Dg814

[ChristopherP]

haha. kinda scary though, maybe i should change the password on my router from default

 

[muckshifter]

ALWAYS change 'default' passwords ...

But don't worry too much about anybody "attacking" your computer ... your router will protect you.

It is a NAT router, isn't it?

 

[ChristopherP]

yeah its got NAT

i know it stands for network adress translator but what exactly does it do?

 

[muckshifter]

NAT acts as an interpreter between two networks. In the case of a home network, it sits between the internet and your home network. The internet is considered the ‘public’ side and your home network is considered the ‘private’ side. When a computer in the private side request data from the public side (the internet), the NAT device will open a little conduit between your computer and the destination computer. When the public computer returns results from the request, it is passed back through the NAT device to the requesting computer.

Security: Basic NAT is not a real firewall?
Basic NAT devices are not real firewalls, but they are usually considered ‘good enough’ for most home networks. By not forwarding requests or probes that originate from the internet to your LAN, a NAT device blocks most mischief. A simple NAT device can not keep hackers from running DOS (Denial Of Service) attacks on you, but individuals rarely get attacked like that. It will keep out people looking for file shares, rogue mail servers and web servers, and most port based exploits. Most also protect against SMURF and WinNuke atatcks. With a NAT device and a good anti-virus program, you should be safe from the most common kinds of internet attacks.
http://www.homenethelp.com/web/explain/about-NAT.asp

 

[ChristopherP]

ooooh cheers man - very helpful indeed!