IPCop is a debian-based Linux firewall. It can turn any PC with two network cards into a powerful yet easy-to-use firewall. Going above and beyond what most consumer routers allow you to do, IPCop allows you to segregate your network into different sections (green for the trusted internal, orange for DMZ, red for internet, and blue for wireless), set up snort, vpn, and more. Read on to see how easy it is to set up.
First things first, download the ISO from http://www.ipcop.org. IPCop 1.4.15 is only about 50megs so it shouldn't take too long. Burn the ISO to a CD using your favorite burning software and then pop it into the machine you want to use for your new firewall. Set the PC to boot from the CD-Rom (check your bios or boot screen on how to do this).
1. You will be presented with the screen to the left. For most PCs you can just hit the
Select the language that you want to use for the install (in my case, English), and then click the OK button. Since we're using the CD, just select CDROM/USB Key for the installation media. The install program will automatically partition the hard drive.
Since this is a fresh install, just select SKIP since there isn't anything to restore.
The next section will allow set up the network cards. You can either probe and have IPCop automatically select it or manually select the driver. I pick Probe just to make sure that IPCop selects the right driver.
5. Type in the IP address that you want for the Green interface. This will also set up the DHCP address space for the Green interface. Once you save the IP, IPCop will tell you that it was successfully installed. Click OK one more time to continue.
Select your keyboard layout, timezone, and then enter the hostname and domain name for the firewall.
If for some odd reason you are using ISDN, you can configure it here. Otherwise, just select Disable ISDN.
Now to set up your network. Select 'Network Configuration Type' and pick what kind of network you want to set up. For a simple two NIC just select Green+Red if you are using broadband.
Select 'Drivers and Card Assignments' to set up the new Red card. Confirm that you want to change the settings, and it should see that there is an unallocated NIC. Assign it to Red.
Click on 'Address Settings', and then the Red interface. Select the type of internet connection you have (Static if your ISP gives you a static IP, DHCP for cable or Embarq DSL, and PPPoE for other DSL providers normally).
If you want to set up DHCP on the Green network, go down and select 'DHCP Server Configuration'. Fill in the settings that you would like to use.
Now to set all the passwords for the system. You will set up root (physical and ssh access to the box), admin (web interface user) and backup (backup userver). Once you have those typed in, the set up is complete and the box will reboot.
To access your new firewall, just go to http://