FIREWALL FOR THE HOME COMPUTER
Do I need to worry about hackers from the outside trying to get into my home computer? Do I really need a firewall to keep them out?
ANSWER:
If you have a broadband connection, such as cable or DSL, you definitely need to worry, and you should definitely get a firewall.
It is easy to assume that because your computer is one of millions upon millions out there, that the chances of a hacker stumbling onto your machine is pretty small (a type of "security through obscurity"). Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. The fact is that unknown numbers of malicious persons constantly run scanning software, probing thousands of machines per day for known weaknesses. Your chances of being found are very good. We once ran a controlled test, and within 24 hours, an attacker had loaded remote control software on a machine that we had left open on a Roadrunner connection with no firewall.
"Why would anybody bother to try to break into my home computer?" you may ask. At one time, the main goal was mischief. Unfortunately, now there are many more sinister and rewarding motives:
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The attacker wants to convert your machine into an unwitting spamming host, utilizing your broadband connection to the Internet to send bulk unsolicited email. Once your computer is compromised, it and many others like it are sold and resold on the black market to spamming organizations. Because compromised hosts are worth real money, the people that engage in this practice are becoming more and more sophisticated. |
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More disturbingly, the attacker wants to place a keystroke logger on your computer to catch your passwords, as you type them. With this information, the attattacker can gain access to your online bank accounts. Again, we have a financial motive. |
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The attacker wants to use your broadband Internet connection to distribute pirated software and movies. In this scenario, your machine becomes an unwitting host to an underground pirate organization. |
The optimal solution is a simple hardware firewall, such as a Linksys, or D-Link or Netgear that you can find in many computer stores. The reason a hardware firewall is better than software, is that they are virtually immune to being shut down by a virus or the like. They look like this:
or 
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If you have a cable modem at home, they are remarkably easy to set up. Simpy plug the cable modem into the WAN port on the back of the router, and plug your computer(s) into the LAN ports. A fine plus to these devices is that they allow you share your Internet connection with other computers. These range in price from $40 to $100. With DSL, you may have to configure the devices to perform the authentication to the ISP, but this is not difficult. See the manual to your device for specific instructions.
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS
At a minimum, if you run Windows XP, you should turn on your built-in firewall feature. To do so:
If you have not yet installed Windows XP Service Pack 2:
Go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, Network Connections. Right-click on Local Area Connection, and choose Properties. Then, click on the Advanced tab. Check the box marked "Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet." Click OK.
If you have installed Windows XP Service Pack 2:
When you install Service Pack 2, the firewall is turned on by default. To make sure it is functioning, go to Control Panel, Windows Firewall. Then, make sure Windows Firewall is On.
If you use an older operating system, such as Windows 98 or Windows 2000, you can use a program such as Norton Internet Security or McAfee Personal Firewall to protect your computer. Before you spend money on such software, we strongly recommend you consider the hardware options described above.
Author:
Dimitri Karhu
10/1/2004