Hardware -- firewall/router

I'm running a very simple SMC Barricade 7004VBR firewall/router. Since I'm on cable, it just makes sense to keep all my ports protected. This little jobbie was about $25, and well worth twice the price. I've had some failure with it, as its four routing areas sometimes fail for no reason, but SMC's tech support is phenomenal. I've been on the phone to India several times, and every time they've resolved the issue. They don't treat you like an idiot, and when you tell them you've done something like cycled through a power-down, they don't make you do it again. A nice touch.

I have this firewall set to email me every time it stops an intrusion attempt. I probably get an average of four or five emails a week. Most of them are syn floods to host, which is an old attack, one that this little machine handles nicely.

I just read a report in one of the computer mags that hooked up a bare computer without firewall or router protection and turned it loose on the web. It was infected in 87 seconds. Don't be an idiot; keep protected. You need a hardware router or firewall, because relying on just software is dicey. When you rely on just software, you're actually allowing the malware or ice or whatever to enter your machine, even if it is automatically quarantined. I'd rather stop threats before they get to the machine, and find out later about them.