Seademon 0 Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 If Im using my work laptop at home on my broadband & Im connecting to my office VPN is there a need to install a persoanl firewall on the laptop? Link to post Share on other sites
purple highline monster 0 Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 has it not already got its own one? its best to have one as you dont know what gremlins can get in! Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 You should have a firewall on your laptop/router anyway. regardless of VPN'ing in to work....Normally you configure VPN/IPSEC pass through on your firewall so that it can create the VPN tunnel though it.If you dont have a firewall on your laptop/pc and your VPN'ed in, a hacker could use your computer as an ingress point to get into the network you are connected to.Pete Link to post Share on other sites
fatboyjon 0 Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 sygate personal firewall free edition is a good free option.http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3356.html, VR6 Pete talks like a true nerd!! restecpa brother! If you use file sharing dont forget to click the "Allow to browse Network Neighbourhood files and printers" in options. Dont let Norton's rule your life...and your wallet!! we all need petrol right?!!Keep it free!!! Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 I do that stuff for a living Link to post Share on other sites
pimpcat 0 Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 lol i use zone alarm pro which i think is pretty good best 2 get it off that man with the white fluffy dog Link to post Share on other sites
matth76 1 Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Your work network should have a firewall (such as ISA and/or Cisco PIX or similar). Your network administrator needs to give you an IP reservation for your laptop's mac address code. They will do all this. They will need to know your mac address code which you can find out by typing "ipconfig /all" in your command prompt and the data next to "physical address" is the mac code (open up command prompt by typing "cmd" in the run field in the start menu).Re your own laptop you should only make sure your wireless network connection on your laptop has a secure network key to prevent hackers..very important.AVG is another free personal use company offering full internet security anti-virus and firewall protection which is always a must on any pc/laptop. Your laptop does come with an inbuilt windows firewall but is pretty lame and often hampers vpn. Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Your work network should have a firewall (such as ISA and/or Cisco PIX or similar). Your network administrator needs to give you an IP reservation for your laptop's mac address code. They will do all this. They will need to know your mac address code which you can find out by typing "ipconfig /all" in your command prompt and the data next to "physical address" is the mac code (open up command prompt by typing "cmd" in the run field in the start menu).Re your own laptop you should only make sure your wireless network connection on your laptop has a secure network key to prevent hackers..very important.AVG is another free personal use company offering full internet security anti-virus and firewall protection which is always a must on any pc/laptop. Your laptop does come with an inbuilt windows firewall but is pretty lame and often hampers vpn. Good luck.not entirely correct that. ISA is a software firewall, your already hitting the network at this stage, a hardware such as Checkpoint NG (yes I'm a certified administrator!) is much more secure than any ISA or software firewall will ever be. even microsoft state you should have more than one ISA server sitting in between your network and the internet. If your laptop is hacked, and your admin has allowed your IP address and mac address though the vpn tunnel, the hacker is going to be rubbing his hands as he will have full un-restricted access to the network you are connected too. don't forget your laptop will have a publicly accessible IP address too so any one could easily compromise your machine on the internet, an average Windows machine is attacked within minutes of being connected to the net. (thats why I run Linux )If you are VPN'ing into work, or doing any secure transaction over the net, the most secure way is to use a wired network connection.I've pen tested many wireless networks, WPA, WPE, hey you can even spoof a mac address, not been any wifi access points I've not been able to hack in under 5 minutes. there are loads of tools to archive this for you if you wanted.wireless is not secure. FACT as demonstrated by the gang on the Real Hustle! They were able to get screenshots of what he was browsing on the internet, they saw him book a holiday, and knew when his house would be empty.If anyone has told you any different, then your a fool for believing them!Wireless networks are not secure - FACT.Pete Link to post Share on other sites
matth76 1 Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 I totally agree with you Pete about wireless not being secure. However I'm not an expert on the subject. At my work network we run ISA sitting behind a cisco PIX. Amazingly more than 90% of home users on a wireless network don't use a secure network key for their connection!As well as using a secure network key and firewall what else would you recommend for anyone using wireless to vpn into work or what extra software would you recommend to make it more secure on a wireless laptop to prevent intrusion?CheersMatt Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 Yep, ditch Windows and install Linux first of all.But, if you dont fancy doing that, then read this article, it should assist in making your wifi network more secure: http://www.dailywireless.com/features/secure-wireless-lan-021507/Pete Link to post Share on other sites
matth76 1 Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 Cheers Link to post Share on other sites
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