Software Firewall

swordwielder · 02-28-2006, 08:04 AM

Do you really need a software firewall if you are behind a router with a hardware firewall? Just looking for opinions. I'm not that swift when it comes to security knowledge.

rickh · 02-28-2006, 08:16 AM

I have my hardware firewall set with a few ports open that I use SOMETIMES. The software firewall (Firestarter) has those ports closed unless I want to actively use them.

I find it much easier to temporarily open ports using the software firewall GUI.

lucktsm · 02-28-2006, 08:57 AM

One thing to consider about a software firewall is specific rules. Routers are generally open or closed at the port level and many of them don't do advanced rules.

For instance, I open ports 80 and 25 on my router and then on my server I use iptables to filter out by country and by known threats from SANS Internet Storm Center.

This gives me added protection and saves me from buying an expensive hardware appliance that would work better than say a linksys or netgear.

swordwielder · 02-28-2006, 09:35 AM

Thanks guys, that's exactly what I wanted to know. Now I need to learn about ports and iptables.