Hardware Firewall for AirPort Extreme

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Is there a hardware firewall anyone recommends to work with the AirPort Extreme (and one that won't cost hundreds of £'s)?

I have the OS X firewall running on my Macs and have a software firewall enabled on my ADSL modem (and I think the AirPort Extreme does some firewally stuff too) but there are a lot of Windows users in my home who won't pay for a firewall and I don't trust Vista's Firewall (and the only free one I can find are from PC Tools and its a little rubbish and uses a lot of reasources).

Is there any worth in running a firewall between my AirPort Extreme and ADSL modem or have I covered my network enough and I am just over reacting (hopefully the later is the case)?
 

cwa107


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Is there a hardware firewall anyone recommends to work with the AirPort Extreme (and one that won't cost hundreds of £'s)?

I have the OS X firewall running on my Macs and have a software firewall enabled on my ADSL modem (and I think the AirPort Extreme does some firewally stuff too) but there are a lot of Windows users in my home who won't pay for a firewall and I don't trust Vista's Firewall (and the only free one I can find are from PC Tools and its a little rubbish and uses a lot of reasources).

Is there any worth in running a firewall between my AirPort Extreme and ADSL modem or have I covered my network enough and I am just over reacting (hopefully the later is the case)?

I would say not to worry about it. Your DSL modem has a NAT firewall, your AirPort has a NAT firewall and your Macs and PCs both have software firewalls. Unless you're worried about OUTGOING transmissions from your machines, there is no need for a hardware firewall or different software firewalls other than what's included in OS X and Vista/XP.

If you are indeed concerned about outgoing transmissions, try ZoneAlarm free edition for Windows Vista. Probably one of the best there is.
 
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Thanks for that. I thought I might just be worrying over nothing.

I switched to Macs when Vista came out and previous to that I didn't find XP SP2's firewall to be any good so I was a little worried about viruses for Vista users.
 

cwa107


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Thanks for that. I thought I might just be worrying over nothing.

I switched to Macs when Vista came out and previous to that I didn't find XP SP2's firewall to be any good so I was a little worried about viruses for Vista users.

Just to be clear, firewalls do not stop viruses. They can keep hackers from locating and penetrating your system, but a virus can still come from removable media, email, etc. They can also be useful tools for finding out if your system is infected with Spyware. With a firewall that blocks out-going traffic, you can determine if a piece of software is trying to "phone home" or if your system is infected a Trojan that is trying to send information from your computer.

The firewall in Windows XP and Vista is not bad, configured properly - but it only goes so far in that it doesn't stop outbound traffic (although it can prevent certain applications from acting like a "server"). Most people will be fine sitting behind a NAT firewall that is built into most routers. With that said, it's still not a bad idea to keep software firewalls enabled in the event your network is penetrated or you leave that network and join another, public network.
 

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