Any point of having a Software Firewall behind a Router?

photoshop

photoshop

photoshop

Soldato
Joined
7 Nov 2006
Posts
5,677
Location
Stockton on Tees
Hi,

I have a Netgear WGT624 (version 4) router which has a built in firewall.
I also have Zonealarm (ZA) aswell acting as a firewall.

Seeing as the router has a built in firewall should i uninstall ZA?
Is there any need for a software firewall when the router has one built in...?
 
Ethics said:
It also helps you with port forwarding etc. if something dodgy is using a forwarded port. Or say you were forwarding 22 for SSH to a server behind your routers firewall, most common household routers are going to allow any packets on that port from any host, a software firewall can be used to reject/drop from particular hosts, IP blocks etc. etc. They are normally much more configurable than standard home routers.
Click to expand...

Port forwarding is causing me a nightmare at the moment! I use flashfxp for ftp using SSL security for ident. Even though i've forwarded port 113 on the router flashfxp still doesnt work! I've tried it without any firewall being active and still no joy :(

I think its because im using an ip from the router which is 192.168.X.X. When i connect to the site with FFxp i think the connection is not being established (says connection failed or lost) because the hosting site must be looking for my original IP address (the IP i get from Virgin). If i configure the router for "Static IP" then FFxp works but not using DHCP because it looks for my original ip and does not find it.

But Virgin does not like Static IP configs as i loose the connection within 24hrs and then have to set the router to DHCP to get internet access.

Any solutions to this???
 
Guys i get a static IP address from Virgin. I've had this ip address for over a year.

Flashfxp works with the IP address from virgin but does not work for the IP address my router assigns my PC (192.168.X.X)
 
Now im totally lost. a lot of that went over my head.

Are you saying that port forwarding does not work when using DHCP?

If i set my router to Static IP, FFxp works fine. But i loose all connection after 24hrs or so and need to use DHCP again even though my IP address from virgin has NOT changed.

When i try to connect to a secure SSL site which requires "ident" (which is my username and IP address) it fails because my ident is setup for the original IP address from virgin and not from the one that the router assigns to my machine (and this can not be changed). this is why static works and DHCP does not. But static is rubbish because it dies after a day so i have to revert back to DHCP and then FFxp does not work.


FFxp searches for my original ip address but all it finds is the address which is assigned to my pc by the router. I need to somehow use DHCP and get FFxp to see my original ip address so connection can be established.

I need to find a fix to this and quick.
 
Last edited:
bledd. said:
explain clearly what you're trying to do :), where the ftp server is, what type of internet you have etc..

i'd make a new post in the Networking section of the forum
Click to expand...

1. Im trying to get FlashFXp to work because it does not work when im using DHCP on my router. It works when using static ip on the router BUT virgin is notorious for not liking static ip setups on routers, thus my connection goes dead after a day or so and i have to use DHCP to have access to internet. MY IP address from Virgin Never Changes though! I do not have a dynamic ip address.

2. The FTP server i connect to uses SSL security aswell as formal identification in the form of a username and ip address. If all these factors are correct i have access. The ip address it looks for is the static ip address i have from virgin.

3. My connection is 4Mbit Virgin Broadband.

My router is Netgear WGT624 108Mbps
 
Settings on Router:

54491150jp7.png

16789573qg1.png

51040997gp2.png

49278179qu2.png

37722497fa4.png

31692550li6.png


This is what happens in FlashFXP:

WinSock 2.0 -- OpenSSL 0.9.7g 11 Apr 2005
[L] Connecting to Y -> IP=xx.xx.xx.x PORT=xxxxx
[L] Connected to Y
Ident Request: xx.xx.xx.x - UserID: ian
[L] Connection failed (Connection lost)

It fails when it tries to identify me :(
 
cokecan72 said:
do you specifically pay for a static IP? with virgin/ntl you tend to keep the same IP for majority of the time but it can change and is exactly why I use dyndns.org or no-ip.com to act as a pointer that points to my router regardless of if my IP changes (you will have to update this periodically though). using dyndns.org I host an FTP server on one of my machines.

to connect instead of typing xx.xx.xx.xx:zzzz where x is my external IP from virgin and z is the port number ive set up, i type cokecan72.dyndns.org:zzzz

if you have DHCP setup within your network and port forwarding then surely that wont work because your router will be auto assigning an IP to your computer which could also change from time to time? it would be best to set your PCto use a specific IP address within the range of IP's that your router supports (going by your pic, anythin from 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.255) as Bledd. said

just make sure you have the ftp program and/or port allowed through the firewall of zone alarm or the windows firewall if its enabled. On my D-Link router I allow access through the virtual server on a specific port and also allow that same port through the firewall on it to make sure nothing is blocking my connections.
Click to expand...


I dont pay for a static ip. I think in the past 8 years of having broadband my ip has changed less than 6 times.

What do i need to change on the screenshots above to get it to work?
 
host name is right because when i plug broadband straight into pc ffxp works fine. Just doesnt behind the router for that site
 
Ethics said:
Not really sure how else i can be of help tbh. I've suggested quite a few solutions, and some information on the situation in general and it doesn't even look like you've tried them. I loathe giving things step by step, people generally don't learn anything.
Click to expand...

i cant try those steps till i get home mate, im at work
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom