firewall router

Just checking in ...any of your folks have a separate firewall beyond what comes with your router?

My tech guy is suggesting this.

Just checking in ...any of your folks have a separate firewall beyond what comes with your router?

My tech guy is suggesting this.

"Firewall" can encompass many different technologies. What I can assure you is that the more secure it is, the less convenient it will be. I would suggest to ask tech guy, what metric are we looking at? For the upfront - and more importantly, ongoing -- cost, what measurable benefit accrues? For example, will your cyber insurance policy get a discount?

appreciate it...my cyber insurance is asking if i have a firewall in place;

i have windows defender on a computer

and my router has a firewall

tech guy is suggesting stronger firewall

I have a CISCO router and the built in firewall is just as good as any other hardware firewall that you can install for a small office installation according to my IT guy! On top of that I have Norton.

I have a Ubiquiti Router that has just as good of a firewall as most "firewall only" appliances. If you are talking a cheap router, or only a software firewall, yes, step up your security. If you already have an enterprise grade router from a well known company, you are likely fine. Just make sure you change your admin credentials away from default, otherwise you are an open door.

Also check open ports, and only keep open the ports you actually need. It is unreal when a port scan is run how many businesses have left their doors wide open through common but unused ports, and miscreants know it, too.

Same with WiFi. If you want to provide WiFi access to others, set up a separate guest SSID that only provides access to the internet and NOT your network. Secure your network with strong passwords or passphrases. I believe passphrases are better.

I am of the standpoint CPAs, EAs, and any other tax preparer need to constantly be looking for ways to improve security. Yet, I remain stunned at the weaknesses I see at most companies, including much larger firms with significantly greater resources. All it takes is one careless mouse click...

Same with WiFi. If you want to provide WiFi access to others, set up a separate guest SSID that only provides access to the internet and NOT your network. Secure your network with strong passwords or passphrases. I believe passphrases are better.

I have a separate WiFi router for guest access. My production environment is all wired Cat 5e no WiFi!

Just checking in ...any of your folks have a separate firewall beyond what comes with your router?

My tech guy is suggesting this.

Yes-- a separate firewall appliance can be important for a lot of reasons, starting with the ability to configure it way beyond what a typical small business router will offer. For example, a product with pfSense (which is a free firewall operating system) is going to provide a lot of additional functionality that you just don't get with a consumer product, such as interoperability with intrusion detection systems, custom firewall rules, traffic shaping, etc. The community of pfSense users also constantly updates the software with new features and bug fixes, well beyond commercial security updates. I personally have this pre-built appliance, although you can also build your own: https://www.netgate.com/solutions/pfsen ... 00-1u.html

The downside is that with something like this, you either need to be pretty handy with networking or have an IT professional on board to configure it. I think it's worth it due to the many features useful to a professional practice. Also, as someone else noted it may be a factor in a carrier's decision to offer cyber intrusion insurance, or what coverage limits to offer for that type of policy.

great...thanks for all the info...appreciate!

so just got a quote for $120/mo for a firewall/with a ssd to network.......does that sound accurate or seem high?

so just got a quote for $120/mo for a firewall/with a ssd to network.......does that sound accurate or seem high?

Link to product page? You could buy an enterprise grade firewall for $1000 so it doesn't make sense to spend $120/mo., but maybe you are looking at something that's worth that much.

thanks for response; it's just a dinky 2 person firm; i've seen firewall and ssd for networking for $500......so over 4 years....this is going to cost me 6k...question is....will his labor be worth 5500.....................or is he getting me a great firewall for 1k.

thanks for response; it's just a dinky 2 person firm; i've seen firewall and ssd for networking for $500......so over 4 years....this is going to cost me 6k...question is....will his labor be worth 5500.....................or is he getting me a great firewall for 1k.

If you are hiring an actual IT guy for $120/mo. and he's on call for support, and it includes a great firewall appliance, I'd say that's within reason. Otherwise, you'd be better off buying the firewall and hiring an IT guy to configure it at an hourly rate. I should start offering this service because I happen to be good at that. Lol.

thanks Raellic...it does sound within reason...except over the next 5 years....that's a cost of over 7kl....i could probably get a good firewall for $500...hire some tech for a few hundred...and monitor for a few hundred per year i'm thinking...and pay 1/2 the cost....if you weren't in CA i'd hire you

I'll say this about most IT companies these days, they WANT the monthly fee arrangements, especially in managed services, because it is EXTREMELY profitable. You can pay $120/mo over 4 years, but odds are they will rarely have to do anything after initial setup. I would definitely want to know what hardware they are supplying and compare their overall cost to just buying it and paying someone an hourly fee to configure it and then deal with issues if they pop up. Once configured, quality hardware will rarely, if ever, have issues not created by a user or improper configuration/installation (including not utilizing surge protectors).

I do IT work through another company I own by way of another S-Corp of mine, but the direction that industry is going is not to my liking and I have refused to participate in its practices.

very interesting - thank you Corner - it's upsetting - so basically it sound like i was being setup to be ripped off.....though in all fairness....the guy has done about 1500 worth of work, and i've only paid him $99/mo for about 5 mos........i don't mind fair pricing, but obviously noone likes to be ripped off - thanks again!

very interesting - thank you Corner - it's upsetting - so basically it sound like i was being setup to be ripped off.....though in all fairness....the guy has done about 1500 worth of work, and i've only paid him $99/mo for about 5 mos........i don't mind fair pricing, but obviously noone likes to be ripped off - thanks again!

Oh, I'm sure people have felt ripped off by me and yet I remain very fair with my IT fees compared to other companies. I do not push $10,000 servers they do not need, or $1,500 monthly managed service contracts just to pad my bank account.

Find out what you are getting for that cost. Price it at retail and an estimate of someone doing initial install, with an estimate for maintenance/support, and weigh against the term of his proposal. I bet you will find it is not worth it.

Yes. we have a Sonicwall hardware firewall. It also has as VPN which we use for remote access. We have had versions of this for years, but we are now trying to improve security even more. If a hacker gets ahold of client info we are cooked.

Do you know how much the Sonicwall is?

SonicWall has a ton of hardware options spanning a wide range of prices. Not cheap, not very easy to configure, but typically reliable.

I like Ubiquiti products--very reliable and easier to use, while still secure. I have had the fewest issues with them, even compared to SonicWall.

Yes. we have a Sonicwall hardware firewall. It also has as VPN which we use for remote access. We have had versions of this for years, but we are now trying to improve security even more. If a hacker gets ahold of client info we are cooked.

I think the particular one we have was about $1200-$1500. We had to upgrade to support up to 100Mbps speed.