What is a Hardware Firewall and Which Hardware Firewall is Best?
December 19, 2011 | 
Author If you have more than three computers in your home or business that share the same internet connection, a hardware firewall is something you may want to consider. A hardware firewall is a device that sits in between the internet and your network, protecting all computers on the inside from dangerous intruders on the outside.
As opposed to a software firewall (also known as a personal firewall), a hardware firewall is designed to protect ALL the computers on a network instead of just one PC. It is generally more efficient and cost-effective to purchase a hardware firewall (as opposed to several software firewalls) if you have three or more computers you need to protect.
A hardware firewall is a special device that is designed to prevent outside intruders from getting you’re your network (where they can then easily get into your PC’s and servers). Firewalls can be configured to prevent access to certain types of applications that are considered dangerous (like P2P file-sharing programs) by blocking the communication ports that these applications use. A firewall will also provide some protection against hidden spyware infections, as it can help stop outgoing data packets that an infected PC may be sending to a cyber-criminal.
A firewall is considered to be the first line of defense in protecting computers from unwanted “visitors” such as hackers, worms, and remote control applications via hidden spyware. Without firewall protection your network is an “open door” to the internet, and anyone (or anything) can easily come in and out. Even if you don’t have any important files to protect, hackers and curious intruders can easily kill all your computers, take control of your network, or damage hardware beyond repair. The small investment in a firewall is nothing compared to the cost of replacing or repairing computer equipment as the result of an intruder’s visit.
Hardware firewalls use various techniques to protect your network against intruders and other internet threats. All firewall rules can be configured to apply to outbound or inbound traffic, so giving you a lot of flexibility and control in how the firewall works. Hardware firewalls can be simple or very complex, depending on the size of the network they are designed to protect. High-end corporate firewalls should be installed by a certified technician, but most home office and small business firewalls can be set up by anyone with a general understanding of networking and good technical ability.
Most hardware firewalls use some form of packet filtering, which is somewhat like a “checklist”. Certain types of data packets are allowed through, and others may be blocked. If a packet attempting to travel in or out of a network meets the criteria set for “blocked”, it is not allowed to pass.
Another technique that is often used with hardware firewalls is called Stateful Packet Inspection, also known as SPI. With SPI, a hardware firewall analyzes additional characteristics of the data packet in order to determine what to do with it. It checks to see where the packet came from, if it was sent as a response to a user request for information, if it just “appeared” out of nowhere, etc… Combined with packet filtering, SPI really makes a firewall appliance “smart”, as it can make decisions whether to block or allow data packets based on logical analysis.
Depending on the type of network they are designed for, hardware firewalls can cost anywhere from $100 for a home firewall appliance up to several thousand dollars for an enterprise-class device. Simple (easy to install and configure) hardware firewalls designed for home use are offered by D-Link, Lynksys, and NetGear. SonicWall and HotBrick are very popular hardware firewalls for small and medium businesses.
SonicWALL Global Management System (GMS) Review
SonicWall has always been coming up with various products in the market that can help organizations and business companies in performing in a better manner. Out of various products of the company, SonicWALL Global Management System (GMS) has been doing great since its inception and expected to do even better in coming future. In an organization, various tasks are involved and the task of managing units is the most critical. If there is no coordination, nothing can be achieved by the company as a unit. Thus for the purpose of management a company can use Global Management System. However, the problem is without any prior knowledge of features and benefits one would not be able to understand the importance of the product.
With the help of one SonicWALL Global Management System, a company can achieve various things. Firstly, it is used by companies to deploy Sonic Wall anti-virus and anti-spyware with ease. These days, one of the best products that can be used as a firewall is SonicWall TZ 170. One can use GMS either in the form of a software or hardware depending on his conformability. GMS can be thought of as a virtual application that helps in deployment of other products centrally. Other purpose for which GMS is being used by companies in large numbers is to monitor and manage the working of all Sonic Wall appliances being used by a company. With the help of Global Management System, companies can prepare reports and work towards bringing down the cost of using plethora of security applications by the company. Many people think that it can be used only for companies that have multiple sites but this is not the case in real. Companies that working at one place can also use it and make their working even more efficient.
Now if you want to have some knowledge of SonicWALL Global Management System (GMS): Features and Benefits then surely you are going in the right direction. The first thing one can enjoy while using GMS is tight integration. With the help of various tools present in the service, administrators can have a strict eye on the security policies and ensure that no one is violating them. In addition, it becomes easier to configure settings of various appliances without disturbing others working in the same area. In all, one can say that administrator does all sorts of updating centrally and not all others are disturbed due to it.
It is true that SonicWALL Global Management System offers plethora of advantages but despite this fact the price at which it is offered by the company as very less. If one compares the numbers of services with the price charged for it, one can see that the product is worth it. Other advantage with GMS is in-depth reporting. It is easy to generate reports on various security issues and then analyze them for further improvements. With this one product, companies can manage various other happenings taking place in the office without investing much time and work force. For further assistance, you can contact SonicWALL Support and get desired information with ease.
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CIO’s Cheatsheet on Penetration Testing
Penetration testing is designed to find weak spots in a security system. This is a thorough, systematic process, and it’s absolutely essential when you need to identify security vulnerabilities. Penetration testing does a comprehensive test of the systems, analyzing the systems for security issues and importantly assigning risk levels. This testing provides extremely valuable information, mapping security issues clearly.
The basics – Finding the weak spots
Penetration testing is designed to systematically check essential security points. These are intensive tests, intended to provide realistic evaluations of a system under competent attack by a professional hacker.
To illustrate the principles of penetration testing, these are some of the basic methods:
Password strengths
Firewalls
Port scanning (Scanning services available on a target, reveals potential security risks)
Vendor security (Third party related systems)
Each of these points represents a serious risk to any business system. These are the classic entry points for attack. Passwords, for example, can be “cracked” easily by software if they’re not strong enough. That allows free access to the system across the range of the password’s access capabilities.
Types of penetration testing
Internal: This type of test mimics an attack by a visitor with basic access to the system. These tests are done within the organization’s technological parameters.
External: This test is conducted from outside the organization. It’s a “cold” test, in which the testing party uses available technology to attempt to breach security from outside. This test is usually done “from scratch”, with or without disclosure of access information to the tester.
Penetration testing results
The multiple levels of penetration testing are conducted holistically and systematically, evaluating each area thoroughly. Results from each level of testing are used to provide a complete picture of vulnerabilities. This is important, because solutions may require a full security design, incorporating system alterations based on the complete system function.
In large systems, creating an effective firewall or dealing with OTS issues will most likely require alterations in other areas. This maintains security levels across the board, and ensures any weaknesses don’t remain in the system.
Evaluation and implementation of the penetration test findings
Evaluation of test findings: Evaluation involves analysis of vulnerabilities and risk assessments. The evaluation will include specifications of risks, threats, and assessment of operational issues.
Implementation of test findings: The solutions for a system security program involve:
Designing a solution to meet identified risks
Evaluating the scope and cost of the solutions
Scheduling of the security installation program
Operational running and check of security measures after installation
These cross checks ensure that the new security system is performing according to specifications, and that operational efficiency is not being affected.
Please note: Best practice in system security includes regular updates and monitoring of system performance, to ensure system integrity. New software or hardware may require testing for compliance with security requirements.
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How to Remove Exploit HTML CVE-2010-1885 A
The Exploit HTML CVE-2010-1885 a is a dangerous detection tool used in scripting methods across different websites that attack weaknesses in the computer system and can allow an external attacker to program arbitrary codes into the computer. It is a malware that can severely damage the functioning of your computer system and can cause the computer to malfunction. Detecting its presence can be a challenge and one of the most reliable ways to do so is to follow warnings of malware detected using a reliable anti-malware and spyware program.
To be able to remove the Exploit HTML CVE-2010-1885 a from your computer system you will have to follow step by step instructions from an un-installation guide. Once the files have been deleted from the active processes in the task manager and removed from the respective cache it is important to focus on recovering the system and restoring it to its pre-infected status.
Manually deleting certain files is not enough for this malware to be removed from the computer. You will have to purchase or download specific anti-malware programs from the Internet that specialize in detecting and getting rid of threatening programs. once the said program has been downloaded onto your computer the next step is to enable the full scan. Only a latest anti-virus program version will be able to tackle a serious threat such as this one. Some of the recommended products are the Antivirus & Security scanner and Noadware. These antivirus scans not only detect the main malware file they also enable you to access the associated files and delete every one of them to ensure a malware free system.
It is important to exercise utmost caution once your system has been cleaned because this malware can latch onto your system again and do a ton of damage. It is essential to purchase the latest edition of a reputed firewall program for the computer. To ensure fully functional programs it is important to update the software programs installed in the computer regularly. While browsing online and using various accounts for email, social networking websites, shopping websites, trading accounts and so on always remember to use strong passwords that can resist malware programs trying to break into the account. Exercising caution in downloading files and opening attachments from unverified sources is greatly advised. Only trust senders you know to be reliable.
Why Do You Have a "Slow Computer"? Top Reasons Completely Explained!
Let’s start with computer start-up. Why does your computer take forever to boot? That is because you have too many programs installed that load themselves when you turn on your computer. The more programs like these you have, the slower your start-up gets. Examples of these are your anti-virus and the firewall. These two, however, are important programs. They are set to automatically run at start-up so that they can immediately do their respective tasks of protecting your computer. Some of the less important programs that usually set themselves to start during boot are Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and your Torrent Downloader. You may set these, as you please, to either start automatically during start-up or do it manually after it. Remember though, that anti-virus is an essential program, and it is advised to set it to automatically start during boot to lessen the threat of Spyware and Viruses.
These could be another reason why you have a SLOW COMPUTER. These are potentially dangerous programs that infiltrate your system through ways that you would not expect, like infiltrating through spam in the e-mail, through file downloads, and through infected web sites. Once they are activated they may alter your system and change your settings, which will result to data loss, control by outside parties, or even a system crash. Having this in your system will slow it down.
Now if your computer is fully protected and completely virus-free but still it runs slow, there are other reasons for having a SLOW COMPUTER. What are they? One of them is Registry errors or conflicts. Windows registry is the control system of your computer, and registry problems may cause problems like BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death), crashes when running programs, slow booting, slow shut down, and slow performance of your system.
Another reason for having SLOW COMPUTER is that you have low virtual memory. Your computer’s virtual memory is where the computer processes applications for programs to be able to run. It is a needed space aside from the storage space on your hard drive that’s allotted for files and installed programs. An overloading of this will result in the slowing down of your system. It works much like traffic – too many vehicles on the street will slow down the flow. In your computer’s case, too many running programs will slow down the system.
Yet another reason for having SLOW COMPUTER is that it already needs defragmentation. What is defragmentation? I would describe it as rearranging or sorting of files. As you use your computer you, more often than not, take in and take out files – download and delete. As a result, your files will be scattered throughout your system, resulting in the slower searching and processing of programs. You therefore need to defragment your hard drive once in a while to avoid this minor problem.
These are some of the common causes that slow down your computer performance. But if you still have a SLOW COMPUTER after trying all the remedies and finding nothing after a thorough diagnosis, them perhaps the one last thing that needs looking into is your hardware. Hardware problems can cause such problems as slowing down computer performance. What causes computer hardware problems? Over-heating, short-circuits, wear and tear, dust, impacts – these are the culprits when it comes to hardware problems.
These are the top reasons that would cause your computer to run slow. These are the causes you should look into when diagnosing for such a problem.
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PCI DSS Compliance in 2010
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, or PCI DSS, is still confusing for card payment merchants in 2010.
A recent survey of PCI DSS knowledge and understanding revealed the following facts:
• 35% of retail/hospitality/entertainment organisations surveyed still do not understand compliance requirements
• Whilst there is a strong understanding within Tier 1 merchants (6 million transactions per year), 44% of Tier 2 and Tier 3 merchants do not understand the PCI DSS requirements
• 90% are either still working on implementing PCI DSS compliance measures identified in pre-audit surveys, or are not compliant and doing nothing about it, or are leaving it to the last minute
What do you need to do as an IT Service Provider to your Organization?
A number of automated ‘compliance auditing’ solutions for PCI DSS are available that typically provide the following functions
Compliance Auditing (aka Device Hardening) – typically, ‘out of the box’ PCI DSS as well as ‘made to order’ reports allow you quickly test critical security settings for windows servers and desktops, unix servers, linux servers and network devices, including wireless devices, and firewalls. The best solutions will provide details on your administrative procedures, technical data security services, and technical security mechanisms. Generally, these reports will probably identify some security vulnerabilities within the configuration settings to begin with. Once repaired though, you can generate these reports again to prove to auditors that your servers are compliant. Using inbuilt change tracking you can ensure systems remain compliant.
Change Tracking – once your firewalls, servers, workstations, switches, routers etc are all in a compliant state for PCI DSS you need to ensure they remain so. The only way to do this is to routinely verify the configuration settings have not changed because unplanned, undocumented changes will always be made while somebody has the admin rights to do so! The PCI DSS compliance software solution will alert when any unplanned changes are detected for server software using file-integrity monitoring, or firewalls and intrusion protection systems, and any other network device within your ‘Compliant Infrastructure’.
Planned Change Audit Trail – when changes do need to be made to a PCI DSS server, firewall or network device, you need to ensure that changes are approved and documented. An automated software solution for PCI DSS makes this easy and straightforward, reconciling all changes made with the RFC or Change Approval record
Device Hardening must be enforced and audited. A good PCI DSS compliance auditing solution will provide automated templates for a hardened (secured & compliant) configuration for servers and desktops and network devices to show where work is needed to get compliant, and thereafter, will track all planned and unplanned changes that affect the hardened status of your infrastructure. The state of the art in compliance auditing software covers registry keys and values, file integrity monitoring, host integrity monitoring, service and process whitelisting/blacklisting, user accounts, installed software, patches, access rights, password ageing and much more.
Audit Log Management – All audit and event logs from all windows servers, Unix servers, Linux servers, firewalls and intrusion protection devices must be analyzed, filtered, correlated and escalated appropriately. Audit Log and Event log messages must be stored in a secure, integrity-assured, repository for the required retention period which for PCI DSS is 12 months.
Correlation of Security Information and Audit Logs – in addition you should implement Audit Log and Event Log Gathering from all devices with correlation capabilities for security event signature identification and powerful ‘mining’ and analysis capabilities. This provides a complete PCI DSS compliance safety net to ensure, for example to name just a few, virus updates complete successfully, host intrusion protection is enabled at all times, firewall rules are not changed, user accounts, rights and permissions are not changed without permission and patches are implemented.
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Steps to Fix 0x8007000D Error in Windows Vista
The 0x8007000d error occurs on Windows Vista when you try and update your system. It typically will stop the installation of the update and claim that the installation was not successful. The problem that causes this error is actually due to issues with the programs & services on your PC interfering with the installation process, making it paramount that you’re able to control & repair the various issues that are preventing the install to proceed.
This error will typically show like this:
“Installation was not successful”
There are two main causes of the 0x8007000d error – the first being that programs stop the installation from commencing, and the second being that some sort of service on your system is preventing the installer from working. Both problems essentially stop the installation process because another process / application is using the files that the installer requires to run, making it impossible for Vista to update. This means that if you want to fix this problem, you basically need to ensure that the programs / services which could be causing problems are either stopped or uninstalled.
The way to fix the 0x8007000d error is to first use the “Updates Readiness” tool from Microsoft. This basically stops the programs and services that can stop the installation from working, allowing your updates to run smoothly and reliably. This tool is freely available from the Microsoft website. After using that tool, you should also look to temporarily disable your firewall & antivirus, as these may also interfere with the installation process. And on top of that, it’s also recommended that you use a “registry cleaner” program to repair any of the damaged / corrupted settings which could also prevent the installer from proceeding. Registry cleaners are very effective tools because they repair a lot of the damaged / corrupted errors inside the “registry database” of your PC. This database holds all the settings & options that Windows requires to run, and is used extensively to help installers to update the settings on your system. It’s often the case that damaged registry settings will cause your PC a lot of problems, making it recommended that you are able to fix the registry with a registry cleaner to prevent such problems from recurring.
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Log Monitoring Tools for Unix: Linux, Ubuntu, Red Hat and Solaris Servers
How to Easily Monitor and Alert on Unix Log Files…STRESS FREE!
Log Monitoring Tools for Linux and Solaris: Do you wish to monitor UNIX log file on a Linux or Sun Solaris System based on a time-frame (i.e. search for the occurrence of “pattern” in the log file within the last x amount of minutes)? If so, this article will save you hours and days of laborious work.
If you work in a UNIX environment, a time will come when you will wish to have caught a problem on one or more of your servers earlier than you did. When that time comes, you’ll scroll through your system or application logs and you’ll find a number of errors in there that speaks to an oncoming/developing problem.
You’ll wonder how you can monitor these logs in the future and alert yourself in the event of a problem. You’ll search the web for solutions and you’ll discover, to your dismay, that nothing out there is simple and straightforward enough to implement in your particular UNIX environment.
Then, you’ll want to write your own script. But alas, it is at this point that your mind will go blank. Because as you start to write your own log monitoring script, you will sadly discover that it really isn’t an easy thing to do. So you’ll begin to wonder in desperation, what do I do?
Well, I’ll tell you what you ought to do: Download or Write Your own ‘Smart Log Script’ and Keep it Simple!
What do I mean by that? Well, if you want to monitor a log file for errors/strings, and you’re concerned with efficiency, whatever script you write or download MUST follow the outline below. Emphasis on MUST!
For example, say you want to monitor the last x amount of minutes or hours of data in a particular log file for certain strings and alert if the strings are found, you MUST model your log monitoring script after the following tool:
Unix Log Tool: /bin/LogRobot (logfile-absolute-path) (time-in-minutes) ‘(string1)’ ‘(string2)’ (-found) (warn) (critical)
Example: ## /bin/LogRobot /var/log/messages 60 ‘luance’ ‘Err1310′ -found 5 10
So in this example,
/bin/LogRobot is the tool name.
/var/log/messages is the log file.
60 is the amount of previous minutes you want to search the log file for.
“luance” is one of the strings that is on the line of logs that you’re interested in.
“Err1310″ is another string on the same line that you expect to find the “luance” string on. Specifying these two strings (luance and Err1310) isolates and processes the lines you want a lot quicker, particularly if you’re dealing with a huge log file.
-found specifies what type of response you’ll get. By specifying -found, you’re saying if anything is found that matches the specified strings within the 60 minute time frame, then that should be regarded as a problem and outputted out.
5 specifies Warning. By specifying 5, you’re telling the program to alert as WARNING if there are at least 5 occurrences of the search strings you specified, in the log file within the last 60 minutes.
10 specifies Critical. By specifying 10, you’re telling the program to alert as CRITICAL if there are at least 10 occurrences of the search strings you specified, in the log file within the last 60 minutes.
Summarized Explanation:
As you can see, the LogRobot tool is monitoring a log file. The arguments that are passed to this log monitoring tool instructs it to do the following:
Within the last 60 minutes, if the tool finds less than 5 occurrences of the specified search strings in the log file, it WILL NOT alert. If the script finds at least 5 to 9 occurrences of the specified strings in the log, it’ll alert with a WARNING. If the script finds at least 10 or more occurrences of the strings in the log within the last 60 minutes, it’ll alert with a CRITICAL.
How easy is that? EXTREMELY!
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Making A Software Business Model That Is Sustainable
Software today is not only more intricate, but is more tricky to keep current. Almost everything created these days contains capabilities that require the user to be online to make use of. Some software calls for the Internet to even be opened, which will typically offer the advantage of being able to be accessed the same way from any area. Building software that is easily sustained needs to be the main focus of any project, although some ideas may seem to hurt more than help.
Keep in mind throughout the code writing that the software needs to be sustained over a significantly long time. Projects that are based on great ideas get very popular, and even if a project is appointed as a one time release, patches and feature additions tend to be necessities. In order to make it simpler for future rewrites and patches, keeping the code and file formats open conserves a lot of time and money.
If the software generates save files, making the files easily accessible by other applications does a number of different things that can help a newer idea get off of the ground. New capabilities usually require a new file format to support them, so making it easily amended is great. Even if the software is created for longevity, it is inevitable that software utilized over a long period of time will need to be remade to support new technologies. Allowing competitor applications to view the software’s save files easily is a clever move to get ideas off of the ground. It does not seem wise to make file formats open for competitor applications, but the rise in popularity because of those applications will help generate more revenue from the developer’s software and add more features to stay in front of the curve. Just like PDF files and Adobe Acrobat, customers purchase and use their programs much more than competitor software since it always works correctly.
Another replacement for saved files is including online elements for the software. Creating key functions that require online access, such as cloud file storage, can give software a huge advantage and prevent competition. Load testing must be utilized when a piece of software has to gain access to the Internet to function; otherwise, there may be times when customers cannot use it whatsoever. Additionally, mobile app testing should be done if it is an app for a cell phone. While a lot of beta testing can be carried out in house, it is expensive and requires a lot of work. In order to cut the time and cost necessary to do comprehensive testing, there are services that will test the server and software under many circumstances to ensure the same reliability from scenario to scenario.
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Challenges of Internet Security
It is a well known fact that no computer in this world is completely safe from the most widely available harmful threats. Internet Security has been at stake. Everyday a large number of malicious programs are developed and updated on the Internet. The main target being to harm the computer system on which they are installed.
Maintaining confidentiality, integrity, and availability of personal data of any user is most important challenges of the internet security.
Internet has become the most powerful tool for its users. It is basically an aggregation of a large number of services and resources, which allow you to send e-mails, chat with your friends, shop online, bank online, and find useful information and all of them just at your fingertips. Internet carries its own advantages and disadvantages. The need of maintaining the confidentiality, integrity and availability on web is necessary because every individual is connected together with the help of Internet.
Confidentiality is concerned with maintaining the important user information and data, safe and secure. The important user information can be either the users private information or the professional data. Various companies, organizations put a lot of effort and spend more on maintaining the confidentiality of their information and data safe. Even the success of the military operation are dependent on the safety of their sensitive data and information.
Integrity is concerned with matching whether the data you have is the same as it was sent. For example, if you have applied for a Internet banking account, you will be given the password of Internet banking through e-mail. So, the concept of data integrity applies here. How? The password received by you should be the same as sent by the bank. If it is being intercepted by someone during the any financial transaction process, then it will be very difficult for you to maintain your bank account. Data integrity is important in case of banking or financial transaction.
Maintaining the availability of information of Internet is among one of the major challenges to Internet security. An attack known as denial of service attack which blocks a user from accessing any service. It is often recommended to check the availability of an online computer system. If much availability is given for your system, then the security of your system can be compromised.
These challenges of Internet security can be overcome with a little precaution and the use of best internet security software internet security software, antivirus utility and various other security packages.