Re: firewalls and installation stuff....

[rlharris@broadcaster.org (Russell L. Harris)]

"Michael Fothergill" <mikef20000@hotmail.com> writes:
> Would that have been enough to include and fire up some kind of
> firewall or do I need to install that separately?
>
> If so what firewall would you recommend and what aptitude command will
> fetch me it?
>
> How do I know that the firewall is on and working?

If you have an older machine which has been retired:

    -> 200 MHz Pentium is ample
    -> 64 Mbytes RAM
    -> CD-ROM drive
    -> 5 or 10 Gbyte hard drive is ample
    -> a pair of ethernet cards

you can turn it into a splendid firewall/router with:

    -> DHCP server
    -> time server
    -> PPPoE manager
    -> dial-up manager
    -> VPN manager
    -> etc.

Best of all, you can have it running and configured -- complete -- in
less than a half-hour.

Download and burn to CD an ISO image for SmoothWall Express 2.0 from

    www.smoothwall.org

SmoothWall Express 2.0 is GPL software; it is mature, stable, and has a
excellent reputation.  SmoothWall is one of the few (if not the only)
firewall/router packages which comes pre-configured, and thus is usable
by individuals who do not have the time or interest to become
knowledgeable regarding the ins and outs of firewall design and
configuration.

RLH