Python syntax in Lisp and Scheme

[Andrew Dalke]

Alex Martelli:
> What do I want of the OS running my firewall?  Security, security,
security.
> It's nice if it can run on very scant resources, offers solid and usable
> packet filtering, and has good, secure device drivers available for the
> kind of devices I may want in a computer dedicated to firewalling -- all
> sorts of ethernet cards, wifi thingies, pppoe and plain old ppp on ISDN
for
> emergency fallback if cable service goes down, UPS boxes, a serial console
> of course, perhaps various storage devices, and that's about it.
>
> I see no reason why I should use anything but OpenBSD for that.

I'm running a Linksys box as my primary firewall.  I like the feeling of
security that the OS is in firmware and can't be updated (I hope) except
through the USB connector.  I like that the box is portable (I've taken
it to a couple of conferences), low power (I leave it on all the time), and
quiet.

I do have a network -> dialup box as well when I needed to do dialup
to one of my clients, but I've not needed that feature as a backup
to my DSL in over a year.

> (DHCP, DNS, ntp, Squid for proxying, ...).

It does DHCP but not the rest.  Would be nice, but I would prefer
those features to be on this side of my firewall.  Yes, I know about
OpenBSD's "only one remote hold in the default install, in more
than 7 years" claim to fame.

                    Andrew
                    dalke at dalkescientific.com

But is it a sense of security or real security?  Hmm....  :)