Firewall!
December 20th, 2008
So I’m kinda’ lazy…which is why I’m taking this content straight from Wikipedia. Actually, the real reason I’m taking it straight from Wikipedia is that it does a great job of explaining the function of a firewall. (It can be hardware or software — the most common being the latter.)
In any case, you should not be lazy in protecting your computer!
Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:
A firewall is a dedicated appliance, or software running on another computer, which inspects network traffic passing through it, and denies or permits passage based on a set of rules.
A firewall’s basic task is to regulate some of the flow of traffic between computer networks of different trust levels. Typical examples are the Internet which is a zone with no trust and an internal network which is a zone of higher trust. A zone with an intermediate trust level, situated between the Internet and a trusted internal network, is often referred to as a “perimeter network” or Demilitarized zone (DMZ).
A firewall’s function within a network is similar to physical firewalls with fire doors in building construction. In the former case, it is used to prevent network intrusion to the private network. In the latter case, it is intended to contain and delay structural fire from spreading to adjacent structures.
Without proper configuration, a firewall can often become worthless. Standard security practices dictate a “default-deny” firewall ruleset, in which the only network connections which are allowed are the ones that have been explicitly allowed. Unfortunately, such a configuration requires detailed understanding of the network applications and endpoints required for the organization’s day-to-day operation. Many businesses lack such understanding, and therefore implement a “default-allow” ruleset, in which all traffic is allowed unless it has been specifically blocked. This configuration makes inadvertent network connections and system compromise much more likely.
Keep an eye out for future posts where I’ll be giving reccomendations for antivirus, antispyware, and firewall software solutions that I personally use.
