router? or Firewall?

[garris]

I have Netmedic on my PC which shows traffic with a graph. Every once in a while, the traffic coming in and out at the same time is through the roof! Everything slows to a crawl.
Suspecting some kind of insidious virus, worm or something, we shut all four computers on the LAN off to stop it.
Norton AV or Pest Patrol doesn't see anything. Thinking it must be coming from the outside (I hope), I thought about getting Norton Firewall. (I know, why don't I already have a firewall!)
But I was told that a good router acts as a firewall to hide the PC's behind it. Does that make sense? Or is that just some uninformed hooey.
I really don't want to convert to Linux cause all the programs I use are MS Office and I don't have the time to learn everything all over again, never mind redo all our files and websites.
Any suggestions?

[ellar]

Hi

I have a router on our LAN and looking at my virus detection logs I have not had any virus attacks since I installed.

I have found the router to be a simple and painless solution as I have had problems using firewalls in the past with access permissions etc.

Please note that in saying this my LAN is not particularly big. It is 4 computers connected within my home office. We use the router to allow file sharing and internet access.

Just my 2 cents worth but please don't quote it as gospel as we only put the router in at the beginning of the year.

Cheers

[vwebworld]

Router AND Firewall

Most routers have some sort of "firewall"
protection... however, it is certainly not
an absolute protector. Also, there are software
based firewalls that you can install on your PC
to augment the "protection" your router provides.

So, what you might do is make sure hat your router has
a firewall protection (and see what it is). Sometimes
that can be updated from the manufacturer's website.
If that does not satisfy your concerns, you could purchase
a software based firewall too... and install that.

~Roland

[paulhiles]

I personally favour the software firewall option. I run a small local network, with 3 PCs and a Mac, but they all connect to the Internet through my main workstation which is protected by a ZoneAlarm Pro firewall. Additional security is provided by AVG antivirus and regular scans with Spybot - S&D. I've been running with this setup for about 12 months or so without incident.

[rackaid]

If you have 3 computers or 2 with heavy usage, you can often protect all of them using a router. Many routers now have minimal firewalls built in that will provide network protection. A link sys, dlink, netgear etc. router is easy to integrate into many networks. Many now come with both a 4 port switch and a wireless access point. These can be had for under $200.00 for very robust units.

Routers are nice because you can use DHCP and add new devices (printers, other ethernet enabled devices) easily and you do not have to fuss with configuration setting on each system.


If you have an older computer (PII or better), take a look at IPCop, www.ipcop.org. IPCop is a very easy to install (takes me 10-15 minutes) firewall, router, ids, and more. If you have kids, the add on content filters can be a boon as you can block a large number of pornography sites via a transparent proxy server.

[netman4ttm]

"I was told that a good router acts as a firewall to hide the PC's behind it."

Only, if the PC's are on a non-routable IP address, such as 192.168.x.x.

Instead of turning off all your PC' do them one at a time. You just might have a bad ethernet card.

[hupp25]

I am a little late jumping in- but I just did a Norton update and now my outlook express will not connect to the server. I can surf but no email. I went to Symantech and they were not helpful at all. I have since ditched the norton in favor of spygate personal firewall and AVG anti virus. Tucows and other software warehouses recommended these. I was interested in the fact has any one else had the trouble with Norton as I have had. Thanks,jlh.

[Dragonsi]

hupp25

I recently experianced something similar, try setting your email account to "My Server Requires Authentaion"

>> Tools > Accounts > select account - properties > Server > bottom tick box > click advanced > then enter your username and password for that email account.

It's only a guess, but it worked for me...

Good luck