Firewalls Keeping the vandals from your computers :: Essays Papers

Firewalls Keeping the vandals from your computers A research paper written by Janice E Chapman for the Cyberculture: Internet Literacy class offered at St Edwards University by Professor Danney Ursery. August 1, 2001. Welcome to the 21st century, constant Internet access, and hackers. The good news is that every time someone does something destructive with Internet technology, someone else does something to counter that destruction. Hence the reason firewalls were created. So, what is a firewall? In short, it is software that prevents someone from accessing your computer, either over a network or the Internet. This software can be configured to only allow e-mail in, to restrict access of known intruders, or to restrict all outside traffic. An important side note is that firewalls are not designed to screen e-mails or files for viruses and restrict just those e-mails or viruses. You would still need a virus control procedure for that. The reason you should protect your computer from outside snoops is the same reason you lock your car or your house. You want to protect your property, and strangers don?t really know if you have any thing valuable to steal until they gain access and look around. In addition, the Internet has a reputation for attracting malicious hackers. These are people who seek entertainment by vandalizing other people?s computers. They may not seek you out specifically, they just happened to have a program that randomly ?pings? Internet protocol (IP) addresses until it finds an unlocked door. DSL, ISDN, or T1 lines connect your computer to the Internet and keep that connection constantly active and the door unlocked. Now that you understand and see the need to protect your computer, the next step is to find firewall software that satisfies your needs. This means only you can decide what is right for you. The Home PC Firewall Guide at http://www.firewallguide.com/ offers third party reviews for small office and home users. For those users seeking a more technical approach to understanding, analyzing, designing, and/or testing firewall security the SANS Institute Information Security Reading Room at http://www.sans.org/infosecFAQ/firewall/norton.htm provides excellent articles written by GIAC-certified professionals. As a home user, I found Mark Greco?s article on Protecting Yourself with Norton Personal Firewall very informative. This article goes a step farther and steps you through the installation and configuration of Norton Personal Firewall. Still not convinced to buy or download free firewall software? Think about this.