- Nov 5, 2018
- 2,511
- 2,089
Do you mind sharing how you protecting your home network?
I may have a bit of overkill. I set my network up while my job at the time was architecting commercial networks the have a VOIP system installed most times sharing the same forward facing IP.
So here we go. I have a very good commercial router as my barrier hardware. It handles DNS requests and forwards the IP to a HD 10 port Cisco commercial switch. The switch handles local IP assignments for the connected peripherals. Various security measures available as features for both the router and the switch are enabled. Wireless AP is currently routed thru an older TP-Link router now configured as an access point. I maintain two channels, a 5Ghz for computers mainly and a seperate 2.4Ghz for Alexa and Google Home smart devices.
Someday if I get off my lazy butt I may move all the smart devices to their own internal VPN configured on the switch (not to be confused with an external one.). My only reluctance is the smart stuff initially goes bananas when you start doing that and my GF starts complaining. Maybe when she goes to see her friend on the left coast again.
I have a paid public facing VPN and a number of different software security packages. I like to be a moving target and I may never find what I consider the perfect security software.
So yeah I do have a hardened network, probably tougher than many commercial networks out there. I do back my stuff up to a bunch of locations, some in the cloud, some off line on USB HD.
The most important part of the security is that space between your ears. Know who your friends are and share your information particularly when it comes to pirating. There are a lot of reall a-holes out there that #1 think they can screw you out of whatever money you have because you aren't going to report them based on how your activity got you there in the first place and #2 Not so much recently, in the past there were hired guns, folks who were paid to either destroy or get you prosecuted for pirating their software or movie. Microsoft was hot to trot for may yeas and had a large standing bounty for any law firm who got someone busted for pirating their software. The MPAA had a different tactic and would you DMCA compliants to your ISP and have you account pulled and make you face possible fines. Let's not forget the past and script kiddies. For those who don't know what they were, you are lucky.
So anyway, stay safe. You may not need something has hardened as my set-up. I didn't pay for much of the hardware I used, some I did. Maybe the Cisco switch was a bit overkill. Keep in mind tho, hardware security as long as you keep it up to date is far, far better than any software security can be. I didn't share model numbers as that would reveal a little too much and make me a little more vulnerable.
I may have a bit of overkill. I set my network up while my job at the time was architecting commercial networks the have a VOIP system installed most times sharing the same forward facing IP.
So here we go. I have a very good commercial router as my barrier hardware. It handles DNS requests and forwards the IP to a HD 10 port Cisco commercial switch. The switch handles local IP assignments for the connected peripherals. Various security measures available as features for both the router and the switch are enabled. Wireless AP is currently routed thru an older TP-Link router now configured as an access point. I maintain two channels, a 5Ghz for computers mainly and a seperate 2.4Ghz for Alexa and Google Home smart devices.
Someday if I get off my lazy butt I may move all the smart devices to their own internal VPN configured on the switch (not to be confused with an external one.). My only reluctance is the smart stuff initially goes bananas when you start doing that and my GF starts complaining. Maybe when she goes to see her friend on the left coast again.
I have a paid public facing VPN and a number of different software security packages. I like to be a moving target and I may never find what I consider the perfect security software.
So yeah I do have a hardened network, probably tougher than many commercial networks out there. I do back my stuff up to a bunch of locations, some in the cloud, some off line on USB HD.
The most important part of the security is that space between your ears. Know who your friends are and share your information particularly when it comes to pirating. There are a lot of reall a-holes out there that #1 think they can screw you out of whatever money you have because you aren't going to report them based on how your activity got you there in the first place and #2 Not so much recently, in the past there were hired guns, folks who were paid to either destroy or get you prosecuted for pirating their software or movie. Microsoft was hot to trot for may yeas and had a large standing bounty for any law firm who got someone busted for pirating their software. The MPAA had a different tactic and would you DMCA compliants to your ISP and have you account pulled and make you face possible fines. Let's not forget the past and script kiddies. For those who don't know what they were, you are lucky.
So anyway, stay safe. You may not need something has hardened as my set-up. I didn't pay for much of the hardware I used, some I did. Maybe the Cisco switch was a bit overkill. Keep in mind tho, hardware security as long as you keep it up to date is far, far better than any software security can be. I didn't share model numbers as that would reveal a little too much and make me a little more vulnerable.
