Bernice,

There is no such thing as a pure "hardware" firewall.  There are a couple of
places a firewall can sit.  Within your gateway server, between the gateway
and your file server (if it is different from the gateway server) between
the file server and the client, or on the client itself.  Part of the answer
to your question depends on your internet connection.

If you are using DSL, for instance, with a Cisco 675 DSL modem (really it's
a watered down router), you can actually configure the modem as your
firewall.  Doing this as a novice will be a challenge, though.  The best
thing to do in this case would be to go to the Cisco web site and get
information on how to program this router.

Another option is to create a Linux router with a firewall in it, but this
is even more complicated than the previous solution.  There are hardware
proxy and file server boxes, but there is still a lot involved in setting up
rules for the firewall.  Unless you are prepared to do some studying, you
may want to live with the 8% drop in system resources.

The other option to help this situation is to try some of the other software
firewall solutions.  You might find one that uses less resources.

Hope this helps.

Kyle Elmblade
[log in to unmask]



>From: Bernice <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: [PCBUILD] firewall
>Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2000 18:38:49 -0500
>
>What can you tell me about hardware firewalls?  I have a security software
>program called Lockdown 2000, but hate that it takes up 8% of my resources.
>  My resources seem to dwindle too quickly as it is without that drain on
>them.  How much do firewalls cost?  How hard are they to set up for a very
>novice user?
>
>
>
>Take care of yourself and those you love.
>
>Bernice Fritz

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