User's Manual

Wireless-N 150 Router WNR612v2 User Manual
Safeguarding Your Network 2-21
v1.0, March 2010
Understanding Your Firewall
Your Wireless-N 150 Router Model WNR612v2 contains a true firewall to protect your network
from attacks and intrusions. A firewall is a device that protects one network from another while
allowing communication between the two. Using a process called Stateful Packet Inspection, the
firewall analyzes all inbound and outbound traffic to determine whether or not it will be allowed to
pass through.
By default, the firewall allows any outbound traffic and prohibits any inbound traffic except for
responses to your outbound traffic. However, you can modify the firewall’s rules to achieve the
following behavior:
• Blocking sites. Block access from your network to certain Web locations based on Web
addresses and Web address keywords. This feature is described in “Blocking Access to
Internet Sites” on page 3-1.
• Blocking services. Block the use of certain Internet services by specific computers on your
network. This feature is described in “Blocking Access to Internet Services” on page 3-3.
• Scheduled blocking. Block sites and services according to a daily schedule. This feature is
described in “Scheduling Blocking” on page 3-5.
• Allow inbound access to your server. To allow inbound access to resources on your local
network (for example, a Web server or remote desktop program), you can open the needed
services by configuring port forwarding as described in “Allowing Inbound Connections to
Your Network” on page 5-1.
• Allow certain games and applications to function correctly. Some games and applications
need to allow additional inbound traffic in order to function. Port triggering can dynamically
allow additional service connections, as described in “Configuring Port Triggering” on
page 5-9. Another feature to solve application conflicts with the firewall is Universal Plug and
Play (UPnP), described in “Using Universal Plug and Play” on page 5-12.