Firewalls: Some Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does the firewall do and why does one require a firewall?
A firewall controls the flow of information from and to the Internet and your private network. It acts as a filter filtering all the junk and sending letting in only the information that is safe and will not harm your system.
There are millions of websites around the world all of which cannot be trusted. All these sites are vying for your attention. A firewall does the job of determining which information must be allowed and which must be barred.
You require a firewall to protect your system from intrusions by untrustworthy sites and other mal content. Also, if you have some personal or confidential data in your system as those in the systems of big companies, the firewall will protect unsocial elements from accessing such confidential information.
2. What type of content does the firewall protect/not protect me from?
Firewalls generally protect from any attacks that come from the network. In some cases they may be emails trying to attack the system. In other cases, they may be unfriendly users trying to break in to your system by attempting to log in.
Firewalls do not protect against viruses that can come as email attachments or those that are transferred from a CD or a pen drive. It is the job of an anti virus software to offer those protections.
However, recently many firewalls have come up with built-in configurations to check for viruses also.
Firewalls also cannot protect you against malware that infests your computer.
3. How does a proxy server function?
A proxy server basically mediates the flow of information between the internet and the protected network. It prevents the direct flow of traffic between networks. Router based controls are usually replaced with proxy servers to control the passage of traffic. Provisions such as extra logging are provided to enable user authentication. Being application specific, they must be upgraded or written again every time a new application has to be supported by it.
4. How do I increase the efficiency of my firewall?
Some important tips to increase the firewall efficiency are highlighted below:
- Check to find out if the product protocol can be trusted. Don’t go by the popular opinion.
- Check to see if the product and the service provider are known and can be trusted.
- The user must also be aware of the fact that certain products can be so dangerous that they can alter the firewall configurations and damage it beyond repair. Stay wary of such products.
You must never completely depend on your firewall. After all, your computer is your responsibility. Use your own sense of discretion to differentiate between trusted sites and untrustworthy sites and limit your browsing to the trusted ones alone.
