Ask Slashdot: Advice On Building a Firewall With VPN Capabilities?

An anonymous reader writes "I currently connect to the internet via a standard router, but I'm looking at bulking up security. Could people provide their experiences with setting up a dedicated firewall machine with VPN capabilities? I am a novice at Linux/BSD, so would appreciate pointers at solutions that require relatively little tweaking. Hardware-wise, I have built PC's, so I'm comfortable with sourcing components and assembling into a case. The setup would reside in my living room, so a quiet solution is required. The firewall would handle home browsing and torrenting traffic. Some of the questions knocking around in my head: 1. Pros and cons of buying an off-the-shelf solution versus building a quiet PC-based solution? 2. Software- versus hardware-based encryption — pros and cons? 3. What are minimum requirements to run a VPN? 4. Which OS to go for? 5. What other security software should I include for maximum protection? I am thinking of anti-virus solutions."

Comments

DD-wrt

[everett]

That was easy.

Software answer

[B5_geek]

The hardware is easy:
Either get a router that you can add DD-WRT/tomato to or build your own PC.

Software answer:
OS = OpenBSD
VPN = OpenVPN

BUT you are not asking the right questions.
VPN's only work when 2 ends connect. So what VPN server/client will the other end of your connection use? What are you actually trying to do? Does your work have a fat-connection that they will let you use? Are you planning on paying for VPN service from a 3rd party? Do you want to create a VPN between your home and your laptop while you travel?

If you want to build yourself a solid, dependable, 'solution' follow this guide:

http://www.bsdnow.tv/tutorials...