Firewalls and Network Security

Firewalls:

Firewalls represent the first line of network defense.Ê They monitor and restrict data traffic from both within the network and from the outside.Ê While any small network should have a firewall between the network and the outside Internet, enhancing security with software firewalls is an additional and useful step.

 

Hardware:

Hardware firewalls generally are more flexible and easier to use once they are set up. Most major firewall vendors offer small office/home office devices ÷ which have less functionality and configurability than their enterprise-level cousins ÷ at lower cost.

Another more technical alternative is to construct your own hardware firewall out of an old computer.

 

Software:

No matter how you protect the Internet/LAN border, you may need to add another layer of security by using a software personal firewall. These programs must be run on each computer on your LAN that you want to be protected.  They monitor network activity and protect against unauthorized use of the Internet by programs that manage to get onto your LAN's computers.

 

 

Resources:

 

The following link provides reviews on currently available low-cost personal firewall software:

PC Magazine Firewall Software Guide

http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,4148,4722,00.asp

 

Additionally, this tutorial explains how to configure the firewall built into the Windows XP OS.

http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/windowsxp/firewall.asp

This packet as well as the Conference CDRom was made possible in part by contributions from students at the LBJ Graduate School of Public Affairs, participating in a Policy Research Project:Ê http://www.communitynetworking.org