Hack attempts

[Nifty Hat Mitch]

On Sat, Jul 24, 2004 at 03:19:18PM -0400, Scot L. Harris wrote:
> On Sat, 2004-07-24 at 14:30, Jason Costomiris wrote:
> > On Jul 24, 2004, at 10:08 AM, Jorge Fábregas wrote:
> > 
> > > Just like Scot says..you should buy a hardware router ..most of them 
> > > have
> > > firewall capabilities built-in.
> > 
> > 
> > People somehow think that because they don't have to load an operating 
> > system onto a device that it's not just a computer running software.
> > 
> > Newsflash: your so-called "hardware router" is nothing more than a 
> > small-scale CPU, memory, some network interfaces and some sort of 
> > embedded OS....
....
> Very true.  But such a hardware router is a dedicated appliance with few
> options and no other task than to provide some protection.  

One advantage of an inexpensive firewall is safety in the period of
time when you are setting up a box and have not yet updated all the
patches and configured the system.

One disadvantage is that it is one more thing to learn to configure.

Also an inexpensive NAT box with four ports is very close to the 
price of a four port hub.  Then there is the wireless RF thing
that most homes seem to need today.

Defense in depth...

-- 
	T o m  M i t c h e l l 
	/dev/dull where insight begins.