Using a router as a firewall

The following taken from http://www.samspade.org/d/firewalls.html 

"A 'personal firewall' isn't a firewall. ....

A firewall is a dedicated box with (usually) two or three ethernet ports running no services other than a firewall. My preferred configuration is an x86 box with a couple of tulip cards running FreeBSD or OpenBSD and ipf, though you can do OK with Linux and iptables too. You can run either on a $100 obsolete PC. (*BSD is better, but Linux is easier for a new user to configure). Even the little hardware NAT boxes that you can get for sharing a DSL connection or cable modem are way better than any 'software firewall' "

Gateway routers cost little more than a good software firewall package (the one shown below cost less than £40). Make sure you get a model that supports your type of internet connection. The one featured here supports a conventional v90 modem, as well as ISDN and cable/DSL modems.

As a bonus you get a four port hub for home networking and the means to share an internet connection without using a software application like Microsoft's Internet Connection Sharing. For brief manual details click here

The router is conveniently small and configuring it through a browser interface is straightforward.

Learning Resources Page