Firewall

Security is a hot topic in today's networks, and will continue to be for a long time to come. With that in mind, you must consider adding a Cisco security certification to your resume and firewall skills to your skill set.

Recently, I was asked to help a school install Internet access for the classroom Macs. They already had an Ethernet network installed. I recommended DirecTVDSL (formerly Telocity) as the provider and ordered their DSL service. One advantage of their service over some cable and DSL providers is the provision of a fixed IP address. So if the school wanted to host their own website, it would be possible. Service was connected in less than 2 weeks. [Update: In December 2002 DirecTV DSL announced they would cease operations, at this time Bellsouth looks like the preferred replacement vendor].

Hackers are getting more sophisticated in entering computers without permission, and once they are in, they have access to every bit of information on your computer, plus the ability to "hijack" it and control it. Depending on what the hacker wants to do - he can pull out all your personal information, passwords, social security number, credit card numbers, and all the sensitive financial information you keep on the computer. If you are doing taxes on the computer - they can pull all your sensitive information from those. This can be used to steal your identity. You can find charges made against your credit cards, or even that your driver's license has been reproduced and is being used by someone else. You house title may be transferred to someone else. It is a huge crime these days, and hurts people for many years.

What is the difference between a bridging firewall and a conventional firewall? Usually a firewall also acts as a router: systems on the inside are configured to see the firewall as a gateway to the network outside, and routers outside are configured to see the firewall as the gateway to the protected network.