Wireless Router

Hi,

Am looking for the superior knowledge on the Router subject of anyone who'd care to help.
I have no expertise on this subject and am really just looking for a few pointers.
The Router I've very recently installed is working fine, I think - the main aim was to allow wireless access (secured) from the girlfriend's laptop, and that's working fine - apart from the file/print sharing function??.
Previously I had Comodo Firewall as my main security - do I need to keep this running or does the Router nullify that function?
That's my main concern.
Another less important concern is configuring the Router within Games and Application heading in the Linksys Setup. If there is anything I should know, and remember I don't know a thing, then I'd appreciate if if anyone would care to point me in the right direction.

It's all rather confusing.

Kind regards,

Declan.

Hi Declan… The very nature of your network, WHENEVER you are behind a router, is that you do not need a firewall to block incoming connections. It all gets kind of complicated, but to put it plainly, nobody on the internet can "address" any computer on your private network behind the router. Its impossible. On the other hand, many people feel better protected (and, somewhat they are) by having a software based firewall on their individual computers. This serves two purposes. First, if one computer on the network gets infected, you have now opened up a gateway into your private network and then other computers on the network can be attacked if they do not have a firewall. Second, software based firewalls such as Comodo can block outgoing requests from software that is on your computer helping you to identify malicious activity before it can steal personal information, etc. So, you are better protected having the extra protection of Comodo installed. However, depending on how you use your computers and how much you trust yourself, the benefits may never be realized. As far as the applications and gaming section of the router goes, this is for port forwarding. Remember at the top of my message I said that nobody on the internet can access computers that are on your private network because it is impossible. Well, this is where you can change that. In this tab of the router's configuration, you can open up specific ports and forward them to specific computers in your home or business. That way, computers on the internet can directly access a specific computer on your network. The reason why you would use something like this is if you are hosting a service on one of your computers and people need to connect to it from the internet. Such as remote desktop, a web server, a file server, etc. For the most part, you do not need or want to use anything in this tab. However, certain applications will require that you do setup something in this tab either to make it function properly or to offer better performance. Peer to peer programs often want a port forwarded in order to provide the best results during file sharing. It is all specific to the applications you are using and unless you are having a problem with one particular application connecting to the internet, I would forget about that section. If you ever see the documentation for a piece of software tell you that you need to turn on "port forwarding" then you know that you need to configure something in the applications and gaming section of your router. I hope that helps.

Hi

Just wanted to add 2 cents about Comodo Firewall.

Because CFW is so much more than just a firewall. If you, at the time of installment, decided to install
the Defense+ part as well, you have one of the most capable HIPS / Anti-Malware systems available.
So if you don't have other real-time protection installed, I would strongly suggest you keep it, as long as
it doesn't represent any difficulties for you. And other real-time protection does not include your AV
imo. (Depending on which of course)


Cheers

Thank you guys, this information is of a great help. Just to labour a point if I may - why can't the laptop share the printer? These functions have been enabled on the main computer, but the laptop can't see the printer? Is it anything to do with the fact that the main computer is running XP while the laptop is on Vista? Thanks again.

There are a lot of variables Declan. But, you have mentioned one of the biggest problems with file and printer sharing I ever see. A firewall! Most users do not know how to configure these properly to work with file and printer sharing. I don't know how comodo is with configuration but I do know that windows firewall is seemless. Third party firewalls is where the problem comes from. So, if you want to get file and printer sharing to work, the first thing to do is disable comodo until you have it all figured out. Take everything to the simplest common denominator. Add the complexity after you get it working.