spare pc as a firewall?

[ants83]

could i do this what would be the best way??

 

[semi-pro waster]

It depends what you've already got but an OS such as Smoothwall is probably one of the easier ways to do it and it has the added benefit of being free for non commercial use.

 

[ants83]

i have my pc on this is vista x64. we have 3 other pc's on the network. using a router for broadband.

 

[hybrid]

Doesn't your router have a firewall already?

Failing that, you're gonna have to buy a 4 port switch too. Reason for this is because you will need to link up like this:

Internet -> Router -> Smoothwall -> Switch -> Clients

Smoothwall will run on a VERY VERY low spec machine for what it's going to be used for. I have a smoothie on a Celly 1.2Ghz with 512MB RAM and it's perfect.

 

[Blackhawk47]

ive heard you can buy a special machine though i forget the name of it and its devoted to being a firewall. i think it was on the gadget show last week or something.

 

[marscay]

for most ppl a dedicated firewall is overkill and really just another nerd toy to setup and play with, a router with SPI is plenty in reality.

 

[Blackhawk47]

if i had a server running or two and a few pcs ... i would have a dedicated pc for it . but at the moment . i myself dont really need it.