Okay, my home LAN is up and functioning but I want to get into it and lock this baby down, we got wireless that I want to encrypt, need a firewall and even some AV suggestions.

C'mon, gimme some of that 4peeps knowledge and luvin'!!!!!

A good hardware based router would be good with a NAT fireall, double it up with the following:

- ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall
- NOD32 AV Software
- and use WPA instead of WEP... but if you only have WEP available to you, its better than nothing.

also if your hardware does it, use MAC address filtering, its another lock on the door imho, and use at least 128bit wep, 256 if you got it..

Follow these steps.

Even though it's another routers page these steps can be enacted on almost any router.

Firewall I recommend sygate on each computer with AVG free edition.

I went to Grisoft's site but couldn't find the free version but then again I was on HK's comp and she was itching for me to get off it...

best way to lock down wireless is with VPN's... I dont trust any of these wireless encyptions...

hmmm... Grisoft does not have a good track record.

Mandark posted a link awhile ago about the VB100 (Virus Bulletin 100) and it give a good break down of the AV software out there.

Check it out, and yes they list free ones.

http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/tes...ests.xml?200402

I hope that helps.

Thanks odie!

Most all Linksys' can do weak or strong encryption built right into the unit. you just need to enable it. It walks you through the key generation and the passphrase for access. All the LAN communications are encrypted then and your neighbor cannot steal your bandwidth.

I use NOD32 http://nod32.com for all my AV needs. Version 2 is an absolute charm! No manual setup of anything is necessary to protect all online apps, browswers and email as well as all file access.

As Odie stated, look into the Virus Buletin and get a gander at Nod32. I am sure you will be impressed with their ultra high quality, performance, and consistancy of NOT missing virus' in the wild.

here is a snippet off their site:

Pick up the latest copy of Maximum PC for a no nosense step by step wd. Maximum PC's Wireless World - Expert troubleshooting, security, Wi-Fi gadgets, router reviews...


Not sure if it was this issue but a comparison of the top 2 Norton & McAfee with Grisofts freebie thrown in, had Grisofts AVG free edition at top believe it or not. I have it installed on 15 different machines of friends too cheap to buy a version. Never a problem. Heres the link http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php

I use Panda Antivirus Platinum at work for all my workstations and servers.

I saw that article, I'll be implementing it this week.

What? You disagree Manny?

HATE Norton AV
HATE Grisoft EVERYTHING
HATE Pansy Virus
HATE McAffee

Hell, if any of you do the research at Virus Bulletin, the ONLY AV that is worth its salt is NOD32

AND NOD32 has versions for UNIX, Linux, Novel, DOS, etc.,.....

AND NEVER HAS EVER missed a virus in the wild... not to mention that they have won the most submissions than any other AV product

NOD32 is extremely FAST and SMALL, you won't notice its there and it wont miss a beat, install it and all internet, file access, and email is protected automatically

do your research dude... http://www.virusbtn.com/

Jason is a convert as are many others.... we had this war already... BTW, would you like to buy a Volkswagen?

Not the AV part, the other parts!!!!!

I'm looking into NOD32 for St. Paddy's sake!!!!

Well, yes, the other parts are good advice for securing your home LAN...

quick suggestions for wireless:

-disable broadcast SSID
-put it on a completely different network than your wired boxes
-disable DHCP if it's running on the AP, or set it to ONLY give addresses to the MAC address of your wireless card, and only to give out the number of wireless addresses you have reason to be running.
-run WEP <how cute-- but every little thing helps for the idiots that don't know better> ... even though WEP is NOT secure

above all-

realize that no matter wht you do, I can still crack your wireless network in 15 minutes or less.

Sorry dude- wireless sucks the big one when it comes to security

[QUOTE=Mandark,Mar 8 2004, 05:32 PM]
[/QUOTE]
Most all Linksys' can do weak or strong encryption built right into the unit. you just need to enable it. It walks you through the key generation and the passphrase for access. All the LAN communications are encrypted then and your neighbor cannot steal your bandwidth.

[/QUOTE] [/QUOTE]
Back to school for j00!

encryption or no, it's painfully EASY to break it.

Seriously, WD:

here's your homework for tonight-

read the Arstechnica blackpaper located at http://arstechnica.com/paedia/w/wireless-s...-802.11b-1.html

- then disable your wireless unless you're actively using it.

Personally, I have a seperate AP that I only plug up if I'm going to be using the wireless right then, and I keep Netstumbler running and a sniffer as well to let me know if anyone is up to anything while I'm at it.

Luckily, most of the lackwits around me barely can manage to fuel their own automobile, let alone do anything more technical than surf pr0n on their computers.