Microsoft MN-130 - Manual (Page 34)

30 Microsoft Broadband Networking PCI Adapter User’s Guide
Protect Your Network from Hackers
If you have not already done so, consider purchasing the Microsoft
Broadband Networking Wired Base Station to establish a security
layer between your network computers and the Internet. The
security mechanisms provided by the base station include a firewall
and Network Address Translation (NAT).
A firewall is a barrier that helps protect your network from
unauthorized visitors. Like an actual firewall built to help prevent
fire from spreading between adjoining buildings, computer firewalls
help prevent unauthorized communication between an individual
computer or group of networked computers and the Internet.
The firewall specifies what information can be communicated from
the computers on your network to the Internet, and from the
Internet to the computers on your network.
NAT hides the IP addresses of the individual computers on a
network from the Internet so that only the router’s IP address is
visible on the Internet. Hiding these addresses provides another
layer of protection against hackers trying to access the computers
on your network.