[CLUE-Tech] LinkSys vs. spare PC

[Lynn Danielson]

Match Grun wrote:
> 
> I have been using this LinkSys firewall for 3 months. It really
> works great. This firewall can do port forwarding (for example,
> port 80 is redirected to machine A behind firewall, port 23
> redirected to machine B, etc).
snip
> For $125, the LinkSys is well worth the price. There is a lot less
> hassle setting this up compared to installing something like
> NetMax or building your own firewall.

How likely is it that these LinkSys firewalls will stay secure?
The chance that someone might find a vulnerability with it in the
future can't be zero, can it?  How much value would one of these 
devices have if it were cracked?  Is there any possibility of 
upgrading its programming or would you have to wait for LinkSys
to come out with a new firewall to replace it with?

Are these silly questions or is there inherently more value in
a Linux firewall which might require more time and knowledge to
configure and more maintenance over time, but is ultimately much 
more flexible and fixable?

Lynn D.