Hardware security

[scoobyx13x]

Alright, I don't know exactly what I am talking about here, so cut me some slack

Is there some way I can buy or build a hardware gateway (if that is the right term) that will act as a firewall / anti virus program? Something that will connect to the router and all the computers I have will go though it.

This way, I don't have to have antivirus or internet security programs installed on the individual computers.

I hope this makes sense... I'm tired and like I said, I dont really know about this type of stuff.

 

[Reel]

Yes and no.

There exist companies that offer the service of inline filtering for "bad stuff" for enterprises. However, they are considered just one piece of the puzzle and those companies still use system-based protection. I do not think you will ever be able to get a piece of hardware inline that can do all the protection for you as far as malicious software is concerned (sometimes something might appear benign in transit but be clearly bad when executed on your local machine). Additionally, I am not familiar with any consumer-level software or hardware that is used for this purpose (not saying that it does not exist).

A firewall in terms of blocking ports, specific allows and denies, etc is very reasonable. Some people like to use a linux/bsd type system to serve as their firewall and it would be a fun project if you have some older hardware lying around.

Final answer: for your protection, a layered approach works best with many different levels of protection but it is all about your level of comfort.

 

[mechBgon]

For home users, you could look at this: http://zonealarm.com/store/con...=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en But I'd still go further than that; it's folly to expect a gateway appliance to keep your systems clean by itself, especially since malware can easily attack your system from elsewhere than the Internet (e.g. an autoplay attack from an infected CD-R, DVD-R or USB drive, which can then spread if you have no firewall protection on the computers). layered defense suggestions for home users

 

[Zugzwang152]

The short answer is no.

The long answer is no, because of the things mentioned already. There are more ways to attack your system than just the network.