Anti-Hacking
What is Hacking ?
Hacking is an act of gaining access to (a computer file or network) illegally or without authorization: hacked the firm's personnel database.
or
To use one's skill in computer programming to gain illegal or unauthorized access to a file or network: hacked into the company's intranet.
To make it simple, a person who knows what he or she is doing, try to probe into computers, trying to make FTP connections to them or try to make telnet connections to them and so on
Why do people hack ?
Hackers are divided in 3 main groups. Black hat, White hat and Gray hat. The Black hat is known as the bad side while the White is good side. The Gray hat is in between.
Black hat are those who try to steal information a company and use them to blackmail, sell and even cause destruction to the network. They can also be employed by companies to hack into competitors' networks to gain inside information of their work.
Gray hat are normally those who just trying their skills in hacking and as a show of abilities.
White hat are hackers who hack a network legally for reasons such as testing of securities that had been implemented. They are most likely to be employed as security consultants instead of hackers.
Firewalls are the only way to stop hackers from coming into your network.
What It Does ?
A Firewall is simply a hardware device or program that filters the information coming through the Internet connection into your network or computer system. If an incoming packet of information is flagged by the filters ( Rules Table ), it is not allowed through. When a firewall in place, administrator can set up rules like access or deny access to FTP servers, Web servers, Telnet servers and so on.
Firewalls use one or more of three methods to control traffic flowing in and out of the network:
Packet filtering - Packets (small chunks of data) are analyzed against a set of filters. Packets that make it through the filters are sent to the requesting system and all others are discarded.
Proxy service - Information from the Internet is retrieved by the firewall and then sent to the requesting system and vice versa.
Stateful inspection - A newer method that doesn't examine the contents of each packet but instead compares certain key parts of the packet to a database of trusted information. Information traveling from inside the firewall to the outside is monitored for specific defining characteristics, then incoming information is compared to these characteristics. If the comparison yields a reasonable match, the information is allowed through. Otherwise it is discarded.
In the market, there are several types of Firewalls around and some examples are listed below.
Dedicated Firewalls
Trends Micro Gateway Firewall
Sonicwall Firewall
Netscreen Firewall
Checkpoint/Nokia Firewall
WatchGuard Firewall
Dedicated Firewalls are that are specially designed for the overall protection of a network. It can be both hardware and software based and is normally mounted at the Gateway of your network infrastructure. Just like a guard standing at the gate inspecting all incoming and outgoing personnel. These firewalls are robust, stable, features rich, capable and do not require any user intervention but are generally more expensive.
Personal Firewalls
ZoneAlarm
BlackIce
Mcafee Firewall
Norton Internet Security
Unlike Dedicated firewalls, Personal Firewalls are designed more for individual systems usage. It is like mini firewalls right between systems in the network. These firewalls are cheap and easy to deploy with the basic fuctionalities most likely to be preconfigured. As these firewalls are running on the local systems, there is no secure way of preventing users from changing the rules table to suit their own personal needs hence defeated the purpose of a protected network. In addition, any corruption of operating systems could means no firewall. However, these firewalls are still a very useful and essential tools for well managed systems.
Dedicated Firewalls
Trends Micro Gateway Firewall
This little device is one of the smallest and cost effective in the market. Once activited, any hacking activities will be logged and an alert will be send to the administrator. The Firewall rulesets are constantly updated automatically and hence there is nothing a user needs to do.
In addition to it's anti-hacking feature, it also provide Anti-Virus Scanning for all your incoming and outgoing emails. Check it out on the Anti-Virus Section.
Sonicwall Firewall
Internet Security Appliances
Founded in 1991, SonicWALL, Inc. designs, develops and manufactures high performance Internet security appliances that protect small to medium size businedded from Internet security threats.
By integrating it's line of high-performance, solid-state firewalls with value-added services such as networkanti-virus, virtual private networking (VPN) and content filtering, SonicWALL addresses the diverse security needs of a range of businesses, from the SOHO to a large, geographically distributed enterprise with hundreds of remote sites and thousands of users.
Network Security, Protect your network from Information Theft and DoS Attacks.
Establish Secure Remote Connections while keeping your Network virus Free.
Control Accesses to the Internet.
With such a comprehensive range of SonicWALL Firewall readily designed to protect your critical networks and information, why wait till costly disasters to happen when you can just STOP it.
Netscreen Firewall
NetScreen Technologies inc.'s line of integrated security appliances are purpose-built internet security appliances that combine firewall, virtual private networking ( VPN ), and traffic management functions. All NetScreen integrated security appliances feature hardware accelerated IPSec encryption, even for 3DES encryption and very low latency allowing them to seamlessly fit into any network. Installing and managing appliances is easily accomplished using a built-in WebUI, command line interface or NetScreen's central management solutions.
With full NetScreen's appliance product line providing a scalable and security solution to protect your critical networks and information, why wait till costly disasters to happen when you can just STOP it.
Checkpoint/Nokia Firewall
 Base on Check Point Firewall, Nokia design and offers to market a wide range of Network Application Platforms ( NAP ) from Home Secure all the way to Grobal Secure Network Infrastructure.
Check Point FW allows much more functionality where normal Firewall Appliances may not be able to provide.
As Check Point FW is a Software, the flexibility in configuration of ports, accesses, blockages and updates is a breese.
With the flexibility of Nokia NAP, not only are you able to stop the intruders at the gate but with additional features like keeping tracks and monitoring of all possible attacks.
Watch Guard Firewall
Powerful Application Proxies
Simplified VPN Management
Secure Remote Management
Bundled Security Solutions
Proactive Support Through LiveSecurity Service Subscription
The WatchGuard Firebox System is a High Performance Network Security for Small to Mid-Sized Businesses. It powerful security solution that gives you integrated firewall protection and VPN support. Firebox Systems are easy to install and can be securely managed from a central location anywhere on the Internet. Every Firebox System includes a Firebox appliance, comprehensive management and monitoring software, a one-year hardware warranty and a renewable LiveSecurity Service subscription to keep your system up to date.
Designed for all Small to Mid-Size Businesses and with the ease of management, this make a Great Guarded Gateway for your Network Security.
Microsoft WinXP
ZoneAlarm
ZoneAlarm makes it easy. Unlike other personal firewalls, ZoneAlarm protects automatically from the moment it's installed - no programming required.
ZoneAlarm delivers simplicity without compromising your security. Getting Started tutorial explains Controls and Alerts to get you up and running quickly. And, to keep you confident that you're always protected, intuitive color-coded alerts rate security risks - in real time.
http://www.zonelabs.com
BlackIce Defender
BlackICE is professional-strength protection for your PC. BlackICE PC Protection features both an intrusion detection system and a personal firewall for a one-two punch of protection.
BlackICE automatically detects and blocks attacks through a comprehensive inspection of all inbound and outbound information to your computer. And BlackICE PC Protection is constantly working to secure your dial-up, DSL, and cable modem from hackers.
http://blackice.iss.net
Norton Internet Security
An essential protection from viruses, hackers, and privacy threats
Symantec's Norton Internet Security provides essential protection from viruses, hackers, and privacy threats which efficiently defend your PC from the most common Internet dangers.
http://www.norton.com
Mcafee Firewall
McAfee Personal Firewall Plus places a protective barrier between Internet criminals and the personal information on your PC.
Ideal for dial-up or broadband (DSL, cable) Internet connections, Personal Firewall Plus not only blocks online thieves but lets you trace the source of hacker attacks, avoid future threats and alert the proper authorities (including ISPs or law enforcement).
http://www.mcafee.com
Tiny Firewalll
Tiny Personal Firewall includes a standard bi-directional stateful packet inspection firewall. The firewall component works on both NDIS and TDI layers and allows to tie the explicit rules to the specific applications. Thus unauthorized applications such as spyware, trojans or worms are prevented from sending stolen data from your computer. The application authentication is done through its path or MD5 hash.
http://www.tinysoftware.com
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