NETGEAR WGR614 v5 manual Disabling the SPI Firewall, Setting Up a Default DMZ Server

Reference Manual for the 54 Mbps Wireless Router WGR614 v5

Disabling the SPI Firewall

The SPI (Stateful Inspection) Firewall protects your LAN against Denial of Service attacks. This should only be disabled in special circumstances.

Setting Up a Default DMZ Server

The default DMZ server feature is helpful when using some online games and videoconferencing applications that are incompatible with NAT. The router is programmed to recognize some of these applications and to work properly with them, but there are other applications that may not function well. In some cases, one local computer can run the application properly if that computer’s IP address is entered as the default DMZ server.

Note: DMZ servers pose a security risk. A computer designated as the default DMZ server loses much of the protection of the firewall, and is exposed to exploits from the Internet. If compromised, the DMZ server can be used to attack your network.

Incoming traffic from the Internet is normally discarded by the router unless the traffic is a response to one of your local computers or a service that you have configured in the Ports menu. Instead of discarding this traffic, you can have it forwarded to one computer on your network. This computer is called the Default DMZ Server.

The WAN Setup menu, shown below lets you configure a Default DMZ Server.

To assign a computer or server to be a Default DMZ server, follow these steps:

1.Click WAN Setup link on the Advanced section of the main menu.

2.Type the IP address for that server. To remove the default DMZ server, replace the IP address numbers with all zeros.

3.Click Apply.

Responding to Ping on Internet WAN Port

If you want the router to respond to a 'ping' from the Internet, click the ‘Respond to Ping on Internet WAN Port’ check box. This should only be used as a diagnostic tool, since it allows your router to be discovered. Don't check this box unless you have a specific reason to do so.

7-8 Advanced Configuration of the Router

July 2004 202-10036-01