154Link: Packet FilterWhen you click thePacket Filter link the Filter Sets screen appears.Security should be a high priority for anyone administering a network connected to theInternet. Using packet filters to control network communications can greatly improve yournetwork’s security. The Packet Filter engine allows creation of a maximum of eight FilterSets. Each Filter Set can consist of many rules. There can be a maximum of 32 filter rulesin the system.☛ WARNING:Before attempting to configure filters and filter sets, please read and under-stand this entire section thoroughly. Netopia Gateways incorporating NAT haveadvanced security features built in. Improperly adding filters and filter setsincreases the possibility of loss of communication with the Gateway and theInternet. Never attempt to configure filters unless you are local to the Gate-way.Although using filter sets can enhance network security, there are disadvan-tages:• Filters are complex. Combining them in filter sets introduces subtle interac-tions, increasing the likelihood of implementation errors.• Enabling a large number of filters can have a negative impact on perfor-mance. Processing of packets will take longer if they have to go through manycheckpoints in addition to NAT.• Too much reliance on packet filters can cause too little reliance on othersecurity methods. Filter sets are not a substitute for password protection,effective safeguarding of passwords, and general awareness of how your net-work may be vulnerable.Netopia Firmware Version 7.6’s packet filters are designed to provide security for the Inter-net connections made to and from your network. You can customize the Gateway’s filtersets for a variety of packet filtering applications. Typically, you use filters to selectively
