A few firewall questions. Just changed our business Internet service to Comcast and have their SMC8013WG-CCR router. It has a built in firewall to handle packet inspection, NAT, and port forwarding. My question is for a small office (~25 pcs) with one file server, what would be the advantage (if any) of disabling the router%26#039;s firewall and implementing a hardware firewall such as the Sonicwall TZ-150?
Second question- with the router%26#039;s firewall turned on what is the advantage of running the software firewall built into XP? Would the need to run the XP firewall change if we implement a dedicated hardware firewall, are people running both in a small office environment?
Thanks.|||the first question is a matter of preference, I work at a company where we handle sensitive information so we don%26#039;t trust the firewall built into our router. I still run the software firewall built into XP, its better to have 2. It might break some of your file sharing or network applications but then you can open the ports that are needed. Windows XP%26#039;s built in firewall only blocks incoming connections.
my philosophy is this, turn on the higher settings and then grant exemptions as they are needed.
