recommend hardware firewall

[Michael Miles]

On 04/04/2010 10:01 PM, Gene Heskett wrote:
> On Monday 05 April 2010, Michael Miles wrote:
>    
>> On 04/04/2010 07:41 PM, Gene Heskett wrote:
>>      
>>> On Sunday 04 April 2010, Michael Miles wrote:
>>>        
>>>> On 04/04/2010 12:32 PM, Dave Ihnat wrote:
>>>>          
>>>>> On Sun, Apr 04, 2010 at 03:26:52PM -0400, Bill Davidsen wrote:
>>>>>            
>>>>>> I see no benefit to a hardware router vs. running Linux with the
>>>>>> firewall configured.
>>>>>>              
>>>>> Well, yes, there is.  Two different platforms, different firewalls,
>>>>> mean that no single attack vector can be used on both of them.
>>>>>
>>>>> I wouldn't recommend the BEFSR41 line, though.  Get a WRT54G/WRT54GL
>>>>> and load either Tomato or DD-WRT.  Much more capable than the native
>>>>> firmware, and free to boot.  (Or to run...joke...)
>>>>>
>>>>>            
>>>>>> There are good, free, firewall packages you can run on a cheap
>>>>>> machine.
>>>>>>              
>>>>> That's effectively what you're doing with the free firmware on
>>>>> commercial firewalls, without the need to maintain another full OS and
>>>>> usually in a very much smaller physical package.
>>>>>
>>>>> $0.02, YMMV, etc.
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>> --
>>>>> 	Dave Ihnat
>>>>> 	dihnat at dminet.com
>>>>>            
>>>> I have found that yes it is quite old
>>>>
>>>> I am about to flash the firmware to the latest befsr-v1.46.02_FW_code
>>>>
>>>> its a bin file and from what I understand under linux I am to use tftp
>>>> to do this
>>>>
>>>> tftp 192.168.1.1
>>>> mode binary
>>>> put CODE.BIN
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I am just trying to figure it out before I go ahead
>>>>
>>>> Michael
>>>>          
>>> Please check the serial number and version of your befsr-41 on their web
>>> site before doing that, I understand that stuffing too new a FW into an
>>> older one will brick it.  I know of at least 3 versions of it.
>>>        
>> So I should step it up by flashing all sequential updates?
>>
>>      
> I have never done that myself.  But there are warnings, or were, on the
> linksys download site, saying you can't put a version 3 image in a version 2
> unit.  I wasn't trying to scare you, just make sure you did your homework.
> ;-)  I have one of those units, but it hasn't been plugged in in a couple of
> years as I switched to DD-WRT on a clapped out k6 box with everything non-
> essential stripped.  Not even a hard drive or a floppy.  It boots from a cf
> card on the end of an ide cable.  I used gftp to update mine several times
> though, it Just Worked(TM).  And so far, no one I didn't give the password
> to has gotten to it, or any of the machines behind it.
>
>    
I do have the right version 2 flashfiles
The current version installed is 2 versions from the most recent
So I have looked and yes there is a problem
I flash the next in line then reset router
Do it again and again until I get to the final firmware

At least then some of the bugs I have been experiencing can get resolved

I know I should get a better router but my $$$ usually goes to other 
computer endeavours like a new nvidia 295 x 2
I can hardly wait