A Computer Firewall is Your Primary Defense against Virtual Attacks
A computer firewall is your primary defense against virtual attacks. A firewall can block unwanted data, viruses, and malware from accessing your computer and potentially compromising it.
A firewall has two parts: the “personal zone” and the “public zone”. The personal zone refers to information on your computer that you want to protect such as files or folders that contain sensitive information. A public zone is where a website resides so it can be shown on a server to anyone online with a browser – but this also makes attack sites which are in public zones accessible as well (such as hacker forums).
A firewall blocks traffic between these two zones, allowing only web traffic (like when you're browsing the internet) through. If a site is in the personal zone, the firewall allows traffic from the public zone through. If it is in the public zone, it blocks all incoming traffic. This can be done by setting a rule that says “all incoming traffic” therefore allowing a website to communicate with your computer. A firewall can also block certain types of traffic. For example, if you want to make sure Skype only gets through, then you could create an entry as follows:
<rule name="skype_in" stop_condition="log ip http_referrer" stop_action="deny">
Then this line would be added to /etc/firewall.user:
TURN_SKYPE_ON=true
This would allow any traffic from port 80 and 443 through except for the http_referrer. A firewall could also be set to be fixed rules. If a website, like Facebook, wanted to access your computer then you would simply add an entry like the following:
<rule name="facebook" network="public" action="allow"> IP</rule>
Then this line would be added to /etc/firewall.user:
TURN_FACEBOOK_ON=true
Confidentiality Versus Availability
A firewall protects your information by keeping it confidential while allowing access to the internet at large. If it doesn't keep your information confidential, then it might not be able to even access the internet. If you have a firewall that is set up correctly, then your computer will not communicate with another computer without utilizing encryption keys (e.g., your public key). While most firewalls cannot stop an attacker from accessing your network, they can keep them from seeing the communication between devices.
I strongly suggest using Windows Firewall. It is so simple and easy to use that even a child could set it up. The chances of getting caught in a crossfire with other hackers or malware are low if you use Windows Firewall (there are multiple levels of blocking - don't take away any protections).
Also, you can use the Firestarter application in Linux to help manage your firewalls.
If you're using a jail, I would suggest using IPFW for managing it. It's similar to Windows Firewall but more complex. Internet facing firewalls and private firewalls should always be placed behind a reverse proxy that offers SSL support. This way, your firewall will be able to decrypt the communication and scan it for malware or viruses before passing it on - with minimal performance loss due to caching.
Chapter 8
How To Keep Your Computer Safe From Cyber Attacks And Hacks
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A computer firewall is your primary defense against virtual attacks. A firewall can block unwanted data, viruses, and malware from accessing your computer and potentially compromising it.
A firewall has two parts: the “personal zone” and the “public zone”. The personal zone refers to information on your computer that you want to protect such as files or folders that contain sensitive information. A public zone is where a website resides so it can be shown on a server to anyone online with a browser – but this also makes attack sites which are in public zones accessible as well (such as hacker forums).
A firewall blocks traffic between these two zones, allowing only web traffic (like when you're browsing the internet) through. If a site is in the personal zone, the firewall allows traffic from the public zone through. If it is in the public zone, it blocks all incoming traffic. This can be done by setting a rule that says “all incoming traffic” therefore allowing a website to communicate with your computer. A firewall can also block certain types of traffic. For example, if you want to make sure Skype only gets through, then you could create an entry as follows:
<rule name="skype_in" stop_condition="log ip http_referrer" stop_action="deny">
Then this line would be added to /etc/firewall.user:
TURN_SKYPE_ON=true
This would allow any traffic from port 80 and 443 through except for the http_referrer. A firewall could also be set to be fixed rules. If a website, like Facebook, wanted to access your computer then you would simply add an entry like the following:
<rule name="facebook" network="public" action="allow"> IP</rule>
Then this line would be added to /etc/firewall.user:
TURN_FACEBOOK_ON=true
Confidentiality Versus Availability
A firewall protects your information by keeping it confidential while allowing access to the internet at large. If it doesn't keep your information confidential, then it might not be able to even access the internet. If you have a firewall that is set up correctly, then your computer will not communicate with another computer without utilizing encryption keys (e.g., your public key). While most firewalls cannot stop an attacker from accessing your network, they can keep them from seeing the communication between devices.
I strongly suggest using Windows Firewall. It is so simple and easy to use that even a child could set it up. The chances of getting caught in a crossfire with other hackers or malware are low if you use Windows Firewall (there are multiple levels of blocking - don't take away any protections).
Also, you can use the Firestarter application in Linux to help manage your firewalls.
If you're using a jail, I would suggest using IPFW for managing it. It's similar to Windows Firewall but more complex. Internet facing firewalls and private firewalls should always be placed behind a reverse proxy that offers SSL support. This way, your firewall will be able to decrypt the communication and scan it for malware or viruses before passing it on - with minimal performance loss due to caching.
Conclusion
This book is intended to introduce you to the world of hacking. The information contained in this book is intended to help you build a basic understanding and be able to use security tools without fear or worry that it will compromise your computer or network. With this book, you should be able to safely navigate through the world of security and countermeasures that you can use to keep your computer safe.
This book has also covered aspects of system administration and installation. It has introduced ways that you can securely set up your system so it meets your needs, but makes sure that it remains secure and free from intrusion from unwanted people (e.g., hackers).
It also allows for easy methods for monitoring the health of the system.