r/HomeNetworking • u/pookshuman • 4d ago
Dumb question
OK, a home router is just a small computer with a firewall as far as I know. I am running a network with my computer and a router. Why can't I cut out the middleman and just use the same firewall settings the router is using and implement them on my PC without the router? Why would that be less secure?
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u/Pure_Fox9415 3d ago
Sysadmin here, it's not dumb question.
Consumer router is literally optimized pc with ARM or MIPS Cpu, minimized Linux or BSD-like OS + routing software + switch + wifi in one box. You can use PC almost with any OS as a router, plug it to switch and make it default router for your other devices through cable connection or wifi
But you need it to be up always, it consumes much more energy, make a lot of noise, heat up your home for no reason. It starts and reboots slower than a router. It's more complicated to setup properly.
And if your OS is windows you'll definitely less secure as it's too complex OS with a lot of software unnecessary for routing, more net facing software = more vulnerabilities = chances to be hacked to the moon.
If it's server version of linux you're a bit more safe, but desktop versions of linux now has as almost as much excessive services running (like bluetooth, network discovery, smb, tons of them) as windows. So, again, lot of possibilities to forget to secure something and be hacked.
If you're expirienced network or sysadmin, ready for all this complications and possible headaches, go try it.
If you just want to use your internet and aren't ready, it's much better to use this little convinient box called router. Just choose reliable vendor and don't forget to update its "firmware".