Learning Linux was key to my development in all things IT and security related. It’s a helpful tool in stepping you up to more advanced concepts and can be a rewarding experience with more beginner or trivial tasks. If you want to learn Linux, it’s helpful if you do so by setting goals. Building a web server, create safe backups, or in this case, building your own firewall.

Why use smoothwall?
Simply put, security. Relying on host based protection (a virus scanner or firewall software on your computer) is a bare minimum in terms of securing your computer. And even then, depending on the software the virus definitions may go out of date or require you to pay a yearly subscription.

When using smoothwall, m0n0wall, pfSense, comixwall (personal pick), we take care of “cleaning up the back yard”. Putting processes like scanning for Spam and viruses at the perimeter helps clean up the home network. It provides multiple layers of defense. If the anti-virus on your home computer misses a virus, there is a chance the one on the firewall might. These firewalls offer many more features than the basic off the shelf router in a box.

Smoothwall can log IM conversations (and filter swear words), trend interface utilization, proxy web requests, load balance between two ISPs, shape traffic, disallow access at certain times, and provide VPN connectivity. Although many of these features may never be required for the basic home network, having them there encourages experimenting. Graphing interface use starts an awareness of the baselines of the network, and then anomalies are easier to identify.

Although Smoothwall does AntiVirus for e-mail out of the box, it does not provide any webfiltering or SPAM filtering. This is where the strength of the community comes in handy. There are many homebrew plugins that can be added to a smoothie. Two of the most popular are Dan’s Guardian Web Filtering and Smoothwall Express Mail Filter. Both have very easy installs and show up on the web management page for control. Dan’s Guardian will take care of blocking adult websites and checking web pages for malicious code, and Smoothwall Express Mail Filter will provide trainable SPAM filtering for a mail server if you have one. Currently though, POP3 (normal end user e-mail) is not being blocked for SPAM in Smoothwall. The writers of Smoothwall Express Mail Filter hope to add that feature shortly.

Although comixwall will provide this out of the box, it’s install is less forgiving and it’s interface is less polished. There is worth in Smoothwall from a learning curve point of view, and the community has written a lot of home brew for them. I consider the Smoothwall Express firewall a gateway firewall. If I had not played with it I would have never challenged myself to pick up more complex ones, and my learning would not have progressed.

RELATED WEBSITE LINKS
http://www.smoothwall.org/get/index.php - Download images, installation and administration guides.

http://community.smoothwall.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25169 - the smoothwall Support FAQ. Good place to start with questions.

http://linux-noob.com/review/smoothwall/express/3/ - A VERY thorough guide to installing Smoothwall.

http://www.networkcomputing.com/channels/security/showArticle.jhtml?arti... - good how-to install SmoothWall Express

http://community.smoothwall.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24831 -
Smoothwall Express Mail Filter

http://community.smoothwall.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24832 - Dan’s
Guardian Web Filtering

Collecting comics is still one of the most popular geek pastimes, but now anyone can create a comic online. Oh, and don’t worry, you don’t need to know how to draw because these sites will do that for you with easy-to-use images that you drag and drop in place. The online comic creation world also just got better with many sites adding Web 2.0 tools that let you share your work-of-art with the world.

toondoo.com

pixton.com

Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, $485.00
www.nokia.ca

Rogers Portable Hi-Speed Internet, $99 for hardware plus monthly plan
www.rogers.com

LG Shine Mobile Phone (Rogers) from $99 (depending on plan)
www.ca.lge.com

The Source Nexxtech NEXXTECH™ 900MHZ WIRELESS STEREO HEADPHONES, $69.99
www.thesourcecc.com

Kodak EASYSHARE V1253 Zoom Digital Camera, $249 and EASYSHARE HDTV Dock, $99
www.kodak.ca

The Source VoiceZone TALKING PEDOMETER WITH PERSONAL ALARM, $24.99
www.thesourcecc.com

Salomon Speed Jacket, $150
www.salomonsports.com
(demo’d with a Suunto t1 watch, www.suunto)