Router Firewall question

[vindictive666 (John)]

hi all

i have a netcomm NBSPlus4 ADSL2+ Modem Router

and i was wondering how you can tell whether the firewall was up and running
ive just had to change firewalls because the one i was using (zoneAlarm Pro) was causing my pooter to crash so i switched to CA (formally known as Vet) Firewall

however this one causes hickups when running say need for speed most wanted plus a few others

making it a pain to play

never had a previous problem before.

allso when i disable the firewalls i get that annoying balloon popup saying no firewalls enabled ect ect


i am running windoze xp pro


tnks in advance

[Zuts]

Hi,

Dont know if this will help but most routers have a admin interface available from the browser on a connected PC. Sometimes the address is http:\\192.168.0.1 and if you type this into the browser the interface will come up. Then you can check to see if the router firewall is enabled (if it has one).

Assuming it was enabled then you would still get the popup from XP because XP does not know and cannot know that the router firewall was enabled.

You should be able to google your router model and find out the interface IP and whether or not it has a firewall.

Once you enable the router firewall, disable the annoying XP popup.


Paul

[netwolf]

To test a firewall you can use the following site, its the Shieldsup test by Gibson Research.
https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

Your modem has a SPI (state full packet inspection) Firewall built in.
http://whirlpool.net.au/index.cfm?a=h_view&model_id=233

So you dont really need ZoneAlarm to protect you from incoming attacks. But it will help protect you from Trojan's that will send information out from your PC. The problem with this is that it does not know what is a legitimate connection your trying to make or what maybe a trojan. So i assumes the worst and ask you to tell it when it detects a connection being made. It will prompt and ask should this be allowed. So you will need to make a Rule for each of your games to allow them to connect to the Internet game servers or update servers etc. This type of program is good if you have users sharing the system who are not Internet Savy and may accidentally accept or install a Trojan or Spywayre application while using the internet.

But as far as inbound protection goes your Firewall should be good enough. Zonealarm gives you a second layer of inbound protection as well as outbound. Think of it like the router is your main door, and Zonealarm is your bedroom door. As such ZoneAlarm will also protect you from other computers on your network that may be infected. Or neighbors who might get onto your wireless network. But for all this 2nd level you need to actually setup the software to do this. Lot of people just install and forget.


Regards
Fahim

[acropolite (Phil)]

By default most routers have a NAT (Network Address Translation) activated, it's usually more than adequate as a firewall. Your netcomm has that by default as well as some other options (bridge and IP filtering) listed under firewall. From memory the Netcomm router you have has an admin IP of 192.168.1.1 and user of admin and password admin. That router also has options for opening up ports to the outside world for gaming etc. As Fahim said if you're concerned check with shieldsup and turn off the windows popup.

[vindictive666 (John)]

thanks people

ive tried that check site with both firewalls disabled apart from the router

and according to the reports i am invisible to attacks with just the router

thanks again

[Dooghan (Dooghan)]

To everyone to that got a router. Make sure you turn off UPnP on the router. I was listening to a security podcast (over at grc.com) the other day and it would seem hackers have found a way through some routers by using the UPnP. It wont be long before a virus is created to exploit the problem.

[vindictive666 (John)]

Originally Posted by Dooghan

To everyone to that got a router. Make sure you turn off UPnP on the router. I was listening to a security podcast (over at grc.com) the other day and it would seem hackers have found a way through some routers by using the UPnP. It wont be long before a virus is created to exploit the problem.

mine is off by default

[danielsun]

I just installed a router today,what is and how do i turn off the UPnP on the router?

Cheers Daniel.

[vindictive666 (John)]

Originally Posted by danielsun

I just installed a router today,what is and how do i turn off the UPnP on the router?

Cheers Daniel.

mine was off by default

http://192.168.1.1 is mine a netcomm router if yours is not check the manual

or google it

if it is just type that in a browser address bar and go from there the default password on mine was

admin and admin hope this helps

john

[danielsun]

Thanks John, I know what it is now, though I have the Belkin router and in my security instructions it strongly advised me to switch it on to avoid hackers.
After reading the advise here I might switch it off.

[vindictive666 (John)]

Originally Posted by danielsun

Thanks John, I know what it is now, though I have the Belkin router and in my security instructions it strongly advised me to switch it on to avoid hackers.
After reading the advise here I might switch it off.

i think you will find it is necessary to switch it off to Avoid Hackers

regards john