Firewall Fundamentals

This is an essential guide to understanding and using firewalls to protect personal computers and your network. It is an easy-to-read introduction to the most commonly deployed network security device. It allows you to: understand the threats firewalls are designed to protect against; learn basic firewall architectures, practical deployment scenarios, and common management and troubleshooting tasks; and includes configuration, deployment, and management checklists. Increasing reliance on the Internet in both work and home environments has radically increased the vulnerability of computing systems to attack from a wide variety of threats. Firewall technology continues to be the most prevalent form of protection against existing and new threats to computers and networks. A full understanding of what firewalls can do, how they can be deployed to maximum effect, and the differences among firewall types can make the difference between continued network integrity and complete network or computer failure.