Looking for firewall/proxy alternatives

Archived from groups: comp.security.firewalls (More info?)

For my home based office, I currently use a seperate PC running Ositis
Winproxy and Black Ice Defender. The PC has two NIC's, one for the LAN, and
one for the Internet connection. The solution has worked pretty well for
years. The downside is that I constantly have a PC running, just for this
purpose, which is wasteful. I have small problems like not all IM features
work. And the PC running this config is getting old.

I'd like to replace this solution with something simpler.

Can anyone recommend a router based solution that will be as secure as what
I have now, and is easy to configure? I want to secure the LAN from virii,
SPAM, attacks as I can now. And I'd like to be able to have the LAN have
access to the Internet, and be able to put a server on the router that can
be accessed from the Internet for services like Sharepoint.

Is a router the way to go? Is it as secure?

BV.