Firewall s

CONTENTS
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What is firewall Types of firewall What firewall protects us from Firewall Limitations

What is firewall ?
A firewall is simply a software or hardware device or a combination of both that filters the information coming through the Internet connection into your privatenetworkand/or a single computer Acts as a security gateway between two networks

LAN INTERNET

Hardware Firewalls
Protect an entire network Implemented on the router level Usually more expensive, harder to configure

Software Firewalls
Protect a single computer Usually less expensive easier to configure

Internet

PC Firew all

Popular hardware & software firewalls

Software Firewall
Ms. ISA Server Norton Internet Security Mcafee Internet Security ZoneAlarm Kerio BlackICE defender Outpost

Hardware Firewall
Cisco PIX Blue Coat Cyberoam Check Point NetScreen D-link SECURESPOT WatchGuard

TYPES OF FIREWALL

Evolution of Firewalls
Stateful Inspection

Applicatio n Proxy Packet Filter

Stage of Evolution

Packet Filters
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Very basic Also called Network Layer Firewalls Not allowing packets to pass through the firewall unless they match the established ruleset. If it meets the regulations the firewalls forwards it to the another network otherwise discarded.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGE S OF PACKET FILTERS

Advantag Cheap es: Does not affect the network performance

Disadvantag Difficulty of setting up packet es:rules connections to internal hosts by Allows filter direct

external clients Offers no user authentication

Application level gateway(Proxy server)

Information from the Internet is retrieved by the firewall and then sent to the requesting system and vice versa. l proxy servers sit between the client and actual servier. Both the client and server talk to the proxy rather than directly with each other. l The proxy server effectively hides the true network addresses.
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Advantages:

Higher security than packet filters Blocks on content, not just URL Easy to log and audit all incoming traffic Direct connections between internal and external hosts are disallowed. User-level authentication is supported.

Disadvantages
Expensive Slower

than packet filters

Affecting

network performance Requires modification to client software application Some protocols arent supported by proxy servers Some proxy servers may be difficult to configure and may not provide all the protection you need.

Stateful Multilayer Inspection Firewall

A newer method that doesn't examine the contents of each packet but instead compares certain key parts of the packet to a database of trusted information. stateful packet inspection as it maintains records of all connections passing through the firewall and is able to determine packet is valid or not

qMost secure firewall DISADVANTAGES qExpensive qMust be set up by professional

ADVANTAGE S

What firewall protects us from

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Remote login Application backdoors SMTP session hijacking Operating system bugs Denial of service E-mail bombs Viruses SPAMs Trojans ICMP bombing

Firewall Limitations
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just because you have a firewall, dont believe you are fully protected against malware cannot protect against transfer of all virus infected programs or files After setting it initially, you can forget about it The firewall will require periodic updates to the rulesets and the software itself Cannot prevent e-mail viruses Only an antivirus product with updated definitions can prevent e-mail viruses

Thank you