Linksys EA6400 How to improve security using the built-in firewall, Changing firewall settings

Linksys EA-Series

How to improve security using the built-in firewall

Why would I need to change my security settings? By default, the firewall settings in your router have been optimized for most home environments, so no changes are needed. The SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) firewall is enabled by default. In addition, anonymous Internet requests and IDENT requests are filtered by default. All web filters are disabled, because enabling them may cause problems for sites that depend on ActiveX controls, Java, or cookies.

Changing firewall settings

To change your firewall settings:

1.Log into Linksys Smart Wi-Fi. (See “How to connect to Linksys Smart Wi- Fi” on page 7.

2.Under Router Settings, click Security. The Security page opens to the Firewall tab.

3.You can now change the following settings:

TIP

For more descriptions of each setting, click Help at the top of the screen.

•• Firewall: SPI firewall protection—This helps protect your local network from Internet threats. This option is enabled by default. On some router models, this setting is separated into IPv6 and IPv4 options so that each can be handled separately.

CAUTION

To help protect your network, you should keep this option enabled.

Setting Up: Advanced

•• VPN Passthrough:

••IPSec Passthrough – IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) is a suite of protocols used to implement secure exchange of packets at the IP layer. The VPN clients on the local network can establish an IPSec VPN tunnel through the router. This option is enabled by default.

••PPTP Passthrough – PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) allows the PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) to be tunneled through an IP network. The VPN clients on the local network can establish a PPTP VPN tunnel through the router. This option is enabled by default.

••L2TP Passthrough – L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol) enables point-to-point sessions using the Internet on the Layer 2 level. The VPN clients on the local network can establish an L2TP VPN tunnel through the router. This option is enabled by default.

•• Internet filters:

••Filter anonymous Internet requests—This filter blocks Internet requests from unknown sources such as ping requests. This option is enabled by default.

••Filter multicast—Multicasting allows a single transmission to simultaneously reach specific recipients within your local network. Select this option to block multicasting. This option is disabled by default.

••Filter Internet NAT redirection—This filter prevents a local computer from using a URL or Internet IP address to access the local server. Select this option to enable the filter. This option is disabled by default. On some router models, this setting applies to IPv4 Internet only.

••Filter ident (Port 133)—This filter prevents port 133 from being scanned by devices from the Internet. This option is enabled by default.

4.Click Save to save your changes.

29