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Please keep in mind that I don't know much so use small words and talk slowly when helping me out.

At work we have our network set up in the following way:

Our internet comes from AT&T U-verse which plugs into the back of their AT&T router. We have that set up to get public IP addresses and pass them through to our firewall router. All of our computers and servers sit behind this firewall. I do not fully understand this or if I'm explaining it correctly. The AT&T router is then giving out its WiFi signal which I can connect my iPhone to. I can't access the firewall from my iPhone, mostly because I don't know if it's even using WiFi (everything is wired).

Since the AT&T router is only handing out Public IP addresses, can I still connect my iPhone to it and "safely" use my phone?

Anders
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Matthew Quinly
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  • Based on your question, the only way to get a good answer is to ask your computer support team or the person who set this up. There must be a reason they set up a firewall after the ATT router and I suspect the ATT router's wifi is probably disabled as it should be. – Julie Pelletier Jun 30 '16 at 17:56
  • @JuliePelletier it is not disabled which is why i am asking if it is safe to use my personal cell phone to connect to it. – Matthew Quinly Jun 30 '16 at 18:05
  • It doesn't make sense for a company to allow its users to connect to both sides of the firewall so that is possibly an issue that your IT department should fix. As for your own usage, it's as safe as connecting to any other network. – Julie Pelletier Jun 30 '16 at 18:10
  • @JuliePelletier Thank you. I will talk to my IT team then. – Matthew Quinly Jun 30 '16 at 18:25

1 Answers1

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Sadly this is a question for your IT department. Without having advanced knowledge of your system's infrastructure and if the firewall is before, after, or on the ATT router we can't say anything for certain, or even a simple guess... You need to talk to IT with your concerns and get it cleared up by them. They are the only ones who would know for certain.

The Reason

A firewall isn't actually a piece of hardware. It's a piece for software that can be put onto anything that can run it, in any order. Because of this each application and setup is UNIQUE to the location, and the only people who would know would be the people who have set it up. Ask your IT department about the setup. They should have the information you're looking for.

A Warning

In truth you should NEVER use personal devices on work networks. The reason being is that they can log everything, and anything you do on that personal device, and now IT has reason to claim the device to inspect it. For more information see this answer.

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Robert Mennell
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