How to Set Up a Firewall

How to Set Up a Firewall

Security and performance are very important issues for many computer users. The Internet is anything but a safe place, and users need an efficient and reliable way to protect themselves from harmful websites and unauthorized access. To make the Internet a safer and more productive place to be, many home users and network administrators use firewalls to get the job done.

How Firewalls Work

Firewalls are one of the many systems and techniques used to protect computer systems from unauthorized access, but at the same time permits the user to access the Internet. You can think of a firewall as a set of rules; before you can send or receive instructions from a source, the information has to go through the firewall. The firewall then examines and matches characteristics of the data to see if it can be allowed into the system depending on the configuration.

Kinds of Firewalls

There are three kinds of firewalls:

• Packet filters. The packet filter is the simplest kind of firewall that you can implement on your computer system or network. Packet filters analyze and examine every packet of data transmitted to and from your computer, and determine whether or not they are acceptable given the rules of the firewall.
• Application and circuit gateways. Gateways are protocols on the network that are found between the end user and the connection. The gateway is a very effective firewall because it can intercept every incoming and outgoing stream of data better than conventional packet filters. The application gateway is activated for servers and file transfer by default. Circuit gateways work when network connections are established through TCP or UDP.
• Proxy servers. Proxies are the most common kinds of firewalls. Proxies work by filtering IP addresses, intercepting traffic, and acting as a mediating server between two or more connections. The proxy server is also very useful for concealing IP addresses to prevent (and in some cases, enable) unauthorized access to the network.

Installing Firewalls

Before the Internet became common and accessible to many people, firewall technology was only available for large networks, with the firewall set up by a systems administrator. With more connections becoming available to more people, many software companies, developers, and programmers now design and release easy-to-use firewall programs for consumers.

By default, your system or network already has a firewall. Operating systems like Windows, Linux, and Macintosh already have firewalls that come bundled with the software. You can activate and set up the firewall from the Control Panel, or you can leave the default setup as is for most Internet access needs.

While default firewalls are convenient, they are not as effective as dedicated Internet security utilities programmed and designed specifically to act as firewalls. To install the firewall, simply install the Internet security suite, and the firewall activates by default. You can adjust the settings and exceptions of the firewall from the security suite’s control window.

When to Deactivate the Firewall

It’s still best to keep the firewall activated every time you use the Internet, but there are some instances and cases where you have to reconfigure exceptions from the firewall process, or that you have to turn off the firewall altogether. Here are two instances where you may need to deactivate the firewall:

• Program conflicts. Some programs and applications like computer games may suffer from performance issues, or may not work at all, if you have activated the firewall.
• Peer-to-peer file sharing may not work if you have an active firewall. Before exchanging and sharing files over a P2P connection, deactivate your firewall.

For safe and secure browsing and Internet use, a firewall is your first line of defense. With these tips, you can set up a firewall easily without having to compromise your system integrity and network security.

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