Who needs a firewall?
by Roger Barnette
Maybe, you do. A firewall is a software or
hardware product that will provide rules
for traffic in and out of your home network.
This is a fancy way of saying, a firewall is what
keeps the world off of your computer when you
are connected to the public Internet.
We see all kinds of ads for firewall programs,
but in general I don't recommend them.
Your single computer connected to the Internet
is very unlikely to be targeted because your IP
address changes every time you log on.
The nature of your everyday DSL account is that
of a wandering Bedouin. A cyber criminal would
not know where you would pop up next.
(If you have a non-changing, static IP address,
this is very different. In that case, I heartily
recommend a strong firewall.)
Secondly, firewall software is ever present on
your system. It slows down everything you do
and sometimes restricts normal usage out of
its confusion.
A better solution is to install a DSL Router
with firewall software built-in. It would
let your computer be a productivity tool,
and allows the router to handle security and
Internet access.
Every network is different, and this configuration
may not meet your needs. If you your network
raises performance or security concerns
we would be happy to counsel you or discuss
your plans.
(2002-10-28) Return to Archives
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