[daveyohill]

That was wierd. I am posting via my PC at work and got a "couldn't locate server" warning after I clicked "submit".

My question, if this works, has to do with the need for OSX's software firewall. I recently upgraded to DSL and share that connection with a Linksys router/switch (the model is BEFSR). It acts as DHCP server and NAT (firewall according to Linksys site).

Can I safely turn off Mac OSX's (10.2.3) firewall safely? Will that provide any performance benefit?

I'm using a 400mhz AGP G4 and can use any performance boost I can get.

Thanks, Dave

[thesearcher]

For home use, NAT should be good enough, though a firewall would be better. If you were to use wifi, then a firewall on each wifi equiped computer wouldn't be a bad idea.

For commercial use, use a firewall.

I don't think turning off the firewall gives a noticable performance benefit. (Not on my Cube 450, anyway.)

(And NAT is not a firewall.)

[ratlater]

If you are using the G4 behind the LinkSys you don't need the software firewall. It shouldn't matter at all to performance.

-matt

[Millennium]

If you have a firewall at the LinkSys router, then there is no pressing need to have one running on the G4. I don't know if your router actually has a real firewall, though; it could just be running DHCP and NAT, which provides some protection but isn't as good as a real firewall. It might have a firewall built into it also, however.

At the same time, though, there is no performance benefit to turning it off. The firewall itself is actually a part of the system; what we call the "firewall" is actually just an interface to configure it. By turning it off, you're really just telling it to let everything through.

[SMacTech]

The only firewall in LinkSys routers is a pseudo one provided only by NAT. It is not a firewall in traditional terms such as using ipfw.