Recently I was working at our local Habitat office and I noticed that our PCs could not see each other. After some research I discovered that they were using some unusual IP addresses(i.e. not private ips like 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x). Technically the PCs were on different subnets. I asked the guy who should know and he said that there was a router/firewall on the network but he didn’t know how to get to it. I tracked the cables back to the switch and found the switch connected directly to the DSL modem. There wasn’t any router/firewall! The box the switch came in was on the shelf. I was not surprised to find that it did not have a firewall. Well, that explained a lot of things! Both the guy who told me about the network and I thought the network box was a simple router with a firewall. Today I am donating and installing a new Linksys multifunction router. As treasurer for the affiliate I am not happy finding the network exposed like this but I know that will end today.