Noel, thanks for response. To anwer your query: using XP SP3. ADSL Modem
medium speed, P4 2.26 KHz, 512 KB RAM (will increase to another 1 MB ASAP),
2 HD 40 GB and 80 GB. Using only one machine, but may connect my old Win Me
for my grandchilden visit. As for installing software from the Firewall,
gee I'm still disconnecting some crap that came with the XP: Norton, etc.
Also there is a file called Prefetch, can it be disconnected? . As for
Kerio 2.l.5 Shane is right cant be used, but I did for years on Win Me but
hast been updated since Oct.06 and now its V. 4.x from Sunbelt and 3 months
trial.
Same for most of the free ones. Guess its a Router including the built-in
firewall, or just a stand alone 3rd party firewall. Cheers to all.
l

--
cogito ergo sum


"Noel Paton" wrote:

Hi
How are you connecting at the moment? - USB modem?
If so, then you'll find that using a router will make life simpler, and
(probably) faster as well, since you will be able to uninstall all the
rubbish that your ISP insisted you install along with the drivers and
connectoids for the modem.
DO NOT install any of the software that comes with the router - it's almost
always totally unnecessary.

David is right, in that the NAT function of the router is not a true
firewall - but in many ways it's actually better, as it requires (almost) no
setup (except in specific situations, like remote assistance/desktop - which
may be already enabled on many 'retail' routers) - many of the
quicker-spreading viruses of the past 10 years wouldn't have got a foothold
if the world had been using routers rather than USB modems/dialup.

I routinely recommend to my clients that they uninstall/disable third-party
firewalls in XP/Vista and just use the built-in versions as backup and to
reduce the chances of drive-by (literally!) hacking from wireless
connections.


Points to bear in mind when initially setting up your router (NOT a complete
list!)
If you don't need wireless connectivity, either don't get a wireless router,
or disable the wireless options.
Initial setup is always best done using the wired connection.
Use the built-in HTML (web access) pages to manage the router, and change
the admin password to one of your own.
Update the firmware as soon as possible after the install - there are
usually fairly simple instructions for that on the router - especially if
using Vista, as some routers aren't fully vista-capable out of the box (less
so once updated).
If you do need wireless capability, make sure that you change the SSID, use
at least WPA protocol to connect, and use a nice long passphrase that you
can remember.
Don't try and get fancy with the control aspects of the router - it's all
too easy to forget that you've switched something off, and spend hours
hunting for software problems on a (new/guest) computer, when all it needs
is a couple of click on the router control panel (BTDT)!
It's worth enabling UPnP on the router (and in Windows) - this gives
automated control for certain operations/programs (such as torrent
downloaders) so that you don't have to configure exceptions to the router
configuration. If you do this, then it may become more important to have a
two-way firewall on your PC, since there's otherwise no flags telling you
what program is using UPnP to configure the router. (I suspect that David
would disable UPnP everywhere - but IMHO, that's unnecessary)

--
Noel Paton
CrashFixPC

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
www.crashfixpc.co.uk