Bob,

I do not know your specific router, but perhaps I can shed some light:

1. Your router provides firewall protection by means of NAT.
This means that the IP addresses (which should be from dedicated set of
private IP addresses) cannot be seen, nor accessed, from the outside WAN
(internet). Normally no special configuration has to be done, this is basic
functionality of a broadband router.

2. NAT is built into the firmware of the router.

3. Yes, leave ZoneAlarm etc in place.
A SW firewall will prevent unauthorized outgoing access from your computers
to the WAN (internet). E.g. trojan horses will be prevented from accessing
their "masters". (A SW firewall will also prevent unauthorized incoming
access, if access has not already been stopped by the NAT router.)

Good luck!
/Goran Halfvarson, Sweden


| -----Original Message-----
| I have set up a network using the following:
| Cable modem
| LinkSys BEFSR41 Router/Switch
| Cable to each of 2 Win98SE Desktop NICs
| One computer is protected by ZoneAlarm and the other by
|    Sygate software firewalls which were in place before the network.
|
| My questions:
| 1. How does the router provide firewall protection and does
| it have to be configured to do it?
| 2. Is NAT software necessary or desirable in such a system?
| 3. Should I leave the software firewalls in place? Do they
| still help or do they ialigfere?
|
| Thanks, Bob Lendrim

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