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Theory Behind Firewall| Category | | | Summary | | | Body | Theory Behind Firewall
by kasmith
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1. What is a firewall?
1a. Will a firewall protect me from hackers?
1b. If I have an antivirus should I still get a firewall?
2. Who are the targets for hackers?
3. Firewall for Wireless LAN
4. Firewall black/white
4a. Firewall - inconveniences
4b. Firewall - you need it because...
1. What is a firewall?
A firewall is software that blocks the signals coming from outside your computer(LAN, Internet, WLAN). These signals are usually coming from applications which are using these protocols: TCP/IP, IPX, PPP, File Sharing etc. Every time an application tries to connect to your PC(while the pc is online) they send a signal to check if the connection can be made. The firewall is acting like a shield or a wall that doesn't let the foreign signal pass. Any attempt to get into your computer will be stopped by the firewall.
1a. Will a firewall protect me from hackers?
If the firewall is activated it will protect you from any attempt to break into your computer without your permission. But a firewall can't always protect you from a hacker, as there are other ways of breaking into your computer, to protect against those you need to read the appropriate materials.
1b. If I have an antivirus should I still get a firewall?
An antivirus can stop viruses and trojans, but it can't stop a hacker from connecting to your computer. If you spend a lot of time online, you should get an firewall right away. A hacker will use any method to connect to your computer, and if he succeeds in connecting to your computer the antivirus won't stop him. Even if you don't stay online much the firewall is good protection from undetected viruses that send the collected data from your computer, the firewall will protect you even from the LAN Hackers. The LAN Hackers are those persons that will hack into anyone's computer for fun or for stealing data, even if that person is their neighbour.
2. Who are the targets for hackers?
Everyone is a target, most of the time hackers try to break into one's computer just for fun, they try to show to that person that there is someone who knows more about security. But there are some malicious hackers that will break into someone's computer just to steal data or to crash that computer. Malicious or not hackers shouldn't be allowed to break into your computer. You too are a target, so you should make a hacker's job harder by installing a firewall.
3.Firewall for Wireless LAN
Even if the WLAN is a new technology, the number of users is growing every day. The WLAN represents a mobile solution for old LANs, as they don't require wires, meaning they don't keep you pinned to your office or to your home. With this growth of WLAN users, the number of hackers for WLAN grew also. Most WLAN users don't have a firewall, and they don't encrypt their data. Nowdays most of the Access Points come with an integrated firewall, check your Access Point and if it has a firewall activate and configure it.
4.Firewall black/white
4a.Firewall - inconveniences
Most reported inconveniences with firewalls refer to the fact that the firewall blocks the exiting signals also. So when trying to play a game on the LAN/Internet you'll get blocked by your own firewall, or when a friend will want to send you a picture through an IM program you will see that you are unable to receive it.
4b.Firewall - you need it because...
You'll need to protect your data against hackers, as you won't like it if someone can get in your home and serve himself freely anything he likes, if your antivirus hasn't managed to find all the viruses, you sure won't like it when these viruses will bring new friends into your computer. Because you hate adware and you don't want to receive unwanted ads from porn sites or other kinds of sites.
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Written by kasmith (18 December 2005)
kasmith is a member of Knowledge Bank Tutorial Writing and Collecting
Edited by Asdf
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This article was imported from the CyberArmy University site. (original author: kasmith)
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