Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Personal Firewalls

Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Personal Firewalls

Released October 2001
Publisher(s): Que
ISBN: None

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Book description

The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Personal Firewalls is designed to provide simplified, yet thorough firewall information on the most prevalent personal firewall software applications available for the non expert firewall consumer. In addition, it offers information and links to Web sites that will help you test your security after your personal firewall is installed.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
    1. Dedication
  2. About the Author
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. Tell Us What You Think!
  5. Introduction
    1. Do You Need This Book?
    2. What You Need to Begin
    3. How This Book Is Organized
    4. How to Use This Book
    5. Conventions Used in This Book
  6. I. Introducing Personal Firewalls
    1. 1. Why Do You Need a Personal Firewall?
      1. The New Age of High-Speed Internet Access
        1. Traditional 56Kbps Internet Access
        2. The New Era in High-Speed Internet Access
      2. Protecting Yourself with a Personal Firewall
      3. The Typical Internet Connection
      4. Who Are Hackers Anyway?
        1. The Hacker Community
          1. Hacker
          2. Cracker
          3. Whacker
          4. Samurai
          5. Larva
          6. Other Hacker Terms
        2. Where Do They Get Their Toys?
      5. What Do They Want from You?
    2. 2. High-Speed Internet Connections Equal Increased Vulnerability
      1. Selecting a High-Speed Connection: Cable Versus DSL
        1. High-Speed Cable Internet Access
          1. The Issue of Shared Access
          2. RoadRunner and @HOME
        2. High-Speed DSL Internet Access
          1. Locating a DSL Service Provider
          2. DSL Variations
      2. Cable and DSL Modems
        1. Features
      3. Setting Up Your Cable or DSL Connection
      4. Pre-Installation Tasks
        1. Updating Your Operating System
        2. Speeding Up Your Internet Access
      5. NIC Installation
      6. Installing the Software Driver
        1. Network Configuration
        2. Installing Your High-Speed Modem
          1. Hooking Up Your Modem
          2. Running the Modem’s Installation Wizard
          3. Contacting Your ISP
    3. 3. Firewalls Explained
      1. Understanding Personal Firewalls
        1. What to Look for in a Personal Firewall
        2. Hardware Firewalls
        3. Software Firewalls
        4. Typical Software Firewall Requirements
      2. Networking Overview
        1. Understanding How Data Is Sent Between Network Computers
        2. Understanding How Computers Communicate
        3. How ISPs Use MAC Addresses
        4. More About TCP/IP
        5. TCP/IP Ports
      3. Understanding How Firewalls Operate
      4. Firewall Functions
        1. Intrusion Detection
        2. Detecting Attempts to Scan Your Computer
        3. Guarding Against Trojan Horses
        4. Examining All Network Traffic
      5. Firewall Classifications
        1. Application-Gateway Firewalls
        2. Packet-Filtering Firewalls
        3. Circuit-Level Firewalls
        4. Stateful Inspection
  7. II. Tightening Your Security
    1. 4. Locking Down Windows Networking
      1. An Overview of Microsoft Networking
        1. Introducing Microsoft Networking
        2. Understanding How Microsoft Networking Is Implemented
        3. Trusting Microsoft Networks
        4. Closing Down Your NetBIOS Ports
        5. Protecting Printers and Disk Drives from Internet Intruders
        6. Configuring Communications for Home Networks
      2. Improving Your Security
        1. Implementing Usernames and Passwords
        2. NTFS Security
        3. Encrypting Your Files
      3. Why You Should Still Get a Personal Firewall
    2. 5. Hardware Firewalls
      1. Hardware Firewalls
      2. The BEFSR41 EtherFast Cable/DSL Router
      3. Installing the Hardware Firewall
      4. Configuration via the Web Browser
        1. Establishing Basic Configuration Settings
        2. Changing Your Password
        3. Checking the Status of Your Router
        4. Configuring Your DHCP Service
        5. Setting Your Router/Firewall Logs
        6. Finding Help
      5. Other Cable/DSL Router Functions
      6. Using the Linksys BEFSR41 EtherFast Cable/DSL Router As a Personal Firewall
      7. Other Cable/DSL Routers
    3. 6. McAfee Personal Firewall
      1. Overview of McAfee
      2. System Requirements
      3. Installation and Setup
      4. Working with the Configuration Wizard
      5. Normal Operation
        1. Saving Configuration Changes
        2. Securing Configuration Changes
        3. Managing the McAfee Personal Firewall’s Log File
        4. Starting the Firewall at System Boot
        5. Closing the McAfee Personal Firewall
        6. Configuring Application Settings
        7. System Settings
          1. NetBIOS Over TCP
          2. Identification
          3. ICMP
          4. ARP
          5. DHCP
          6. RIP
          7. PPTP
          8. Other Protocols
        8. Fragmented Packets
        9. Minimize to SysTray
        10. Start in SysTray
        11. Help
        12. Block Everything
        13. Filter Traffic
        14. Allow Everything
        15. Reporting Summary Application Information
        16. Reporting Detailed Application Information
      6. Working with Report Logs
      7. Limitations
      8. Testing the McAfee Personal Firewall
    4. 7. BlackICE Defender
      1. Overview
      2. System Requirements
      3. Installation and Setup
      4. Configuring BlackICE Defender
        1. Protection Settings
        2. Log Settings
        3. Evidence Log Settings
        4. Gathering Information About Your Attacker
        5. Managing Specific IP Addresses
        6. The ICEcap Property Sheet
        7. Establishing Interface and Alert Settings
      5. Keeping BlackICE Defender’s Defenses Up to Date
        1. Automatically Updating Your Personal Firewall
        2. Manually Updating Your Personal Firewall
      6. Normal Operation
        1. Working with Report Logs
          1. View BlackICE Attacks
          2. Analyzing Attacks on Your Computer
          3. Examining Intruder Information
          4. Studying Network and Hacker Activity
          5. Viewing Information About the Firewall
        2. Advanced Firewall Settings
        3. Stop BlackICE Engine
        4. WWW Network ICE
        5. Exit
      7. BlackICE Defender’s Limitations
      8. Testing the BlackICE Defender Personal Firewall
    5. 8. ZoneAlarm
      1. Overview
      2. System Requirements
      3. Installation and Setup
      4. Getting Started with ZoneAlarm
      5. Working with ZoneAlarm
        1. Managing Internet Alerts and Firewall Logging
        2. Working with Internet Lock Settings
        3. Configuring Security Settings
        4. Managing Your Internet Applications
        5. Basic ZoneAlarm Configuration
      6. Working with the ZoneAlarm Desk Band Toolbar
      7. ZoneAlarm’s Alerts and Log File
        1. Working with ZoneAlarm’s Log File
      8. Working with ZoneAlarm Alerts
        1. Program Alerts
          1. New Alerts
          2. Changed Alerts
          3. Repeat Alerts
          4. Server Alerts
        2. Firewall Alerts
          1. Cautious Firewall Alerts
          2. Urgent Firewall Alerts
      9. ZoneAlarm’s Limitations
      10. Testing Your Zone Labs Personal Firewall
    6. 9. How Secure Is Your Computer?
      1. Testing Your Vulnerability to Internet Hackers
        1. Performing a Free Security Scan
        2. Port Probing
      2. Testing with Your Personal Firewall Up and Running
        1. Rerunning the Internet Scan
        2. Probing Your Ports a Second Time
      3. Testing Security from the Inside Out
      4. A Final Analysis
    7. 10. Habits of Security-Conscious Surfers
      1. Updating Your Personal Firewall
        1. Updating McAfee Personal Firewall
        2. Updating BlackICE Defender
        3. Updating ZoneAlarm
      2. Keeping Your Microsoft Operating System Up-to-Date
      3. Keeping Your Operating System Locked Down Tight
      4. Using Antivirus Software
        1. Fighting Viruses
        2. Defeating Trojan Horses
        3. Don’t Become a Zombie—Help Prevent Distributed Denial-of-Service Attacks
      5. Beware Cookies
      6. Backing Up Your Data
      7. Be Vigilant and Test Often
    8. 11. Home Networks and Internet Connection Sharing
      1. What Is a Home Network?
      2. Putting Your Network Together
      3. Network Software Configuration
      4. Network Administration
        1. Setting Up Workgroup and Computer Names
        2. Sharing Network Resources
          1. Sharing Your Disk Drive
          2. Networking Your Printer
      5. Connecting Your Home Network to the Internet
      6. Tightening Things Up with a Second Line of Firewalls
      7. Microsoft’s Internet Connection Sharing
      8. Securing Home Networks with NetBEUI
  8. A. Other Firewall Products
    1. Aladdin Knowledge Systems eSafe Desktop 3.0
    2. Norton Personal Firewall 2001
    3. PGP Desktop Security 7.0
    4. Symantec Desktop Firewall 2.0
    5. Sygate Personal Firewall
    6. ConSeal PC Firewall
    7. Tiny Personal Firewall
  9. B. Other Web Sites That Will Test Your Security
    1. HackerWhacker
    2. Gibson Research Corporation
    3. Secure Design
    4. Sygate Online Services
    5. Symantec
    6. McAfee
    7. HackYourself.com
  10. Glossary
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    5. E
    6. F-H
    7. I-K
    8. L
    9. M
    10. N
    11. O-Q
    12. R-S
    13. T
    14. U-Z

Product information

  • Title: Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Personal Firewalls
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: October 2001
  • Publisher(s): Que
  • ISBN: None