Firewall for PC's

[avilt]

I have a general query related to firewall for small LAN. We have couple of PC's which connect to internet thru ADSL line. They want to access some resources of the Company's LAN by setting up another NIC on the PC and plugging it into our LAN. As its a security issue what is the most economical/secure way of achieving this with the use of firewall?

Thanks

[murabi · Accepted solution]

Firewall solutions for small business are available as either software or hardware (with software components). Software firewalls protect each individual PC they're installed on. But to protect all your company's computers, each must have a software firewall installed. It can be difficult to maintain.

On the other hand, hardware-based firewall solutions for small business protect all computers on your network. A hardware-based firewall is easier to administer, too.

The ideal firewall solutions for small business integrate a hardware firewall with software controls into a comprehensive security solution that includes virtual private network (VPN) support, antivirus, antispam, antispyware, and content filtering capabilities.

[bmckean · Accepted solution]

I agree that using both hardware and software firewalls would be more secure, I also agree that using a hardware firewall by itself would be much easier to manage.

From what I read on your query, what about using an ASA5505? With the features you get at an est. cost of $400. + maintenance, it's well worth it.

Then again this is a Cisco forum =p