What exacty is the definition of a firewall?

[VipFREAK]

Hey all,

I was just wondering what the definition of a firewall actually is because I guess my definition is different? I've used many firewalls and none seem to do what I think a firewall is suppost to do? Using Mcafee, Norton and Zone alarm firewalls all they have done is gone berzerk over a program in my computer or tell me that some one's trying to get in. My Friend had bought a Dell laptop and it came with mcaffee pack that included a firewall. It would actually show a pop-up with the description of what was going on. That's the closest I've seen to my definition of a firewall. Thanks for your help

Nick

btw I have an Hp laptop and it came with zone alarm

[vass0922]

I don't see a problem

A firewall at its core just blocks traffic that you don't want going in or out of your network. It doesn't have to explain anything to you.. the personal firewalls are there to tell you what applications are trying to access your network either outgoing or incoming.

If you want, you can use a good firewall like Sygate and use the advanced options to allow specific applications only access to specific ports and only allow certain IP's to access those resources.

For instance I only allow a specific set of IP's to come inbound for a VNC connection to my home PC.

what is a firewall

[VipFREAK]

I'm sorry maybe I should explain myself a bit more. I'm not a computer person, I know enough to keep a computer running. Anyways, for example, with zone alarm it had levels of how much protection it would do. It also had a stop button like an emergency shut off for the whole firewall. Now for any firewall it's nice and all that you can set the level but how do you know if it's actually protecting important things from getting in the hands of other people. There's a window where you can view what programs are allowed to do what. The biggest problem I see with all these firewalls is that it seems they don't do what they say or do something else than what they say. I block say the ieplorer.exe and don't block aol.exe and I can't get on the internet period. It just doesn't seem to make sense on what it's actually doing. I suppose a good firewall is one like a referree it will be invisible and maintence free untill it sees something wrong and then it becomes visible like my friends laptop where it has a popup. Is this a good argument or is it just that I've missed the boat? I guess part of even wanting a firewall is that I'm paranoid about what people are doing to my computer with out me knowing since I'm not a "hacker". What have I done to piss them off? Thanks

Nick

[vass0922]

If you block iexplore.exe (internet explorer) but you block aol.exe you won't be able to get on the internet with internet explorer. You will be able to access from Opera or netscape or something IF you're not using AOL as an ISP

If you're using AOL as an ISP then yes it has to have access to the internet.

Yes a good firewall will block access just as it says it will. You just have to learn about dependancies.

For instance if you use crazybrowser or Avant browser and you block iexplore.exe you probably won't be able to use the internet because they both rely on internet exploder for internet usage, just as AOL does.

Once youget the applications setup to what you want and don't want to access the network then it does as you say. It pops up when there is something wrong.
It just takes time to train the firewall to your purposes.

There are firewalls that you can setup that don't rely on application level security but instead a lower level. Say open port 80. This will allow all access to port 80 no matter its source. This isn't so secure because MANY applications can use port 80 for inet access.

For your own PC a personal firewall works best. I don't like zonealarm myself but thats just my preference (I like Sygate better, but again you'll need to train it to your requirements)
I don't allow iexplore automatic access, I require it to request permission to access... iexplore is many times used by spyware for inet access.

you can go to http://grc.com/default.htm to test your firewall software.

[paul9]

iexplore .exe is internet explorer. i do not use aol, but i think thier programs still use iexplore to access the net, but basically change the look and functionality. zone alarm watches which programs try to access the net and allow you to say no (for example to trojans or spyware which may be on your system) it also closes ports on your computer to make it less vulnerable to an attack coming from outside your computer. it also makes your computer less visible to scans which try to dtermine if your computer is on the net, and therefore available to attack. it is not perfect but with a little care, can make your system a lot safer. you wouldn't believe some of the things people want to use YOUR computer to do!!

[VipFREAK]

So how bad is it to not have a firewall? How much better is it than not having one? It seems like people can get through anything as long as it's Microsoft (hey I'm smart having what do ya know microsoft) like being under the sun all day without sunscreen? What exactly can they do to or with my computer? I'm most afraid of "keyloggers" that will be able to know everything I'm saying or doing while I'm connected to the internet. Maybe even disconnected?? I don't know enough about computers to know if I'm doing everything I can to protect my computer. It's getting like getting mugged except I don't even know it and I hate that feeling if it's bad enough to know you are getting mugged.

Nick

[thekingofpain]

Because of the heat and noise problems common to engine compartments, firewalls are available for all cars and trucks.
The firewall will greatly reduce the noise and heat entering the passenger cabin from the engine compartment.

A must have item to keep the "heat" and "noise" away from you...

[vass0922]

TKoP is correct. A personal firewall is very important to have regardless of your OS... yes even non MS OS's can be hacked to do a persons bidding from outside your network... its just not as common because "script kiddies" only know how to use tools based on winders.

Best forms of protection
personal firewall
Antivirus protection (Critical)
Spyware removal (AdAware is the most popular www.lavasoft.de )

With the collaboration between the 3 you should be pretty well off.
For a determined and intelliegent hacker they won't stop them, but unless you REALLY irk somebody the chances are this protection will protect you from 98% of idiots out there "hacking"

[Droppyale]

www.firewallguide.com