Hi All Help needed please. I have just installed a TP Link TD-W8960N Modem Router on WinXP SP3. (I am not using it as a Wireless modem Router it is effectively hard wired). I have no knowledge at all about routers & Modems. So it was with great surprise that by following the instructions it worked first time (as far as I can see) Now that I am feeling pleased with myself, a nagging doubt has set in. I have heard much about Routers having an inbuilt firewall so I wonder how to determine if one is set up on the TP Link or if not how to set it up. So can someone point me in the right direction as to how to set up a firewall in this router. Then, di I need to retain Comodo Firewall? Thanks for any help Terry
it does have a firewall and typically they are enabled from the box. http://www.tp-link.com/products/product_des.asp?id=204 software firewalls such as Comodo allow you control of what progs are allowed access outbound
You should still use a software based firewall on your local machine. Routers are great but they tend to treat everything on the "Trusted" side (your side of the router) as trusted, and often are of no help in keeping one compromised computer on your network from infecting another on your network. So each computer should have software based firewall too. Note that that router uses SPI and NAT. NAT is not a real firewall feature (in spite of what router marketing weenies would like us to believe), though it does offer a nice layer of protection. SPI is a powerful firewall type feature, but it only looks at network packets, and not programs as Cudni mentioned.
ShieldsUP!! is not just for hardware firewalls. This is a good test for all users, whether using a real hardware based firewall or not.