Whats a firewall ????

[Christopher G Meenan]

Sorry for what I think is a really basic question , but what is a FIREWALL ??
I've heard it mentioned a couple of times on the forum ...

regards Chris...

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[dave porter]

> Sorry for what I think is a really basic question , but what is a FIREWALL ??
> I've heard it mentioned a couple of times on the forum ...

A computer system which sits between your network and the Internet-at-large,
and prevents unwanted access from out there into your network. E.g., the
firewall might only allow mail traffic.

i.e., it's a security thing.

[Nik Simpson x4286]

In article <49hu0i$9...@info-server.surrey.ac.uk>,

Christopher G Meenan <C.Me...@ee.surrey.ac.uk> wrote:
>Sorry for what I think is a really basic question , but what is a FIREWALL ??
>I've heard it mentioned a couple of times on the forum ...

A Firewall is device (hardware or software or both) which sits between one
network and another, most typically between a Corporate LAN and the Internet.
It allows very fine grain control of what types of network traffic are
allowed between the networks. For example the firewall could be setup prevent
incoming FTP connections, or just those from particular sites, or just those
from particular sites to particular sites. For a organisation with security
concerns a firewall is a must.
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