NAT (Network Address Translation): Necessary Evil or Necessary Security?

The purpose of this post is to invite a discussion.

I see blogs and posts at various places on the Internet written by people who seem to see NAT as an annoyance. In fact, there are people who champion IPv6 specifically because it overcomes the "problem" of NAT. To me, NAT is a wonderful thing.

• I love NAT. NAT allows an IP address to be shared by many devices and/or individuals. This solves the problem of having more devices than possible IP addresses, but, more importantly, it provides an NAT firewall. It's a barrier between me and the larger network that makes me safer and more private.
• Some don't like NAT. One objection is that devices in the larger-area network can't easily initiate connections to devices in the more-local-area network. These people actually want to expose open ports to the wider network, despite the obvious safety problems this causes.

I actually see the Internet as the premier security problem in the 21^st^ century. Protecting ourselves and our devices from it is paramount. Of course big business wants everything to be "smart." In this context, "smart" just means connected to the Internet. This is madness. We all need to resist "smart" devices. Don't buy them or use them. It's just too foolish. In my country it's estimated that 1 out of 5 adults has suffered some form of identity theft. This madness needs to stop.

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