Help with DSL and Qwest modem.

[Crow550]

My friend is using Zone Alarm for his firewall and the modem has a hardware firewall set on basic. It can be set on low. But not off?

I know 2 firewalls is not a good thing. So how to I turn off the hardware firewall?

The modem is a Actiontec GT701-wg DSL


Thanks,

Crow550

(Scroll down to latest posts...)

 

[multiband8303]

Why is 2 firewalls bad? Who told you this? Tell them to burn in hell.

Don't turn off your hardware firewall, your external (public IP) is already out for the picking, don't leave them a red carpet either. If you want turn off the zonealarm....but I don't know why you wouldn't keep it. From the ISP to the modem - VERY VERY VERY little is blocked off, and the zonealarm is very easy to configure.

 

[RebateMonger]

I've installed a couple of Actiontec GT701 wg modem/routers, and I'm sure there's a setting to turn the firewall off. I've had to do that, because the Actiontec's primitive firewall settings block inbound packets needed for servers to function on the Internet.

Did you try updating the Firmware on the Actiontec to the latest version?

 

[Crow550]

I did try and the modem crashed so I had to restart the modem and set it all up again. It's not my modem. It's my friends and he's not tech savy at all. I heard hardware firewalls and software firwalls can cause problems working together.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Crow550
I heard hardware firewalls and software firwalls can cause problems working together.

The biggest problem with multiple firewalls is that it makes troubleshooting problems that much tougher. Firewalls, unlike antivirus programs, don't "interact", so, as long as you keep track of what firewall programs you are running and what their settings are, you can safely run multiple firewalls.

Your ISP likely has a port blocker, your router does, and so does Windows XP SP2.

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: Crow550

I know 2 firewalls is not a good thing. So how to I turn off the hardware firewall?

Crow550

Two Firewalls are Bad if they are both Software Firewall.

A combo of NAT- Router Firewall and a good software Firewall is actualy the best solution.

:sun:

 

[Crow550]

So leave the modem firewall on basic and try running the firmware update again in the future.

Also it seems that sometimes websites will not load or the browser wont work unless the pc is restarted and sometimes the modem needs to be unplugged and plugged back in which I assume is from the hardware firewall.

I don't see a way to turn it off anyways? http://www.pchell.com/dsl/gt701wg/firewall.shtml

 

[Crow550]

From Qwests site:
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How do I update my modem's firmware?

We strongly recommend you use Qwest firmware updates to upgrade your modem's firmware. The firmware available from the Actiontec Web site is not compatible with Qwest high-speed Internet service; if you download that version your high-speed Internet service may not work.
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I did the update though the router so it must have gotten the update from Actiontecs site. I sent my friend the qwest site and how to update the modem. So hopefully it fixes the problems it's been having.

 

[Crow550]

Wait i'm hearing different things from different people. So should the modem firewall be set on high or off or just left on basic? I'm sure NAT is on.

Zone Alarm is set on High for Internet, Medium for Trusted and low for programs because he doesn't want to be bothered with pop ups for every program wanting to access the internet. Which is fine unless a spyware program is on his pc. But he runs spyware scans often and like I said in another forum for networking I entered his friends pc ip address and named it so and so computer and set it on trusted and did the same for the other pc.


According to this site: http://www.firewalling.com/actiontec/GT701-firewall.html

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Step 6:
On this page we can setup the routers firewall. There is four choices we can set.

The first is High which offers the most protection. It will block all traffic to your network.

The next is Medium we assume this offers slightly less protection than High.

The third is Low we assume this offers less protection than Medium.

Last we have Basic offers NATing and no firewalling.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Crow550]

The modem update replaced basic with off and that's what it is set on. Should I have my friend move it to low or leave it be?

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Crow550
From Qwests site:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How do I update my modem's firmware?

We strongly recommend you use Qwest firmware updates to upgrade your modem's firmware. The firmware available from the Actiontec Web site is not compatible with Qwest high-speed Internet service; if you download that version your high-speed Internet service may not work.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I did the update though the router so it must have gotten the update from Actiontecs site. I sent my friend the qwest site and how to update the modem. So hopefully it fixes the problems it's been having.

That makes no sense.

A Firewall (Built in or not) should have nothing to do with a DSL Modem from working.