routers

[SmAsHeR]

i have a router to network my computers at home and to use the internet on all the computers. does this help internet security any? am i safer because of the router?

 

[abc]

Maybe, and maybe not. It depends on weather or not your router has a firewall in it (hardware firewall). If it does, then yes you are mor secure. If you tell us what router you have, we can tell you if it has a firewall.

 

[Nodsu]

Yes you are.

A router blocks all outside access to your computers by default. So you are safe from worms like blaster.

But keep in mynd that routers can't help with human stupidity so viruses/trojans/spyware are still able to roam free.

 

[abc]

Ok, so for my own information I went here, and found out that even if you don't have a firewall you are still mostly protected. My router is basically an older version of this. the website says i have a firewall in mine. My question is, is this a real firewall or just the NAT that the first site says isn't a real firewall?

And sorry for the misinformation

 

[Nodsu]

That depends on how someone defines a firewall..

Your router has a firewall in it although a rather basic one. In the default configuration it is inactive and all your router does is NAT and blocking traffic from outside.

You can configure it to do more advanced stuff like port forwarding and filtering traffic from the local network.