure firewall not a router with a firewall.

albertross_2

I'm at bit surprised at the the last 2 posters?

A NAT router is an excellent level of extra protection for any home user (software firewalls can be stopped by malware for a start). The NAT bit is doing the protection, rather than the router firewall.

Do you have a BT line (ADSL router), or Cable phone (Cable/DSL router)? For BT, netgear dg834G, for cable WGR614v7.

make sure you encrypt it, whatever you get.

superscaper

albertross wrote: »

I'm at bit surprised at the the last 2 posters?

A NAT router is an excellent level of extra protection for any home user (software firewalls can be stopped by malware for a start). The NAT bit is doing the protection, rather than the router firewall.

Do you have a BT line (ADSL router), or Cable phone (Cable/DSL router)? For BT, netgear dg834G, for cable WGR614v7.

make sure you encrypt it, whatever you get.

I'm not saying there's no use to a hardware firewall, but I wouldn't go and specifically get one and I wouldn't rely on it for all the pcs in a network (as they all have their own port requirements etc, and not much use for monitoring outgoing data). It's certainly worth getting one as part of a modem/router but I think excessive to buy a standalone one unless for a larger infrastructure. Although I may have misread the OP because they asked for a firewall and as per your suggestions it would seem like they're actually after a router that happens to have a firewall.

superscaper

albertross wrote: »

Best thing I ever bought, apart from possibly a pvr.

Off topic but bought my mum a pvr and now I'm envious , definitely need to get one at some point.

Conor_3

superscaper wrote: »

Have to agree, there's no reason to go and specifically get a hardware firewall.

Here's a reason. AS HAS HAPPENED QUITE A FEW TIMES IN THE PAST, especially on Norton/McAfee firewalls, some malware TURNS THEM OFF. Also said malware also turns off the security centre notifications so you don 't know it's been turned off.

Relying on a software firewall is mad.

Conor_3

Browntoa wrote: »

not sure why, i've turned mine off and rely on the software one's

And there posts someone who has absolutely no clue about security.

There are a whole host of them but here's one...

CWS.EZSearch.This CWS variant removes and updates previous installations of CoolWebSearch such as CWS.BootConf and CWS.SVCHost32. It also disables firewall and antivirus software notifications of the Windows Security Center (found in WinXP SP2 and Win2003 SP1). It drops a copy of itself in the Windows system folder (usually as scrsvc.exe) and creates an autorun entry for this. If Windows Firewall is installed in the system, the hijack will also register itself in the Firewall policy as among the authorized applications that can access the network.

Donnie

To be fair to Browntoa, he did write; not sure why...

albertross_2

but he meant, not sure why the OP has been advised to get one.

superscaper

Conor wrote: »

Relying on a software firewall is mad.

Never said I did

Just that you shouldn't just rely on a hardware firewall either. Any problems I've had have been despite having a hardware firewall in place and operating correctly. I've already said I misunderstood the OP's question. I wouldn't see the point in getting just a firewall (certainly not money saving). You've ignored my edit to the post altogether to disagree with something I've already withdrawn. :rolleyes: