Video: How to set up a Smoothwall firewall

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We take you through how to setup your own low-cost firewall system using nothing more than a low spec PC and free software.

Smoothwall

We take you through how to setup your own low-cost firewall system using nothing more than a low spec PC and free software.

There's no doubt that going to a dedicated company to provide you with industrial strength appliances is the best way to get rock solid security for your company. However, if you've got a bit of technical nouse, and a little time, it's possible to get a very high level protection using an old PC and some free, open source, software.

In these cash strapped tiems, this could be the right solution, albeit temporary, for some business, especially those who might otherwise eschew hardware solutions.

We walk you through a typical set up of Smoothwall and we also examine the advanced settings to provide even more security for your network, and to speed surfing up by enabling the caching option.

James Morris
James Morris

Dr James Morris has worked as a technology journalist for over 25 years, including spending nine years on the staff of market-leading computer magazine PC Pro, the last five of which were as the publication’s editor. He specialises in enterprise-grade software and hardware, with a particular focus on content creation. He launched a pioneering video channel for HEXUS.net in 2006 and ran the video reviews channel for TrustedReviews.com for four years. He also runs a successful online digital content and commercial video production company, t-zero communications Ltd.

Dr Morris is a prolific technology writer and contributes commercial content for major IT brands including AMD, BlackBerry, Dell, Cognizant, HP, and IBM. He published a book on artificial intelligence, Can Computers Create Art? in 2009. He is also an academic, and is currently Pathway Director of the MA, Interactive Journalism at City, University of London.

Previously, he was course leader for the BA in Web Media Production at Ravensbourne University. He has a PhD in Philosophy, Art and Social Thought from the European Graduate School in Switzerland, a Master's in Media Arts from the New School in New York, USA, and a Bachelor's in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics.

Dr. Morris can be found on Twitter at @Cyberwest, or emailed at j@tzero.co.uk