Best secure cable modem

[EML]

Hello,

what is the best secure !!! modem no wireless capacity from secure point of view !!!

The reason is hackers that use the modem to get into the system / computer

 

[tsnor]

Hi,

Most (all?) cable modems have built in firewall and stealth technology. As long as you don't punch a hole in it yourself (for example for torrents or multiplayer games) then you are pretty safe. The only way the bad guys get in is through an exploit in the firmware of the router.

Most (all?) wireless routers, including the ones you get from the cable companies, allow you to turn off wireless. This shuts the door to most security vulnerabilities.

My mom is currently configured this way: combined cable modem + router, firewall enabled (default), router password changed from default (in case something on the attached PC tries to change the router firewall settings using the default password) and wireless turned off. You should be pretty safe with this configuration.

My father in law spent his career in IT. He inserted a Linux system as a stand-alone firewall/router between his network and the incoming cable modem traffic. This seems a little over the top, but you could certainly do this. There are many free firewalls based on linux and ip filters.

You should also have a firewall running on your PC. For example, the default windows firewall. This is to catch OUTBOUND traffic in case something does get downloaded to your PC that shouldn't. (For example, if you download a 'gadget' to win7 there is no security worth talking about. Microsoft gave up patching the holes and declared that gadgets are unsafe a year ago. If you download a gadget (say a PC temp utility) and it turns Trojan and tries to call home then your firewall nabs it).

 

[EML]

Hi,

Most (all?) cable modems have built in firewall and stealth technology. As long as you don't punch a hole in it yourself (for example for torrents or multiplayer games) then you are pretty safe. The only way the bad guys get in is through an exploit in the firmware of the router.

Most (all?) wireless routers, including the ones you get from the cable companies, allow you to turn off wireless. This shuts the door to most security vulnerabilities.

My mom is currently configured this way: combined cable modem + router, firewall enabled (default), router password changed from default (in case something on the attached PC tries to change the router firewall settings using the default password) and wireless turned off. You should be pretty safe with this configuration.

My father in law spent his career in IT. He inserted a Linux system as a stand-alone firewall/router between his network and the incoming cable modem traffic. This seems a little over the top, but you could certainly do this. There are many free firewalls based on linux and ip filters.

You should also have a firewall running on your PC. For example, the default windows firewall. This is to catch OUTBOUND traffic in case something does get downloaded to your PC that shouldn't. (For example, if you download a 'gadget' to win7 there is no security worth talking about. Microsoft gave up patching the holes and declared that gadgets are unsafe a year ago. If you download a gadget (say a PC temp utility) and it turns Trojan and tries to call home then your firewall nabs it).

Thank you
let me ask about your father in law , what did he insert between his network and the incoming cable modem ?

 

[xsamdagreatx]

In this case you migh want to change your routers firmware to a linux based opensource one there are alot to choose from such as DD-WRT or tomato. these are the best and commonly used ones. overall you should be fine with the one that your router comes with if you set it up right and you stay away from doing any extended torrenting (for that you would need VPN and ip filters more than tweeking your router) hope this helps

 

[tsnor]

Thank you
let me ask about your father in law , what did he insert between his network and the incoming cable modem ?

He inserted a linux x86 system and set up ipfilters so the only traffic passed from the linux system to his pc network was the traffic he allowed. Linux stacks with ip filters are the basis for most stand alone firewalls.

Here is a list of pre-amde distributions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_router_or_firewall_distributions

Like I said, I use the firewall in my router along with a firewall on each pc to block outbound traffic and feel pretty secure.