About Starlink Firewall: One of the profound worries for Starlink’s new subscribers is if the ISP’s router has a firewall.
Such distress is understandable because the user’s data would be at risk of malicious attacks without a firewall.
This guide will elaborate on Starlink’s firewall and its key capabilities.
What Does a Firewall Do In a Starlink Network?
Before looking at the roles of a firewall in a Starlink Network, let’s first explore: What exactly is a firewall?
A program/device can read incoming data, analyze it, and filter what enters and exits your network.
Like its name, it is a wall that separates the data that can pass from your devices to foreign ones via your WiFi network.
Among the fundamental roles of a Starlink Network Firewall include the following:
- Censoring malicious traffic and undesirable transmitted data,
- Preventing spam and unauthorized access to your network,
- Improving Starlink internet security and network privacy.
Luckily, the latest Starlink routers feature a built-in firewall
Starlink Firewall Type
Cybersecurity firewall concept.
We have two main kinds of Starlink firewalls:
Soft Starlink Firewall
Security data protection concept.
It is software/program that you run through your devices to control network access.
The soft Starlink firewall is software run on a device such as a PC using the Starlink network. Examples of such software include the following:
- Comodo Firewall
- MAC OS X Firewall
- Windows Firewall
Note that a Soft Firewall doesn’t guarantee exquisite network security as you’d have with a Hard Firewall.
Starlink doesn’t have a soft firewall, although its Carrier-Grade Network Address Translation(CGNAT) IP Address system operates like one.
NAT is a firewall thanks to its capacity to censor inbound data transmission. Nonetheless, this hinders some functionalities, such as sharing IP addresses, which is essential in port forwarding and online gaming.
Bypassing the Starlink router is essential if you’d like to realize the above peer-to-peer services.
Hard Starlink Firewall
A hard firewall is a hardware device.
It’s a hardware (physical device) that acts as a conventional shield between your network and the router. A hard Starlink firewall is essential in traffic monitoring and censoring for the data passing via your network.
It is key to ensuring only the ‘clean’ data passes while filtering out malicious data.
As earlier highlighted, such a firewall is usually a standalone device.
Therefore, it’ll shield all the gadgets and components connected to your network, such as phones, PCs, and game consoles.
So, can you purchase such a hardware firewall from the Starlink store?
No. At the moment, Starlink doesn’t retail a hardware firewall. However, there’s a handful of excellent aftermarket ones, such as the following:
- Netgear Prosafe
- Ubiquiti Edgerouter
- CISCO ASA
Either of the above hardware firewalls will work effectively with Starlink.
The only additional component necessary to interface them with your Starlink router is Starlink’s ethernet adapter. It is available from Starlink’s store.
How Do I Configure My Hardware Starlink Firewall?
Starlink Dish Vector.
First, shop for a suitable aftermarket hardware firewall like those recommended in the previous section.
You’ll also require a Starlink ethernet adapter. Next, take the steps below to configure your router:
- Connect the hardware firewall to a power source and switch it on.
- Link the Starlink router to the hardware firewall via an ethernet cable. You must connect the ethernet adapter between the Starlink router and Dishy to have a port to plug in the cable.
- Next, configure the hardware firewall as per your preferences.
- Completing the firewall settings/configuring process will require bypassing the Starlink router. We’ll look at how to do it below.
Bypassing Starlink Router
- Next, connect an aftermarket router to the connection via an ethernet adapter to bypass the Starlink router. You’ll need an ethernet cable for this connection.
- Launch the Starlink app on your smartphone, click the ‘Settings’ button, and then ‘Bypass Starlink Router.’
The whole idea of bypassing the Starlink router is ensuring that you can use a customizable aftermarket one.
It is critical to incorporate the hardware firewall. After setting everything up excellently, all the data in and out of your router is now via the firewall.
Confirm the firewall security by visiting sites like:
- grc.com
- canyouseeme.org
Can Hardware and Software Firewalls be Used Together?
Firewall Protection Concept.
Yeah. The ideal scenario is to have a mixture of both firewalls. Essentially, the soft firewall will guarantee protection to the particular hosting device.
On the other hand, a hard Starlink Firewall will cover the entire network. It also has better security and improved configurations than a soft firewall.
Can A Third-Party Router Be a Firewall?
A Simple Third-Party Router.
Yes, in practice, a third-party router (Aftermarket Starlink Router) is a hard firewall.
It comes with security capabilities, such as reading data and identifying its destination.
Also, an aftermarket router will act as a shield against specific data types from passing to a device in your network.
It is key in protecting your computer from being used as an attack point for other devices.
Even with the above capabilities, It needs complementing via a soft firewall to ensure the entire system is foolproof from attacks.
Conclusion
Having a Starlink firewall will go a long way in improving your network security.
Notably, you can operate without one and bank on Starlink’s NAT feature.
However, this will curtail the functionalities you can achieve with your network, such as port forwarding.
Hence, the solution is to install a hard firewall with a third-party router to ensure excellent network security.