One of the first lines of security defense that companies (and individuals) should perform is to enable a firewall. Today, most routers include a firewall, most personal-computer operating systems provide a firewall, and their are a variety of network (hardware and software) firewalls available. For this discussion:

Make sure you post your primary response and then respond to at least two learner posts.

Response#1(Pramoth)

The Definition of the Firewall

It refers to as the security system that monitors the network traffics based on the predetermined security rules. Typically, firewalls create a barrier between trusted internal network and untrusted external networks. Firewalls can be a software, software and cloud-based depending on the needs and the suitability of the organization.

The Goals of Firewalls

The major goal of the firewalls is the block the malicious or corrupted traffics and data packets from going through network. Also, firewall allows the legitimate traffics requests and data packets to go through (Krit & Haimoud, 2017). Another goal of firewall is the record information about the traffic request. This information provides the much-needed insights into the source of malicious packets or external threats. Lastly, firewalls monitor the outgoing connections, and thus, alerting the user of the suspicious programs that damage network.

Types of Firewalls

• Router firewalls: this type of firewall is used to control the incoming and the outgoing traffics through the internet connections. Also, this firewall is used to hide the computer networks from the outside sources, which help bolster security of the network.
• Server Firewalls: this kind of server centralized all activity for applications into server into a single server (Xuan, Yang, Dong, & Zhang, 2018). Additionally, this firewall is always one-way arrangements running from the internal network to the outside network. On another point, this server should be used when the users wants to access web services.
• Network Firewalls: they refer to the security devices that protect the private networks against unauthorized access. The users should use this firewall when connecting internet, especially the intranet networks.

List several commonly available (open source) firewalls

According to Krit and Haimoud (2017), the following are the types of open source firewalls,

• 1pfSense.
• 2IPFire.
• 3OPNSense.
• 4NG Firewall.
• 5Smoothwall.
• 6ufw.
• 7csf.

The best practices for using a firewall

1. Blocking traffic by default: the traffic should block and allow only specific traffic to the identified services. This blocking improves the quality of traffics and reduces the chances of breach.
2. Set explicit drop rules: this act ensure that uninvited traffics to pass through the firewalls and cause malicious damages to the network.
3. Carry out auditing on logs: auditing logs will enable the users to know the anomalies earlier and act accordingly.

Response#2(Krishna Nani)

Firewalls can be a powerful method for ensuring a local system or network of systems from network-based security dangers while simultaneously bearing access to the outside world through wide region networks and the Internet. A firewall forms a boundary through which the traffic going toward every path must pass. A firewall security policy directs which traffic is approved to go toward every path.  A firewall is a convenient platform for several Internet functions that are not security-related. These incorporate a network address translator, which maps local addresses to Internet addresses, and a network management work that audits or logs Internet utilization (Nguyen, 2016).

Packet Filtering Firewall, Stateful Inspection Firewalls, Application-Level Gateway and Circuit-Level Gateway are the four types of firewalls. Packet Filtering Firewall can be used when we want to control network access Stateful Inspection Firewalls can be used to track current connection. Application-Level Gateway can be used when we have to protect the private network.  Circuit-Level Gateway can be used when we want to provide security for UDP and TCP.

The following are important firewall management best practices that will benefit all networks and network administration teams.

A well-characterized firewall change management plan ought to remember a detailed plan for changes, an estimation of dangers because of the policy changes, their normal effects, and a relief plan and a centralized change-management work process and change-control policy between various network groups and appropriate change endorsements (Mohan, 2013).

When you plan a policy change (for example including another standard or altering a current one), test the change before you actualize it. This is enthusiastically suggested as you can examine the effect of the adjustment in a test domain to keep away from sudden inconvenience to the network regarding firewall execution, network traffic stream, and the change’s effect on different devices and systems.

Firewall vendors release software upgrades to their firewalls for some, security reasons. It’s basic that you keep your firewall software variant refreshed to guarantee you don’t leave any loopholes that would bargain security. You can likewise perform powerlessness tests on your firewall to survey your software for flaws and shortcomings (Mohan, 2013).

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