NAT routers?

Question

are routers good protection like firewalls since they have packet schedualers and have private ip addresses.

Answer 1

You need both NAT and a firewall.

All NAT provides is address translation. A firewall blocks various attempts to hack your router, such as the dreaded denial of service attack - ping the router until it keels over.

Packet scheular isn't necessary for a home router connected to the Internet. The Internet doesn't currently utilize any quality of service attributes, i.e. Diffserv.

PS - most home routers (Netgear/linksys/d-link) have both NAT and a stateful firewall. A firewall on your PC (i.e. symantec) is redundant, I disable the sw firewall in my virus sw and use the routers firewall. I have a Zyxel router.

Answer 2

Sortof... It will give you limited protection from remote attacks, but will do nothing to protect you from yourself or your surfing habits.

NAT has no security function whatsoever, it is simply a traffic control and routing mechanism. Same with private IPs.

I have very little trouble getting past a router, it merely changes the attack vector I must use during penetration testing.

Answer 3

a firewall router is excellent for keeping the bad guys out.
make sure you run one on your computer as well to stop the baddies in your computer from talking out without permission.

Answer 4

well yes but some people have a false sense of security with routers.

example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Plug_and_Play malware

default password/or open or weak encryption
http://www.google.com/search?q=wep+hacking