Subj : Port Blocking
To   : Peter Knapper
From : Stewart Buckingham
Date : Sat Apr 06 2002 09:55 pm

Hi Peter,

>Here I have a suggestion. While Injoy is a fine product, if you can find a 486
> with 8MB RaM and Floppy drive, then a standalone Firewall can be built using
>FREESCO (a Cisco "Clone" which is not really like Cisco at all) booting from a
> single floppy. Its a special Linux configuration that can provide -
> - Dial-on-Demand PPP connection,
> - up to 3 Ethernet segments, 1 of which can be a Cable/DSL connection.
> - DHCP for your local LAN
> - NAT
> - Firewall
> - Accept inbound PSTN callers for Internet access

> 99% of the above can be done from a menu system, you do not have to drop into
>the Linux CLI to do anything if you dont want to. It can also be controlled vi
>a web browser, AND it can provide a Web Server for internal or external users,
> or both if required...

>I have a Freesco box booting from a 30MB FAT HD as backup to my DSL connection
> I used it for about a month before I got DSL and it worked fine for me, even
> performing automated connections. The BIG advantage of using something like
> this is it moves the Firewall off the PC, and allows you to play with the PC
> without compromising your security environment...

>Overall, my strongest recommendation is to implement an external Firewall, tha
> makes securing things a LOT easier than trying to do it on the "target"
> machine. With the right S/W, just about any old PC can do the job as an
> external Firewall.

I have enough old hardware lying around here I could probably build something. 
Although somehow I feel that this seems like a lot of trouble to go thru for a 
dial-up internet connection. Presumably I then have to learn all about 
networking the 2 pc's together. I dread the thought but love the idea of more 
tinkering :) Where do I find this FREESCO and where can I get clear 
instructions on how to network these 2 pc's together? Would there be any 
advantage in having firewall machine running OS/2 instead?

I'll also persevere with the IBM Firewall thingy :)

Stu/2

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