Security Sin 2 – expert opinion

jjones | Guides | 13/07/2008 14:23pm
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How do firewalls protect your PC?

Think of a firewall as a customs service that screens all parcels that arrive at or leave your computer. The firewall screens the contents of all ‘correspondence’ your PC exchanges with other networks. It may have an internal set of rules that dictates which applications should and should not be trusted. Those that aren’t trusted will have their attempts to communicate with the outside world denied.

What are the weaknesses of firewalls?

The latest malware technologies are trying to abuse fi rewalls by injecting malicious code into legitimate programs and system components that are trusted by firewalls. This practice is similar to smuggling by hiding drugs in the luggage of legal passengers. In addition to that problem, firewalls normally allow traffic via common protocols such as HTTP. They are also not capable of inspecting traffic that flows via secure SSL channels. The latest generation ‘zombie’ networks are controlled by the malicious commands concealed inside these protocols, so they stay invisible to the firewalls.

Why do we need other security if a firewall is running?

For the same reason we need both police and a customs service To build a secure environment, there must be a set of strict measures in place: and finishing with the regularly updated firewall and a behavioural anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-virus software. None of these should be neglected, as that would create a window of opportunity for a malicious code to get through and compromise your PC.

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