UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

One day, while using my PC with Windows XP, my router just stopped working. So, for the ability to connect to the web at that moment, I connected directly to the cable modem without my router. I noticed immediately that people were trying to hack into my computer because my personal firewall would detect it. It took me a while to realize that this was now happening because my router was no longer connected, so the hackers had one less firewall to get through.

I imagine the same thing would happen once I develop my UNIX based web server. I would want to use this server to serve internet service to the rest of my house, and as a web server. What cost effective measures can be done to beef up security so that I am less prone to hacking?

For unix you could use a firewall like ipf. You could also check out some IDS system to keep an eye on whats happening on your network.

A good IDS is snort and its free.

Could you please post what kind of unix/linux you are planning on using so we can give you some more specific help


/Peter

either redhat or freeBSD