Third– Configuration Of SmoothWall Express 2.0
So now that SmoothWall is installed on your computer you now have to tweak the settings so that you receive the most protection possible without encountering any headaches later on.

First off you have the option of making a back up floppy of your settings.  I would say this is personal preference if you want to bother or not.  On large scale network I would say yes, it would be valuable to make your back up floppy, but I personally chose not to.  Next choose your keyboard and you get to give your Smoothie a host name.  Have some fun with this one, but remember you have to keep your host name in lowercase letters and as one word.

Moving on you prompted next to enter your proxy information.  In general most ISP do not require you to use a specific proxy and you should find this out first.  In the case that you do not need a specific proxy you will leave the fields blank.  Next, you have to configure for Dial-Up or ADSL.  If you are not using either of those leave them disabled otherwise fill them out with the appropriate information.

Thirdly, you will be presented with a menu for choosing which network you want to set up.  Like I noted earlier, I will be using GREEN + RED and this will be the same for you if you have only two NIC cards; one connected to the modem and one connected to your computer.  To allow your RED interface to receive an IP automatically from your ISP you need enable DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol).

Next you will have the options of enabling DHCP on your LAN so that when ever a computer is attached the IP and Subnet Mask, it will be automatically denoted to the computer.  This will be essential if you have more than one computer on the network or more than one NIC on the GREEN interface.  Plug in a range for the IP’s which will be assigned with DHCP and allot lease times, then click “OK” and move on to the final stage of configuration your Smoothie; creating your administrator names and passwords.  The setup password and user name is used to access SmoothWall’s integrated setup and alter the settings from your Smoothie.  The administrator name and password are used to access SmoothWall’s web configurations, which I will discuss next.  Finish off the configuration by connected the appropriate cables and registering your SmoothWall when instructed.

Fourth– Online Configuration
To top it off, SmoothWall Express 2.0 has one more option which can be configured through one of the computers on the secured network.  Open up a web browser and type ” https://192.168.0.1:441/ ” into the address bar.  Note: if you chose a different IP you will need to replace 192.168.0.1 with the IP you assigned.  You will have to enter your administrator name and password to access and alter settings.

Briefly, I will explain some of the option available to you with the On line configuration.

About You Smoothie – Here you can view the status about your Smoothie and view traffic  graphs and resource usage

Services – Here you can enable and configure your web proxy, alter DHCP settings,  manage your DNS, enable IDS to alter you of possible intrusions, and set your  system time

Networking – Allows you to manage port forwarding, and configure settings vital in  providing impervious security such as IP blocking, and configure advanced  settings

VPN (virtual private network) – Here you control VPN connections (if applicable)

Log – Here you can view your web proxy, firewall, and IDS logs to keep you aware of  what is going on with your Smoothie

Tools – Various tool such as whois and IP pinging along with being able to connect to  your Smoothie through a Java Applet

Maintenance – This is probably the most important of the utilities you can access via  SmoothWall’s On line configuration.  Here you can update to the latest fixes  and keep on top of the latest security enhancements for your Smoothie.  You  may also alter your modem settings and shut down / reboot your Smoothie.

For those of you looking for advanced security, there are a plethora of SmoothWall Express 2.0 modifications out there.  Many can be found HERE at SmoothWall’s Forums, which are also a great place to go for support and assistance if you encounter a problem with your Smoothie.

Conclusion
I have been using SmoothWall Express 2.0 for little over a month now and the experience is incredible.  I can honestly say I have never felt safer while browsing the Internet and chatting online.  In general, SmoothWall is relatively easily configurable and provides protection no software firewall or router can match.  If the resources are available, I highly recommend that you consider using SmoothWall to protect your computer or network.