Case Study: Home Network Redesign

Six years ago, I signed up for an ADSL account with GTE. At the time I thought, if I'm going to be constantly connected to the internet, I'd better do something to secure my computer. My solution was to download a Linux distribution (Red Hat 6.0, if I recall) and research how to setup a firewall. In the six years that have passed, my network has been patched and added onto so many times that...well...let's just say security isn't at the level that it should be. When it comes to security, I have the typical hard candy shell and soft gooey center. What I've really needed to do (for a number of years now) is to wipe the slate clean and redesign my network from the ground up. So my goal with this practical is to take a fresh look at my network to make it secure, while maintaining functionally and to do so for as little money as possible.