Standalone cheap firewall

Hi all,

Can anyone recommend a cheap hardware firewall to sit between a PC and
the Motorola Surfboard cable modem my friend has?

I asked Solwise and they reckoned I needed their £60 job
(http://www.solwise.co.uk/routers.htm) It seems to have lots of extra
features I don't want or need, and I can't figure out what's "wrong"
with their cheaper ones for this job -and they haven't replied to the
emails I've sent asking :-(

Thanks!

Martin

"Martin Thompson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Can anyone recommend a cheap hardware firewall to sit between a PC and
> the Motorola Surfboard cable modem my friend has?
>
> I asked Solwise and they reckoned I needed their £60 job
> (http://www.solwise.co.uk/routers.htm) It seems to have lots of extra
> features I don't want or need, and I can't figure out what's "wrong"
> with their cheaper ones for this job -and they haven't replied to the
> emails I've sent asking :-(
>
>
Mentor 4 port router/firewall for £27 here:
http://www.planetmicro.co.uk/product...ckcode=M001663

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, Martin Thompson said......

> Hi all,
>
> Can anyone recommend a cheap hardware firewall to sit between a PC and
> the Motorola Surfboard cable modem my friend has?
>
> I asked Solwise and they reckoned I needed their £60 job
> (http://www.solwise.co.uk/routers.htm) It seems to have lots of extra
> features I don't want or need, and I can't figure out what's "wrong"
> with their cheaper ones for this job -and they haven't replied to the
> emails I've sent asking :-(
>
> Thanks!
>
> Martin
>
>
A 386/486 with IPcop or Smoothwall. Software is free. PC shouldn't cost
more than about £30 or even free if you have the bits to build one.
--
Mugwump

Reply to 'usenetmail{at}discworld{dot}org{dot}uk

"Mugwump" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, Martin Thompson said......
> > Can anyone recommend a cheap hardware firewall to sit between a PC and
> > the Motorola Surfboard cable modem my friend has?
> >
> > I asked Solwise and they reckoned I needed their £60 job
> > (http://www.solwise.co.uk/routers.htm) It seems to have lots of extra
> > features I don't want or need, and I can't figure out what's "wrong"
> > with their cheaper ones for this job -and they haven't replied to the
> > emails I've sent asking :-(
> >
> A 386/486 with IPcop or Smoothwall. Software is free. PC shouldn't cost
> more than about £30 or even free if you have the bits to build one.
>
>
I've setup quite a few of them and found that for a reasonably responsive
operation 64MB RAM and a relatively 'peppy' 2GB hard drive (for transparent
proxy capability) are required ruling out most 386/486s. P133 to P233s are
ideal.
Also found a bug in Smoothwall. Over a period of 15 days or so it starts
developing problems resolving IPs and a reboot is required. I've had IPcop
running for months without needing a reboot.

> Also found a bug in Smoothwall. Over a period of 15 days or so it starts
> developing problems resolving IPs and a reboot is required. I've had IPcop
> running for months without needing a reboot.

Have you reported this bug ?

Dave
--
And you were born knowing all about ms windows....??

> A 386/486 with IPcop or Smoothwall. Software is free. PC shouldn't cost
> more than about £30 or even free if you have the bits to build one.

Do they cost more now because of the novelty value ? :-}

www.itdealers.co.uk do some very cheap pentium machines and get fairly
regular recommendations on uk.comp.vendors

--
Please add "[newsgroup]" in the subject of any personal replies via email
* old email address "btiruseless" abandoned due to worm-generated spam *
--- My new email address has "ngspamtrap" & @btinternet.com in it ;-) ---

Mugwump wrote:

> In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, Martin Thompson said......
>
>
>>Hi all,
>>
>>Can anyone recommend a cheap hardware firewall to sit between a PC and
>>the Motorola Surfboard cable modem my friend has?
>>
>>I asked Solwise and they reckoned I needed their £60 job
>>(http://www.solwise.co.uk/routers.htm) It seems to have lots of extra
>>features I don't want or need, and I can't figure out what's "wrong"
>>with their cheaper ones for this job -and they haven't replied to the
>>emails I've sent asking :-(
>>
>>Thanks!
>>
>>Martin
>>
>>
>
> A 386/486 with IPcop or Smoothwall. Software is free. PC shouldn't cost
> more than about £30 or even free if you have the bits to build one.

But bear in mind that a PC switched on 24/7 costs about £30 per year in
electrcity, and makes an unpleasant noise.

--
John Appleyard

"Mugwump" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...

[SNIP]
> A 386/486 with IPcop or Smoothwall. Software is free. PC shouldn't cost
> more than about £30 or even free if you have the bits to build one.

Yep - I'd recommend IPCop. I've just helped a friend set up an IPCop box
between his network and a Motorola Surf Board - works great!

"John Appleyard" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Mugwump wrote:
>
> > In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, Martin Thompson said......
> >
> >
> >>Hi all,
> >>
> >>Can anyone recommend a cheap hardware firewall to sit between a PC and
> >>the Motorola Surfboard cable modem my friend has?
> >>
> >>I asked Solwise and they reckoned I needed their £60 job
> >>(http://www.solwise.co.uk/routers.htm) It seems to have lots of extra
> >>features I don't want or need, and I can't figure out what's "wrong"
> >>with their cheaper ones for this job -and they haven't replied to the
> >>emails I've sent asking :-(
> >>
> >>Thanks!
> >>
> >>Martin
> >>
> >>
> >
> > A 386/486 with IPcop or Smoothwall. Software is free. PC shouldn't cost
> > more than about £30 or even free if you have the bits to build one.
>
> But bear in mind that a PC switched on 24/7 costs about £30 per year in
> electrcity, and makes an unpleasant noise.
>

I'd turn the speakers down then or unplug them altogether

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, John Appleyard said......
<snip>
> >
> > A 386/486 with IPcop or Smoothwall. Software is free. PC shouldn't cost
> > more than about £30 or even free if you have the bits to build one.
>
> But bear in mind that a PC switched on 24/7 costs about £30 per year in
> electrcity, and makes an unpleasant noise.
>
>
My server sits in a wardrobe in the bedroom and is pretty silent (my
central heating system makes more noise). As to cost, the extra load
produced by the server has not been noticeable within the normal
variation of my electricity bills. £30 could be eaten up quite easily
with a couple of weeks of bad weather and the wife's penchant for
putting everything through the tumble-drier when the weather's wet.
--
Mugwump

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