Hardware Firewall

Component of the

Home Computer Security Baseline

"A NAT router is not the same as a Hardware Firewall" - a distinction to remember

For purposes of discussion, I am going to speak as if a Hardware Firewall and a NAT Router are the same. They aren't. But I will get into those specifics later. Why do I need one anyway?

1st line of defense against outside attack and inside negligence
Allow multiple computers to share one internet connection
Restrict certain types of traffic going to the internet (advanced topic)

The important point to remember is that you need a hardware device between your computer and the internet. You will have choices as to which level of device you pick. My job is just to make sure that you pick one!

"How can I tell if I already have a hardware firewall?"

Some of you might just think, "hey, trace the wires stupid". Well, true in a way. But if I'm troubleshooting over the phone I can't trace wires and believe me some users don't sound like they are comfortable doing that either.

So one of the easiest ways to begin to find the answer to that question is to know your IP address. This is the address or "name" your computer is known by on the internet. Think of it as you do your street address for your home.

On older operating systems like Windows 98 or Windows ME (my condolences if you have that) you can find out through a program called WinIPCfg. Simply select Start | Run | type WinIPCfg and press enter. Then you may have to select in the drop down box your active network card.

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