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The primary method for keeping a computer secure from intruders. A firewall allows or blocks traffic into and out of a private network or the user's computer. Firewalls are widely used to give users secure access to the Internet as well as to separate a company's public Web server from its internal network. Firewalls are also used to keep internal network segments secure; for example, the accounting network might be vulnerable to snooping from within the enterprise.

     In the home, a personal firewall typically comes with or is installed in the user's computer (see Windows Firewall). Personal firewalls may also detect outbound traffic to guard against spyware, which could be sending your surfing habits to a Web site. They alert you when software makes an outbound request for the first time (see spyware).

     In the organization, a firewall can be a stand-alone machine (see firewall appliance) or software in a router or server. It can be as simple as a single router that filters out unwanted packets, or it may comprise a combination of routers and servers each performing some type of firewall processing.

Firewall Techniques

Following are the different methods used to provide firewall protection, and several of them are often used in combination.

Stateful Inspection
Tracks the transaction to ensure that inbound packets were requested by the user. Generally can examine multiple layers of the protocol stack, including the data, if required, so blocking can be made at any layer or depth. See stateful inspection.

Network Address Translation (NAT)
Allows one IP address, which is shown to the outside world, to refer to many IP addresses internally; one on each client station. Performs the translation back and forth. NAT is found in routers and is built into Windows Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). See NAT and ICS.

Packet Filter
Blocks traffic based on a specific Web address (IP address) or type of application (e-mail, ftp, Web, etc.), which is specified by port number. Packet filtering is typically done in a router, which is known as a "screening router." See bastion host.

Proxy Server
Serves as a relay between two networks, breaking the connection between the two. Also typically caches Web pages (see proxy server).







Protected and More Protected
In the diagram on top, the internal network is protected by only one screening router (a router with packet filtering). If there were servers on the internal network providing services to Internet users, this would offer minimal protection against an attack. The use of two screening routers in the firewall configuration at the bottom offers two points of protection from the outside world to the internal LAN.






Firewall Management
Elron Firewall was a product that combined stateful inspection, multilayer analysis of IP and IPX packets and network address translation to secure a network. The window on the left could scroll down to more than 70 user services. (Screen example courtesy of Elron Software, acquired in 2003 by Zix Corporation, www.zixcorp.com)





An Excellent Resource
O'Reilly's "Building Internet Firewalls, 2nd Edition" by Zwicky, Cooper and Chapman is one of the best books written on Internet and Web security. It covers a huge range of firewall and related topics and should be a "must have" for anyone interested in the subject. (O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., 2000, ISBN 1-56592-871-7)
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