“My goal is to have a firewall that I trust,” writes Slashdot reader eggegick, “not a firewall that comes from the manufacture that might have back doors.”
I’m looking for a cheap mini PC I can turn into a headless Linux-based wireless and Ethernet router. The setup would be a cable modem on the Comcast side, Ethernet out from the modem to the router and Ethernet, and WiFi out to the home network.
Two long-time Slashdot readers had suggestions. johnnys believes “any old desktop or even a laptop will work…. as long as you have a way to get a couple of (fast or Gigabit) Ethernet ports and a good WiFi adapter… ”
Cable or any consumer-grade broadband doesn’t need exotic levels of throughput: Gigabit Ethernet will not be saturated by any such connection…
You can also look at putting FOSS firewall software like DD-WRT or OpenWrt on consumer-grade “routers”. Such hardware