Firewall/router is the misunderstood yet most important component of your technology
Nowadays ordering internet has become as easy as ordering other utilities (such as water and power). It could be as simple as, picking up an ISP (internet service provider) like AT&T or Spectrum or anyone that has available service to your location, picking a speed and in a few days, installation is complete. During this installation, you get a device that is called modem. Most modems are designed to provide dynamic IP (internet protocol) and static IP. The dynamic IP is part of a shared pool of IP’s and changes but the Static IP remains the same. Note: This must be purchased and programmed in your router. The current modems can also act as a router and provide NAT (network address translation) which in the simple language means 254 devices in your network can connect to the internet. But most of these modem/routers have no or very limited firewall capability.
In computer networking, the “firewall” acts as the traffic controller for all the internet transmission coming in and going out of your network. The transmission is governed by the rules often called policies that the network administrator defines and programs them in the firewall.
The primary function of a firewall is allowing or denying network traffic via ports and services.
What are services? The five most commonly-used Internet services are:
- World Wide Web access (using the Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol, or HTTP)
- E-mail (using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, or SMTP)
- File transfer (using the File Transfer Protocol, or FTP)
- Translating a host name into an Internet address (using the Domain Name Service, or DNS)
- Remote terminal access (For example, Telnet, Secure Shell, RDP, or VNC)
What are the ports?
Ports are a foundational building block of the Internet, and thus, of Internet security. Ports are not physical. Ports are highly structured, have a designated numbers (identifiers) and perform certain functions such as allowing incoming or outgoing emails. There are over a thousand agreed upon ports that can be configured in the firewall to allow data transmission in or out of the network.
Allowing and denying outside-in access to network ports is called egress filtering, which means controlling inside-out access from your network as well. Egress filtering furthers protect you from client-based network attacks.
Hackers use bots (program robots) to scan your network and find open ports and use brute force (using various user names and passwords) to break in to your network. So, it is extremely important to make sure only necessary ports in your network are open and any unnecessary ports are closed.
The most important point is, making sure that a reputable firewall such as SonicWall, Cisco, Watchdog, etc. is installed in your network. Firewall should be regularly maintained and updated with the latest definitions and software. The new firewalls come with many features and services such as content filtering, antivirus and antimalware, VPN (virtual Private Network), clients and more, designed to protect your network from hackers and cyber security threats,
Firewalls are complicated devices to program and manage and it is crucial that its initial programming to be done right. CEO Computers is an authorized dealer for SonicWALL and Cisco.
About Us:
CEO Computers is a Los Angeles IT Support & Cloud Solutions company. Our solutions and services are designed to simplify your IT, protect your data and empower your staff. We are Microsoft silver competency partner. For over 31 years, CEO has assisted many small businesses located in the Los Angeles area in various industries to implement compliance policies, to secure their network and protect their data.
