Firewall; Chapter 13 Firewall; Introduction To Zyxel's Firewall; What Is A Firewall - ZyXEL Communications ZyXEL NBG334W User Manual

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This chapter gives some background information on firewalls and explains how to get started
with the NBG334W's firewall.

13.1 Introduction to ZyXEL's Firewall

13.1.1 What is a Firewall?

Originally, the term "firewall" referred to a construction technique designed to prevent the
spread of fire from one room to another. The networking term "firewall" is a system or group
of systems that enforces an access-control policy between two networks. It may also be
defined as a mechanism used to protect a trusted network from a network that is not trusted. Of
course, firewalls cannot solve every security problem. A firewall is one of the mechanisms
used to establish a network security perimeter in support of a network security policy. It should
never be the only mechanism or method employed. For a firewall to guard effectively, you
must design and deploy it appropriately. This requires integrating the firewall into a broad
information-security policy. In addition, specific policies must be implemented within the
firewall itself.

13.1.2 Stateful Inspection Firewall

Stateful inspection firewalls restrict access by screening data packets against defined access
rules. They make access control decisions based on IP address and protocol. They also
"inspect" the session data to assure the integrity of the connection and to adapt to dynamic
protocols. These firewalls generally provide the best speed and transparency; however, they
may lack the granular application level access control or caching that some proxies support.
Firewalls, of one type or another, have become an integral part of standard security solutions
for enterprises.

13.1.3 About the NBG334W Firewall

The NBG334W firewall is a stateful inspection firewall and is designed to protect against
Denial of Service attacks when activated (click the General tab under Firewall and then click
the Enable Firewall check box). The NBG334W's purpose is to allow a private Local Area
Network (LAN) to be securely connected to the Internet. The NBG334W can be used to
prevent theft, destruction and modification of data, as well as log events, which may be
important to the security of your network.
NBG334W User's Guide
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Firewall

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