Configure Dell Inspiron 6400 as ADSL modem & Intrusion Detection System (CentOS 6.5 32bit)

[TheDarkness101]

Hey, first of all, let me give you the rundown of my situation.


I have a DSL connection with CeuntryLink, and the provided PK5001Z modem & router built in combo is extremely terrible, I found that the firmware version was vulnerable and I was able to get root access to the router in less than 3 minutes upon examination.


So this got me thinking, I have an old Dell Inspiron 6400 that has an ethernet card and a telephone cable connector side-by-side. Would it be possible to configure this laptop to route the internet traffic sent through the telephone line, intercept it, and configure the same laptop to run an intrusion detection system to analyze the traffic, and then route it out of the ethernet port, where I can connect it to a router and distribute it wirelessly?


I'm not entirely sure what CPU the laptop has, I want to say it's a Pentium, it has 2 GB of DDR2 memory, so the hardware specs are well met (I hope).


I'd love to hear your responses, and if this helps, I am very good with the linux commandline so advanced answers are allowed.

 

[skittle]

Yes easy to Do though specialized distribution like monowall or pfsense maybe be a better choice

 

[mbarnes86]

Hi

There are a number of specialised linux distributions providing a fire wall

They usually assume you have a PC with 2 ethernet ports

You do not want to use the dialup internet connection
( over telephone wire using rj11 connector on laptop as it is way too slow and hard to find providers in most western countries
max speed 56kb/s)

I expect you would get your internet modem to connect to the ethernet port and have another ethernet card connecting to a switch and wireless access point or possibly use the built in wireless

depending on laptop type you may have some slots for plugin ethernet cards if not you would need a usb to ethernet device which is supported by the linux distribution

You would need a new broadband modem unless the router can be completely disabled.

Personally I would check if a firmware upgrade for the modem / router / wireless access point exists or get a new device which is supported by your ISP

regards
Mike Barnes

 

[TheDarkness101]

That's the issue, I'm stuck with using the digital subscriber line. Since I live in an apartment, I have yet to see an ethernet port throughout the entire place. I am able to receive like 3 MB/s up and down with DSL, which isn't bad, but the current ADSL router provided by CenturyLink isn't fast. It's a crappy combo and can barely keep up, plus I'd like to utilize the benefits of 5GHz wireless bands, due to everybody else around my apartment complex using 2.4 GHz, and having almost the exact same routers I do.

I've already updated to the latest firmware on the router, and it's still vulnerable, which is quite sad, which means that CenturyLink has widely deployed these vulnerable firmware versions throughout the United States..

 

[skittle]

Of course Linux (and the special firewall distros) are capable of connecting via ADSL and route traffic through the Ethernet and some can have the WiFi function as a full access points.. Or you can get a 5ghz USB WiFi and use that as an access point. No need for additional router

 

[McHenryB]

Of course Linux (and the special firewall distros) are capable of connecting via ADSL and route traffic through the Ethernet and some can have the WiFi function as a full access points.. Or you can get a 5ghz USB WiFi and use that as an access point. No need for additional router

You are saying that you can feed An ADSL connection straight into this old Dell without using an ADSL modem? I'll take your word for it but I'd like further details as I had no idea that the modems built into old laptops could handle an ADSL signal directly. I was sure they could only decode a normal modulated telephone signal rather than the frequencies involved in ADSL.

 

[TheDarkness101]

Of course Linux (and the special firewall distros) are capable of connecting via ADSL and route traffic through the Ethernet and some can have the WiFi function as a full access points.. Or you can get a 5ghz USB WiFi and use that as an access point. No need for additional router

You are saying that you can feed An ADSL connection straight into this old Dell without using an ADSL modem? I'll take your word for it but I'd like further details as I had no idea that the modems built into old laptops could handle an ADSL signal directly. I was sure they could only decode a normal modulated telephone signal rather than the frequencies involved in ADSL.

That's exactly what I'm saying, the laptop has a built in telephone RJ11 connector, but that doesn't tell me if there's a built in modem to handle ADSL signals or not. I don't know how to go about trying it on the CentOS 6.5 OS.

 

[McHenryB]

There isn't a built in ADSL modem. (I don't know of any laptop that is so equipped.) you will need an external ADSL modem, which you connect to the laptop's ethernet port. You will also then need another ethernet port, so that's an expess card connector at about $35.

Not quite so simple, I'm afraid. It sounds to me like a bit of a messy setup which is going to cost you. Just buy a decent modem/router which is designed to do the job properly.