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An Introduction to
Firewall Security
Whether
you own a large organisation where website visitors share their confidential
data or an e-commerce company where users enter their bank details on your site,
you need take preventative steps to ensure that the data contained on your
sites is as secure as possible.
One
of the most common threats to web site security is that from hackers who make
it their mission to attack sites and networks with an array of potentially
devastating viruses and worms. And it seems that they are becoming ever faster
and more intelligent in their approach to infecting websites and stealing user
and customer information. So in order to secure your website against the threats
they pose, it is imperative to employ one or a series of quality security
techniques such as firewalls, encryption, authentication or access controls on
your system.
What is a server
firewall?
Firewall
protection is one of the major security applications available for websites,
networks and server administrators. A firewall is a utility that uses a special
configuration to deny or accept data transmission from outside sources. The firewall
can encrypt all data that is transferred to and from a system between many
security domains. The firewall of a web server for example monitors the traffic
attempting to enter into its space, and then decides – according to a set of preset
rules – whether or not to let it enter.
How does a firewall
work?
In
order to understand how a firewall works, let’s imagine a fire door at your
work place. The aim of the fire door is to stop the spread of fire throughout
the building you work in. It is obviously important that the fire door is built
correctly with no space for air – or fire - to escape through and at a
thickness to prevent or at least delay the spread of the flames and smoke. If
it is at all faulty in its structure, then disaster could ensue - and quickly.
It
is the same principle with a firewall: it stops unwanted entry into a server,
network and or website. It is important that a firewall is configured correctly
to the level of trust that you believe is appropriate to your system because incorrectly
configured firewalls will inevitably allow unwanted traffic, including spam, viruses
and worms to enter.
How do you configure
a firewall?
Firewalls
are given different trust levels and these can be administered by the webmaster
or server administrator. The trust level attributed to a system depends on how
high or low a security risk the particular system is deemed.
The
internet is considered as having low trust levels due to the fact that it is an
open environment when worms and viruses can be sent by hackers to hit system through
mails or through browsing different websites. Moreover, interactive websites containing
customer records and/or bank details will need a more secure firewall than a
linear, none commercial site. An
intranet is given a higher trust level because the traffic comes from a more trusted
internal source and so is considered less of a security issue as it can be more
closely monitored and controlled.
Summary
Setting
up an appropriate security firewall is extremely important in order to protect critical
information or data from illegal or unauthorized access. If you do not have a
firewall on your system, you should look to get one installed as soon as
possible.
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