help needed to use a pc as a firewall

[tyfon]

OK I have a really old pc (90 Mhz) and I want to use it as a firewall for the other pc I own...is that possible?(shall the older pc run *nix?).... any reading suggested???

[MemorY]

http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue54/stoddard.html
http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue55/stoddard.html

delete the other thread.

[KissCool]

Yes, you can.
Follow MemorY's links and complete your knowledge with the NetFilter home page.

Simply avoid Windows. It would be too long to patch your firewall before patching what it is configured to protect.

(oh, and delete quickly the other thread )

[pR@nD1+Py]

Here's another option that has won a lot of praise

http://www.coyotelinux.com/modules.p...ucts&op=coyote

[D0pp139an93r]

I wouldn't try it with a 90 Mhz, although I would advise using *nix. IPchains/tables provides good protection and comes with Linux. You also get far better filtering options.

Basically you need to search for stuff on turing you box into a router.

[VictorKaum]

There are several very easy linux based free router/firewall solutions that run on minimal hardware (80486 or Pentium I with 16MB ram and floppy drive), some examples of such progs:
those run on a single floppy:
freesco -> www.freesco.org
BBIagent -> www.bbiagent.com
see also linux router project -> lrp
and of course coyotelinux

note: seawall is replaced with shorewall using iptables instead of ipchains.
http://shorewall.sourceforge.net/

If you need content filtering your firewall will not be enough, use squid, a transparant proxy for that purpose -> http://www.squid-cache.org/

[vvirtho]

Smoothwall (www.smoothwall.org) can turn your old pc into a dedicated firewall router. It's Linux based, easy to set up, compatible with most 32-bit Intel or i386 systems, requires little in the way of hardware and it's FREE. Mandrake Security MNF (www.mandrakesoft.com), Sentry Firewall (www.sentryfirewall.com) and IP Cop (ipcop.org) are also based on Linux and free for download.

Good luck in your endeavor. V.

[Turmoil]

Wow! I didn't know that was possible! :O So, are there any added benifeits to designating a computer to be your firewall? Does it behave like a router? This is a good topic, I'm gonna read all the links and then see if I can make a computer my firewall

[instronics]

Hello tyfon,

i use an old dedicated p1, 166 mhz with 32 ram as my firewall. It uses devil linux which can be found at www.devil-linux.org

Its a live cd firewall, which means no installation or hardisk is needed. It has many benefits that way, since the firewall is read-only, so it cannot be edited. It also acts as a router (2 NICS), which are bridged together. This perticular firewall also has the benefit, that since its bridged, there are no assigned ip addresses to either NIC, meaning that you cannot connect to, or from the firewall. All the data just goes through it, and is filtered by the firewall rules. Its an iptables setup, so you would have to know abit about linux networking and security in general. This firewall is by far one of the best i have come across yet. All it needs is an old box and a cd rom and a floppy drive. This firewall has excellent support by its makers aswell as their mail-groups, and is maintained all the time. Maybe you would like to give it a try, its really something

Good luck.

Cheers.

[XoN-ASSIM]

I use a p-200 as my router FW DHCP... I have it running Astaro linux. Google for it and u cn DL it prty e z, its also very small.