Re: FreeBSD router: Can my internet provider detect my home network?

From: Uwe Doering (gemini_at_geminix.org)
Date: 04/11/04

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    Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 09:24:37 +0200
To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org

    Rob wrote:
    >
    > I plan to have a FreeBSD (4.9 stable) system serving as a router
    > between my provider and a set of my home computers connected
    > via a home network.
    >
    > My provider does not really like this, but I don't care so much,
    > as long as s/he cannot detect (too easily) my home network.
    > [...]
    >
    > Is it correct, that the combination of firewall and natd divert
    > all requests and thus hide the home network for my provider?
    > Are requests from all other networked home PC's done on behalf of
    > the router, so that my provider will only see requests from my router?

    If they want to, they can detect that there's more than one computer
    using that link. They just need to look at the TCP sequence numbers.
    This way they can associate TCP packets with their individual
    originating hosts. If they see more than one group of sequentially
    increasing TCP sequence numbers they know that you're cheating.

    Whether they really care about it as long as you're not causing
    excessive network traffic or other trouble is a different matter.

    The only way to really hide your computers is to block direct Internet
    connections and instead use proxy software on a gateway server for each
    and every service. IMHO, quite an effort for probably just a couple of
    bucks saved. Larger companies do this, but for security reasons and
    also to control what their employees do on the Internet.

        Uwe 

    -- 
Uwe Doering         |  EscapeBox - Managed On-Demand UNIX Servers
gemini@geminix.org  |  http://www.escapebox.net
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