User's Manual

Reference Manual for the 54 Mbps Wall-Plugged Router WGX102
Introduction 2-3
July 2004 202-10036-01
The WGX102 will log security events such as blocked incoming traffic, port scans, attacks,
and administrator logins. You can configure the router to E-mail the log to you at specified
intervals. You can also configure the router to send immediate alert messages to your E-mail
address or E-mail pager whenever a significant event occurs.
• The WGX102 prevents objectionable content from reaching your computers. The router
allows you to control access to Internet content by screening for keywords within Web
addresses. You can configure the router to log and report attempts to access objectionable
Internet sites.
Security
The WGX102 router is equipped with several features designed to maintain security, as described
in this section.
• Computers Hidden by NAT
NAT opens a temporary path to the Internet for requests originating from the local network.
Requests originating from outside the LAN are discarded, preventing users outside the LAN
from finding and directly accessing the computers on the LAN.
• Port Forwarding with NAT
Although NAT prevents Internet locations from directly accessing the computers on the LAN,
the router allows you to direct incoming traffic to specific computers based on the service port
number of the incoming request, or to one designated “DMZ” host computer. You can specify
forwarding of single ports or ranges of ports.
Extensive Protocol Support
The WGX102 router supports the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP) and Routing Information Protocol (RIP). For further information about TCP/IP, refer to
Appendix B, “Network, Routing, Firewall, and Basics.”
• IP Address Sharing by NAT
The WGX102 router allows several networked computers to share an Internet account using
only a single IP address, which may be statically or dynamically assigned by your Internet
service provider (ISP). This technique, known as NAT, allows the use of an inexpensive
single-user ISP account.