Guest LilBambi Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 SecurityFocus: Home User Security: Personal Firewalls Finding the right firewall Firewalls play a crucial role in network and computer security. Part I of this series, Home User Security: Your First Defense, examined the typical functions of firewalls and how they can be of use on an individual level. More specifically, the need for personal firewalls in the home office was discussed. Now we will explore some of the best options on the market, many of which are available free of charge or are already installed on major operating systems. In order to determine what type of firewall is best for you, here are five questions to consider: [*] What features are most important to me? [*] Do I have a history of getting viruses and worms? [*] What other security practices do I employ? [*] How much am I willing to spend on a firewall solution? [*] Do I use many programs that automatically access the Internet? The average user has several programs that regularly access the Internet (whether he or she knows it or not), some virus problems, and an interest in a cheap or free solution with minimal configuration and maintenance headaches. Advanced options like encryption, ad-blocking, cookie digestion and hiding offer greater privacy, but often entail more work on the user's part. There are trade-offs, as always, but most firewall packages provide simple enough interfaces that anyone can monitor the firewall's activities. Firewalls are no longer the sole responsibility of senior network administrators -- we are all qualified operators.Feature selection Without going into detail as to what these features do (please see Part I for that), here again are the main options available in personal firewall software: [*] Inbound filtering [*] Outbound filtering [*] Application integrity verification [*] Data encryption [*] Hiding your presence [*] Reporting/Logging [*] Email virus protection [*] Pop-up ad blocking [*] Cookie digestion [*] Spyware protection [*] Laptop protection Among these features, some of the most important that should be evaluated are: inbound vs. outbound filtering, application integrity verification, and user notifications. These will be discussed in more detail below. As explained earlier, firewalls work by examining packets of data through a variety of filters. They analyze the ports used by the data, the addresses through which the data flows, the data characteristics, and the data protocols and types.Just the beginning of a set of two very informative article on firewalls for home users. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowpike Posted December 30, 2003 Share Posted December 30, 2003 Hello & Happy New Year To ALL !LilBambi:I just referenced the below site (again)http://securityadmin.info/faq.asp#contentsand thought it complimented your link here. Best Wishesyellowpike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 Sure does yellowpike! Thanks!And Happy New Year to you as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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