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Router Firewall And/Or Software Firewall??

I have just received a Netgear DG834Gv3 Wireless Router which has a built-in "true firewall that uses Stateful Packet Inspection .....".

Do I need to use an additional software firewall, i.e. Trend Micro Internet Security, or is the router's firewall secure enough, meaning I just have to install an anti-virus prog.

I have not got a Wireless Adapter yet, so am just using the normal ethernet connection for now.

Any advice would be gratefully received.


Thanks,

Iain.
 
The word "true" is almost as bad as "free" or "unlimited", hence personally I'd always make sure a software firewall is running too. Being paranoid about security is a good thing, heck even having WinXP's Firewall enabled is better than nothing (though I say that with a great deal of pain).

I suppose you could get away with just the Routers firewall, but as I don't know precisely how that one is configured I couldn't say for sure. Routers tend to stick their Firewall's into a less agressive mode for maximum connectivity.
 
Aslong as you are running NAT with the firewall enabled it will keep out most things, I find that the firewall is a bit sensative to downloading thinks im being port scanned every 2 mins by the news servers.

I know of companies that have the same router with no firewall etc on the computers and unlikely to have a AV aswell.
 
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Router firewalls are excellent inasmuch as they will block a hell of a lot from the internet, such as most hacking attempts.

The problem with router firewalls is that they don't protect your computer from malicious web scripts. If you view a webpage, then you have effectively "allowed" it onto your computer, so almost anything that webpage does is "allowed" as far as the router firewall is concerned. If there is a naughty script of some sort on the webpage, it can do whatever it wants to your computer, like installing keyloggers, trojans, diallers, etc.

Therefore, it is always best to have a software firewall as well, and couple this with an antivirus program, and an antispyware program as well. As they say, better safe than sorry.
 
very interesting. I haven't been using a software firewall at all since I got my router over 1.5 years ago. no problems at all. although I do have a Spybot and a few other security progs running.

friend of mine uses no firewall what so ever, he has a USB a modem but no router. he just has AOL's software, and the same security progs as me. I guess AOL's software offers some level of protection, as he too gets no problems.

of course, it's always better to be safe than sorry, as mender said.
 
I have also just aquired a Netgear 834 and was amazed how easy it was to set up .
 
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