DIY: Build a Business-class Firewall in an Afternoon with Free Software

Firewall companies have a little secret that they do not want you know: most of their software is based on free open source software. What you pay the firewall companies for is the assembly of the software, an intuitive interface and professional technical support. And what they really want to keep a secret is the fact that several free firewall distributions assemble the software and create an intuitive interface for free also.

Using one of these free firewall systems will give you many great business class features without the hefty business class price tag. These firewalls are a perfect choice for small businesses on a shoestring budget and for busy home offices.

Why Upgrade?
Increased Bandwidth: Most home routers have enough horsepower for a standard cable or DSL connection, but may slow you down on new ultra-high connections like Verizon's FIOS or ATT's Uverse.

Upgraded connections limits: Internet routers have to track all of the connections that all of the computers on its network make to the internet and that number of connections can really add up as more computers are added to the network. Each of these connections have to be stored in the router's memory and small home routers typically don't have a ton of memory. Applications such as bittorrent that make thousands of connections to other computers on the internet can choke a router and make your internet connection feel slow.

Advanced Quality of Service (QoS): If your teenager is sucking up all of the bandwidth by downloading music and movies all day, finding a router that supports QoS or traffic shaping will help. It allows you classify which internet traffic takes priority and allows you to put all of your web surfing ahead of their downloads. This is especially helpful with applications like bittorrent that suck bandwidth and internet phones that don't like latency.

Web access logging: Firewalls can track where users go on the internet and keep a log of it without the need to install software on every computer.