John DeCarlo wrote:
On Fri, Jan 9, 2009 at 3:38 PM, RLeeSimon <[email protected]> wrote:
I have a new Linksys Router with, of course, their built in firewall.
BEHIND it is my desktop computer. Also, I use my laptop to it wirelessly.
WPA encryption is enabled. Do I need a software firewall at all ? I have
PCToolsPro on my desktop computer which causes some misery. I have
ZoneAlarm on my laptop which causes some more misery. My internet
connection sharing worked ok but my network would not do fileshare or much
else with all that going. With it shut off, bingo, everything works! Am I
ok this way or what? If not, why? TIA!!
I didn't see a clear answer, but maybe I skipped through too quickly.
1. Protection from Internet attacks. You don't need a software firewall to
protect you from attacks the Internet - the router should handle that. So
all that advice is indeed correct.
I beg to differ. A NAT firewall is a good first line defense but is
elemental in nature and easily defeated by engineered attacks.
Anybody ever find spyware on your computer? Any outgoing messaging
originating from a computer on the inside of a NAT firewall
automatically insures access to the incoming response. So when spyware
calls home, WHATEVER payload comes back from the "Internet" is routed
right thru a NAT firewall as if it wasn't even there.
Thus layered defenses and the need for a firewall on each computer. If
you can't keep spyware from getting on ANY of your networked computers
in the first place, you shouldn't be depending on NAT as your security
solution
2. Protection from wireless attacks. Someone mentioned that the router
wouldn't protect you from someone else on the wireless. But WPA should keep
people you don't know off. If you have guests you let on the wireless, you
have to figure the threat from that.
Exactly. and modern exploits are typically specifically designed to
follow social connections.
NAT is for protections from misc. unwanted amateur external internet
traffic ... WPA is for people you don't know ... computer firewalls are
for people you do know ... good computer firewalls ("Two Way Firewalls")
protect you from yourself. (inadvertent mistakes you might make but not
the outgoing one you mistakenly Ok because you are tired or don't
understand what it is or more probably were successfully socially
engineered and intentionally accepted. Know anyone who likes
pornography, freeware utilities, or those fun and intriguing humor,
video or techie web bits your friends forward you by email all the time?)
3. Protection from web sites or other user oriented attacks. If you get
infected, you will be one of the millions of PCs that are part of botnets
that send spam and attack sites. A software firewall can help with this,
catching some programs trying to send to the Internet. (not all of them).
Rootkit, malware, and other scans can also help.
Yes... good to know as in any "step in time saves nine" measure but by
then the "horse is out of the barn"and long gone. And so is your time
and perhaps money...
At the U. I previously worked at, the FBI showed up one day and in the
space of one hour hauled off the Professor's research 5 year project
server (run by grad student employees) and all of his program's work
environment. They kept it for one year, his backup was not what it
should have been so he defaulted on his grant funding and grad student
research obligations and lost his grant credibility. Al Queda had hacked
the server with a trojan exploit and was using the server as a way
station for communication.
In any case, most rootkit and trojan removal these days is going to
require a format/ reinstall, boot sector clearing, and a thorough
disinfection of all of your backup data and that is a nightmare in
itself... without even considering what the trojan might have stolen
from you etc...
If you buy things or banks online ...which means you are providing ID,
bank or credit card info ... or store ID info on your computer, it is my
opinion, you should NEVER be doing simple filesharing or operating
without a computer firewall ... hopefully two way... on every computer
and sweetening the mix with NAT, WPA and all other tips you can find
from googling "home network security" etc.
We live in a big interconnected works where surprises and mistakes
happen all the time. Just think about how your 401K just got
surprisingly clobbered...
Your computer is a valuable asset to others ... you need to actively
protect it with all means possible.
db
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