Firewalls for the everyday
Not Just for Experts
Firewalls are becoming evermore sophisticated. Luckily, the tools for managing firewalls are becoming simpler and more accessible for ordinary users
Your computer lets you see the world, but you don’t want the world to see you. Intruders are becoming more sophisticated, and it isn’t enough anymore to hope they won’t notice your inconspicuous workstation. If you’re connected to the Internet, you’d better be behind some kind of firewall. Firewalls come in many sizes, shapes, prices, and designs. Interestingly enough, what used to be called a firewall is now only one of a wide range of security products. The traditional firewall is a form of router that resides in Layer 3 of the OSI reference model. Layer 3 is the layer of the stack that listens for the Internet Protocol, reads IP addresses, and makes decisions about where to route IP datagrams. A firewall additionally inspects the Layer 4 (TCP or UDP) headers to identify services and evaluate flags.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
Xfce 4.18 is Coming Soon and Offers Subtle Improvements
The Xfce team has announced the release date of the next iteration of the desktop, which includes a good number of features to polish the fan-favorite Linux UI.
-
Orange Pi Board Has Arch-Based Linux Distribution in the Works
The developers of the Orange Pi board are planning to release an Arch-based Linux distribution available for its hardware as an alternative to Orange Pi OS.
-
Alpine Linux 3.17 Now Available to the General Public
The developers of Alpine Linux have officially announced the release of the latest version of the security-focused Linux distribution.
-
The New StarFighter Linux Laptop Now Available for Preorder
A new, completely customizable Linux laptop is now available to preorder from Star Labs.
-
Critical Escalation Vulnerability Found in the Linux Kernel
A new local privilege escalation vulnerability has been discovered in the Linux kernel and users are encouraged to upgrade/patch immediately.
-
AlmaLinux 8.7 Now Available
The developers of AlmaLinux have released the latest version of the OS, named Stone Smilodon, to the general public.
-
New Arch-Based Linux Distribution Aims to be Beginner-Friendly
CachyOS has been created to serve as a Linux distribution for everyone, even while being based on the more complex Arch Linux.
-
elementary OS 7 Getting Closer to Release
The team behind elementary OS has announced they are now focused on putting the finishing touches on the next major release of the Linux distribution.
-
Nitrux 2.5 Released with Kernel 6.0 and KDE Plasma 5.26
Nitrux 2.5 has been officially released and is the first systemd-free distribution to include both kernel 6.0 and KDE Plasma 5.26.
-
Zorin OS 16.02 Now Available
Zorin OS 16.2 has been officially released just seven months after the first point release of the user-friendly Linux operating system.