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IpCop

Moonlapse

Entry posted by Moonlapse

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I've had an ancient eMachines computer sitting in the closet for who knows how long, along with a bunch of near obsolete computer parts. While doing some spring cleaning the other day, I pondered how I could put it to any use. It would be too slow to tolerably use as a personal computer with its 9 year old Celeron processor (even though I managed to scrounge up 256MB of PC133 RAM to replace its measly 32MB) and its 4GB hard drive would be nearly filled to capacity if Windows XP or 2000 were to be installed on it along with the requisite software.

 

I then recalled that there is a Linux distribution designed to turn old obsolete PCs into first rate firewall/routers called IpCop. As it turns out, I had two unused network cards which were to provide the 'in' and the 'out' ports required to use the PC as a firewall/router. Yay!!! I burned the install CD, loaded it on the old clunker (as per directions), configured my old basic router to function as a switch, hooked it all up, and it's working GREAT. It is far more secure and has far more options than my old $30 router. If you have an old computer, I would definitely recommend not throwing it away. Put it to good use protecting your newer computers. It may sound daunting but its actually pretty simple if you can read directions. Everything you could possibly need to know is in the instructions or just a Google search away. The best part is that its free!!

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Silentium

Wow, I love Linux!I have a couple of centuries old Pentium I with an astonishing 32 MB ram and 2GB hard disk somewhere in the basement. Would that do the trick? XD

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Moonlapse

I love Linux too! I dual boot to Ubuntu with Compiz Fusion and it runs faster than XP but has nicer graphics and effects than Vista. Plus, antivirus and anti-malware are unnecessary! It's all free and it works excellently. :thumbsup:

 

Concerning your old computer, yes:

 

"It will run on old, or "obsolete" hardware, such as a 386 processor, 32Mb of RAM, and 300Mb hard disk. But if you plan on using some of IPCop's features, such as the caching web proxy, or Intrusion Detection Logging, you are going to need more RAM, more disk space, and a faster processor."

http://www.ipcop.org/1.4.0/en/quickstart/h...quirements.html

 

You can probably run the basic setup with the snort intrusion detection. You really don't need much more than that. You might be limited to ISA network cards (which usually only support an absolute maximum of 10 mbps) if your Pentium 1 motherboard doesn't have PCI slots. So if you have a good firewall router already, you might want to stick with it, unless you like to build stuff like this and have a lot of detailed control over your network.

 

With my computer's specs I was able to run an addon HTTP filter which blocks any detected viruses, browser exploits, phishing attempts, and blacklisted sites before they even get to my computers. Woooo!!

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Moonlapse
Wish I knew what you are talking about. Are you saying that someone can get at my computer even if I go to a safe site? Or while I'm on UNRV?

 

Well, its a little complicated to explain, but only visiting safe websites is only a small part of computer security. There are lots of different network type connections that your computer is capable of using and web surfing uses only one of them. It depends on whether your computer is connected directly to your internet connection or is run through a firewall-router, whether you have firewall software, whether you have programs on your computer that have known vulnerabilities to network attacks, etc.

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Silentium
I love Linux too! I dual boot to Ubuntu with Compiz Fusion and it runs faster than XP but has nicer graphics and effects than Vista. Plus, antivirus and anti-malware are unnecessary! It's all free and it works excellently. :thumbsup:

I tried to install Ubuntu 8.04 but apparently it messed with my video drivers..

At first it did not detect my screen, so I tried to go back to generic drivers but it didn't help much..I had a screen resolution of 800x600 and couldn't change it. I guess it's just me not being able to set it up properly..

 

So if you have a good firewall router already, you might want to stick with it, unless you like to build stuff like this and have a lot of detailed control over your network.

 

With my computer's specs I was able to run an addon HTTP filter which blocks any detected viruses, browser exploits, phishing attempts, and blacklisted sites before they even get to my computers. Woooo!!

 

Sounds great!I have my doubts I will be able to install it properly but I guess there's no harm in trying :ph34r: . I'm "obsessed" with network security and tired of installing useless software that never works anyway. Thanks for the tip! :)

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Moonlapse
I tried to install Ubuntu 8.04 but apparently it messed with my video drivers..

At first it did not detect my screen, so I tried to go back to generic drivers but it didn't help much..I had a screen resolution of 800x600 and couldn't change it. I guess it's just me not being able to set it up properly...

What video card? When I installed it on a laptop with ATI graphics and I had to install xserver-xgl. It also did not display the splash screen because of the laptop's uncommon screen resolution, so I updated the setting in /etc/usplash.conf

 

So far I've found all the information I've needed here: http://ubuntuforums.org/

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Gaius Octavius
Wish I knew what you are talking about. Are you saying that someone can get at my computer even if I go to a safe site? Or while I'm on UNRV?

 

Well, its a little complicated to explain, but only visiting safe websites is only a small part of computer security. There are lots of different network type connections that your computer is capable of using and web surfing uses only one of them. It depends on whether your computer is connected directly to your internet connection or is run through a firewall-router, whether you have firewall software, whether you have programs on your computer that have known vulnerabilities to network attacks, etc.

 

Will let my Bride look at this. Urdu to me. Can 'Firefox' take care of this? [Just heard that the WHOLE country of Estonia was taken down (or whatever it is called in computerese)].

Should I open an e-mail joke, from one of my whacko pals, with an attachment?

 

Yours truly,

Dumb-Dumb

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Moonlapse
Should I open an e-mail joke, from one of my whacko pals, with an attachment?

It shouldn't be a problem if you have an antivirus that auto-updates.

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Silentium
What video card? When I installed it on a laptop with ATI graphics and I had to install xserver-xgl. It also did not display the splash screen because of the laptop's uncommon screen resolution, so I updated the setting in /etc/usplash.conf

 

So far I've found all the information I've needed here: http://ubuntuforums.org/

Nvidia..I asked on Ubuntu Italia and they adviced to use either Envy or Synaptic to download the drivers. I managed to download the drivers with Synaptic but the screen is still not working properly...so I gave up, sort of, lol. I'm going to look on ubuntuforums then, thank you.

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