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Firewalls: A necessity for all businesses
by Corey Lockhart Hanna
The majority of people use the internet on a regular basis, even if it is only to play numbers! The chances are then that most people have heard of the term "firewall". However, the term firewall may make you think of a structure made of fire resistant material used to prevent a fire from spreading. In technology terms, a firewall is actually referring to a barrier which protects a network or a workstation from unauthorized access.
A firewall can be either software or hardware. A software firewall is a program that is installed on a PC or server. In the past, these programs were mostly used by home-users however there have been recent significant advancements in these solutions and they are now used by businesses. Microsoft ISA Server 2004 is an example of a comprehensive software Firewall.
Hardware firewalls are electronic devices which are able to function on their own, independent of a PC or server. SonicWall, Cisco and Checkmate are examples of leading companies that manufacture hardware firewalls.
A firewall is a necessity for any business, no matter how big or small. Although most businesses in the Bahamas have some solution in place, the issue seems to be that most businesses do not have a solution with the appropriate level of security in place. For example, many businesses use firewall solutions that are designed for home-use, such as Linksys Routers. This type of solution does not provide the level of security required to protect a business' valuable data from external threats.
In assessing your own firewall solution, it is also important to assess whether its functionality provides you with the right level of control. Good firewall solutions allow you to exercise significant control over all network activities related to the internet.
Firewalls allow you to control which services a workstation (and therefore a user) has access to. Servers allow access to services that they offer through ports and a firewall can give you control over which ports a workstation can access. For example, Port 80 is used by a program like Internet Explorer to enable users to browse the internet. If your firewall blocks Port 80 then you will not be able to gain access to the internet. You are therefore able to specify which employees have access to the internet and which ones don't.
Another method of control that a firewall can offer is the ability to manage accessibility to websites. The filters of a firewall can be configured to have it search for words, such as sex or pornography, or for an entire website address. Some firewalls will allow you to configure a message to be returned to the would-be-offender of any website policy that you may have in place.
A firewall can also allow you to manage access to the internet in general. You may be concerned about the amount of time that your employees spend on non-business related internet surfing. A good firewall will allow you to set a schedule by which certain workstations have access to the internet, for example, during lunch hours and after business hours.
Firewalls can also manage protocols. Protocols are programs that are specifically designed to communicate with services that are running on a computer. Intruders will try to use these protocols in order to gain access to these services to commit malicious acts. For example, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a common protocol used to transfer files over a network. Leaving this service unmanaged on a computer where sensitive data is stored can spell disaster, whether it is a PC at home or a company network.
It is important to remember a good firewall is only a deterrent. The logs of your firewall should be monitored daily in order to detect and thwart any possible attacks. However, operating a business without a solid firewall is like driving a car without a seatbelt: a disaster waiting to happen!
To provide feedback on this column, please email makingITwork@providencetg.com
About the Author:
Corey Lockhart is a Technical Analyst at Providence Technology Group, one of the leading IT firms in the Bahamas. Providence Technology Group specialises in Networking Solutions, Consulting & Advisory Services and Software Solutions.
