A firewall can be the difference between a safe network and disaster. But you need to make sure that you are setting up your home firewall correctly in order for it to do its job correctly. While a hardware firewall requires its own configuration, you cannot assume that your router's firewall is automatically setup properly. Most routers come with a firewall, but unless you activate it, it will not do its job.

Do you have a firewall?

Before you start the setup process, you should confirm that your router has a firewall. You can do this by logging into your router's settings. Your router should have come with an IP address and password to access the settings from your computer's browser.

A firewall will be listed under either a heading of "security" or even "firewall" if your router has one.

Enabling your Firewall

To enable a firewall, you will need to log into your router's settings page and locate the firewall, which will either be its own category and easy to find, or it might be under something else. Firewall and SPI Firewall are both firewalls, so don't let that throw you off.

Under the firewall setting, you should see an option to "enable" it. Select that option, save it, and then apply it. Once you have applied the new setting, your router will need to be rebooted so that it can take effect. It will either do it automatically or it will ask you.

Configuring your Firewall

Once the firewall has been enabled, you will need to configure it. This is also called adding rules to your firewall. This will also be done through your router's settings page, so you will need to log into the settings through your browser again. Here's what you need to do next:

1. Secure your firewall. The first step is to remove the default name and password for your router. Make sure your login is unique and complicated so that it cannot be easily guessed. You will also need to make sure that you disable any firewall administration interfaces from outside so that it cannot be accessed unless you are physically there.

2. Decide what services you want to use. Your firewall should have some options to help you decide how heavily your firewall can be locked down. Those who need extreme high security for purposes like HIPAA will need to make sure all security measures are legally in place. Otherwise, it might just be more keeping malware out.

3. Delete unwanted rules. Some firewall rules will default on when the firewall is enabled. If some rules are in there that you do not want, you should delete them. It should be an option to edit, add, or delete rules within the firewall's settings.

4. Choose your protocols. You should be able to choose either TCP or UDP protocols for your firewall. There, you can specify whether you are using a single port or if you are using a range of ports for the protocol. Most likely, you will want to have it on all ports.

5. Restrict destinations. There will be options for inbound rules, where you can restrict the source of any incoming connections. You can also restrict the destinations for outbound rules. The restrictions can apply to IP addresses or subnets.

Need More Help?

If you are having trouble configuring your firewall in your router, the last thing that you can try is to contact your router's manufacturer for more specific assistance. Not all companies have the best customer service, however, so the amount of actual help that you receive is really going to depend on the company.

You can also consider getting a hardware firewall to help lock down your network even more. That can increase the overall security of the system, since hardware firewalls operate differently than internal firewalls will, giving you stronger network security.