Psicop
More human than human
Premium
join:2005-12-21
|  ISP issue: free modem or buy my own
Hi guys,
I am in the process of changing to ADSL2 and the ISP offers me a free modem. I asked the rep if the modem comes with a firewall installed and they said they already filter spam and viruses at the server level. I guess this is just a marketing strategy to keep me in the system.
My question is the following:
Should I use their free modem and rely on my software firewall or buy a commercial modem that would give me better protection?
Honestly I am quite indecisive.
Thanks in advance. |
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Its a Secret
Whatever
Premium
join:2008-02-23
U B Funny
 ·Shaw
| You need to remember in a lot of instances, a modem is just a modem, not a router. So, without more info, it would be tough to give you an honest (and correct) answer to your question.
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"In the future, that which is not mandatory will be illegal" |
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nwrickert
sand groper
Premium,MVM
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL | reply to Psicop
Take the free modem, then use a router between the modem and your computer.
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AT&T dsl; Westell 327w modem/router; openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.1 |
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rcdailey
Dragoonfly
Premium
join:2005-03-29
Rialto, CA
| If the "free" modem is not just a modem, but is a gateway (like the Westell, a brand Verizon also uses), you may be able to do without the router. It all depends. Anyway, "free" is good because if it breaks, they will give you another "free" modem. |
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nwrickert
sand groper
Premium,MVM
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·AT&T Midwest
| He didn't say who his ISP is, so it's a bit of a guess.
A spare modem is handy to have. So even if he buys his own, the "free" modem is there as a spare. It might not be quite free. Some ISPs will make a modest shipping and handling charge.
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AT&T dsl; Westell 327w modem/router; openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.1 |
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Psicop
More human than human
Premium
join:2005-12-21
| reply to Psicop
I didn't mention my ISP because I live in Oz. If you still want to know it is AAPT.
nwrickert,
What router would you recommend me to install between my modem and the computer? I got here two boxes. I am mainly looking at the firewall capability, not too fancy, reliable and for a reasonable price. In addition it needs to be a popular product since Australia holds a small population and things aren't easy to find in here. Maybe an online purchase??
Thanks. |
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nwrickert
sand groper
Premium,MVM
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL
·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T Midwest
| What router would you recommend me to install between my modem and the computer? Whichever one is currently on sale at a nearby computer store.
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AT&T dsl; Westell 327w modem/router; openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.1 |
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angussf
Premium
join:2002-01-11
Tucson, AZ
| said by nwrickert  :What router would you recommend me to install between my modem and the computer? Whichever one is currently on sale at a nearby computer store. I reuse old PCs with IPcop -- »www.ipcop.org/ -- as my true router -- much more powerful than a $40 store-bought closed-source router where you never know what vulnerabilities exist or if they're patched. See this episode of Security Now for more:Security Now! Transcript of Episode #152
Leo: It is time for our Horror Story and Fix of the Week. This is from Ruan Viljoen in Cape Town, South Africa. And he writes: Hi, Steve. In a previous episode you mentioned how important it is to make sure your router's default username and password is updated. Or changed, anyway. Luckily I had this in place but was shocked to find my router's admin interface was exposed to the Internet on my public IP, leaving it open to a brute-force attack.
Initially I thought maybe this was only allowable from, you know, accessible from my own machine on this IP. But asking a friend to login from his home proved successful. The most annoying part of all this is that my router has a setting to hid the admin interface from the Internet and only enable it on my local LAN, and this hiding was enabled. That's that, you know, "turn off WAN administration" which we recommend. Steve's recommended that many times. But apparently even when I did that, it didn't work too well. »www.grc.com/sn/sn-152.htm
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Indy Sabre
Sabre Rider From Indianapolis
join:2003-10-02 | reply to Psicop
I usually buy what ever is on sale too......but stick with Linksys, Netgear or Dlink. |
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De Astra
join:2005-06-04
Australia
| reply to Psicop
said by Psicop :I asked the rep if the modem comes with a firewall installed and they said they already filter spam and viruses at the server level. Shows how much they know about the gear they provide (port scans, spam, all the same thing not) but then you would expect that from sales. If you know the make and model of it then you could google up its features. |
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darknestgirl
join:2008-08-11
Montreal, QC
·Acanac
| reply to Psicop
i use the free modem my internet company provide me and use a linsky router between my computer and modem
i never had problem with it but it really depend on you.
the only thing is that some modem are lock (not all of them)and you need to unlock it to be able to use it
some company gives a free modem but ask for a deposit in case you decide to change internet company and keep the modem but usually they will refund you if you don't need it anymore after you return it to them in good condition so make sure that they tell you if they do charge a deposit, so you won't be surprise when you recieve your bill
do want you think is best for you |
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