Hardware Firewalls - advice sought!

Hardware firewalls is a subject I can own up to being seriously ignorant of! But being on Broadband I feel I could do with some front cover. I'm on a standalone private machine (not part of a network) and running ZoneAlarm Pro(5.1.033). I'm looking for a good hardware Firewall to give added protection. I've heard of things like Linskys Etherfast or Netgear ProSafe, but these are routers and don't seem appropriate for standalone purposes (or are they?). Can anyone recommend a suitable product - what about Zyxel Prestige? Any feedback much appreciated!

 

LINSYS BSFSX41 EtherFast Cable/DSL Firewall Router. All you need. COnfig is a breeze (all auto pretty much)...no probalmes and my machine is completely stealthed on Steve Gibsons site.

 

It depends on how much you want to spend ...

http://www.homenethelp.com/web/review/i-router.asp

 

Doesn't it just - useful link though!

I'll have to look into Linksys too. Do you mean Model BEFSR41 or BEFSX41?

 

I will agree that linksys is a cinch to set up. I use a wireless setup and love it. I have never had problems with it and it blocks and or filters all incoming.It is a full stealth firewall


bigc

 

I use a Netgear FR328S ProSafe Firewall. Started out thinking I would never have/want anything more than 1 PC, now have 2, my partner likes to be on the net at the same time or her brother, and now we have a flatmate and he has just asked about connecting to the net...

It is really simple to set up, I also use ZoneAlarm free...

Cheers

 

Thanks guys, I'm leaning towards the Linksys BEFSX41 at the moment really because it seems to do what I want and is lighter on the pocket - the Netgear retails at $189 but the Linksys is available on special deals for less than a third of that ! Price isn't the only consideration but I've got to be sure I'm getting something better if I'm paying more!

 

I have called linksys support on two ocassions before I bought my router and they were just great both times

 

If you don't want specialized features (VPN tunnels, certain logging characteristics, etc.), and plan to use only the basic functions, they're all about the same. I used a BEFSX41 before my present Zyxel Zywall 10W (I went with the Zywall for router based content filtering - which falls into the specialized category) and though it was great. Throughput was great for the price. Firmware could be dodgy, but a couple of readily available beta firmwares are excellent, see here for links to stable firmware versions, I'd personally recommend 1.45.7.

If your in a shopping mood, I would check out the Zyxel offerings. I've been very impressed with my 10W to date. It's probably pricier than your target, but check out the support forum over at DSLReports. Recommended ones for home are the P-334W and HS100W - the P-334 can be had for ~ $80, the HS100W is a bit less expensive. Both are a little more expensive than a BEFSX41 and a little harder to find.

Blue

 

I highly recommend the LinkSys WRT54G (or WRT54GS if you dont mind spending 20$ more) since it comes with built in VPN and all the firmware out there nowdays makes it as secure as any other LinkSys router. If you decide to get it make sure to check out www.linksysinfo.org , www.wrt54g.com , www.sveasoft.com

 

I guess I should have added that I have the WRT54GS as the wireless access point on my home lan running sveasoft firmware. I agree with AJohn - this is a very nice unit. If you go in this direction, get the GS even if you don't plan to use the Speedbooster feature - the added RAM is a benefit for 3rd party firmware and the faster processor is a boon under any scenario.

Blue

 

Hmm! - a very relevant point, there is no virtue in getting features you're never going to need, but at the same time it's good to make allowance for possible changing requirements.

At the moment I doubt I'll want wireless (or VPN tunnels for that matter), I'm still tending towards Linksys, but there is plenty of food for thought in that DSLReports/Zyxel link; so I'll do a bit of reading and sleep on it!

Thanks for the input!