Ever wondered how firewalls can be your knight in shining armor in the face of cyber threats? Hold on to your hats because in this riveting episode of Technology Tap, we're peeling back the layers of firewalls, from the network types to host-based ones, and even deep-diving into application firewalls. Find out how these digital guardians keep out unwanted guests from your network by monitoring, filtering, and controlling traffic. Plus, get the inside track on how to create robust firewall rules and why regular updates are your secret weapon against emerging threats.
But, we're not stopping at that! This episode also sheds light on the role of application firewalls in safeguarding web applications and web services. Discover how to navigate the tricky waters of positive and negative security models, understand the policies that govern web traffic and learn how virtual patching can keep your application firewall game strong. And for those of you eyeing that IT exam, we're bringing the heat with a question-answer session to help lock in your knowledge. So, whether you're an IT pro, a student, or just someone intrigued by the digital world, this episode is tailor-made for you.
If you want to help me with my research please e-mail me.
Professorjrod@gmail.com
If you want to join my question/answer zoom class e-mail me at
Professorjrod@gmail.com
Art By Sarah/Desmond
Music by Joakim Karud
Little chacha Productions
Juan Rodriguez can be reached at
TikTok @ProfessorJrod
ProfessorJRod@gmail.com
@Prof_JRod
Instagram ProfessorJRod
Ever wondered how firewalls can be your knight in shining armor in the face of cyber threats? Hold on to your hats because in this riveting episode of Technology Tap, we're peeling back the layers of firewalls, from the network types to host-based ones, and even deep-diving into application firewalls. Find out how these digital guardians keep out unwanted guests from your network by monitoring, filtering, and controlling traffic. Plus, get the inside track on how to create robust firewall rules and why regular updates are your secret weapon against emerging threats.
But, we're not stopping at that! This episode also sheds light on the role of application firewalls in safeguarding web applications and web services. Discover how to navigate the tricky waters of positive and negative security models, understand the policies that govern web traffic and learn how virtual patching can keep your application firewall game strong. And for those of you eyeing that IT exam, we're bringing the heat with a question-answer session to help lock in your knowledge. So, whether you're an IT pro, a student, or just someone intrigued by the digital world, this episode is tailor-made for you.
If you want to help me with my research please e-mail me.
Professorjrod@gmail.com
If you want to join my question/answer zoom class e-mail me at
Professorjrod@gmail.com
Art By Sarah/Desmond
Music by Joakim Karud
Little chacha Productions
Juan Rodriguez can be reached at
TikTok @ProfessorJrod
ProfessorJRod@gmail.com
@Prof_JRod
Instagram ProfessorJRod
Okay, yes, and welcome to Technology Tap. I'm Professor Jayrod. In this episode we'll learn about firewalls. Let's get to it MUSIC. All right, welcome to Technology Tap. Guys, I'm Professor Jayrod. It's been a little bit. It's been a little while Since we've gone together on this platform. I've been super busy, so I apologize, for I think I didn't put anything out in July so, but good news is, we're in season number four. Can you believe that? Guys? Thank you so much for bringing this platform having legs and being able to sustain such a long time. I'm grateful to all my fans, so thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:You know I was working on my doctorate in the summer, just got hammered with work. If anybody's ever worked on their doctorate, they know that it's a lot of work. It's still a lot of work. I'm not even close yet, but I had summer classes and stuff that I had to do. Also, I went to Europe so I was able to hit London, paris and Rome. So just some downtime. So everybody needs that. So if I was there and you're from there and I missed you, hey next time. I loved Europe. It was a great, great time, got to see a lot of stuff. If you've never been to Europe. You should go take the, you know, go do the tourist stuff. It was absolutely fabulous. All right, firewall.
Speaker 1:So what is a firewall? Let's start with that. Computer firewall is a network security device or software application designed to monitor, filter and control incoming and outgoing network traffic, based on predetermined security rules. The primary purpose of a firewall is to establish a barrier between a trusted internal network, such as your home or computer network, and potentially untrusted external network such as the internet. This helps unauthorized access, data breaches and other malicious activities. Firewalls can be implemented at various levels, including the network firewall, host-based firewall application firewall, stateful firewall, packet filtering firewall and proxy firewall, and we'll be going over three of them today. Firewall uses rules or policies to determine how to handle different types of network traffic. These rules can be customized to allow or block specific types of connections, services or application. A well-configured firewall is essential part of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, helping to protect your systems and data from unauthorized access and cyber threats. So let's go over the first one network firewall.
Speaker 1:A network firewall is a security device or software application Remember because you have it, it could be software based. You have it on your windows that is specifically designed to monitor and control the incoming and outgoing network traffic at the network level. His primary purpose is to establish a barrier between a trusted internal network, such as a corporate network or at home network, and potentially untrusted, like the internet. By doing it, it also helps prevent authorized access, data breaches, malware, infections and other cyber threats. The key features of a network firewall include some of the stuff that we just talked about.
Speaker 1:Packet filtering. Network firewall inspects the packets of data as they pass through, making decisions based on criteria such as source and destination, ip, port numbers and and protocol types. It can block or allow packets based on predefined rules. So if you want to block, you know port 80, you can, you know. If you just want to block, let's say, gambling sites, you can. If you want to block you know a website, you can, you know. You just got to go in there and put the rule on Stateful inspection. A firewall tracks the state of active connections and uses this information to make more informed decisions about allowing or denying traffic. This approach helps prevent certain types of attack that might otherwise be difficult to detect with simple packet filtering. Proxy servers some network firewalls access proxies handling requests from internal users to external resources. They can provide additional security by masking the internal network structure and filtering potential harmful content.
Speaker 1:Intrusion detection and prevention Many modern network firewalls includes intrusion detection and prevention features. These systems can identify suspicious activities and, in some cases, automatically block or mitigate the threat. Logging and reporting network firewalls often generate logs of network traffic which can be reviewed for analysis, compliance and troubleshooting purposes. Reporting features help administrators understand the network security posture and not. It also does not network, or you know it could do that. Network address translations firewall can use that to change the source or destination IP address of packets as they pass through the firewall. This can help obscure the internal network structure. Network firewalls can be implemented along using dedicated hardware, appliance or software running on general purpose hardware. They are typically placed at the network perimeter. I think, as the first line of defense against external threats, configuring the firewall rules is critical to ensure that it allows necessary traffic while blocking unauthorized or potentially dangerous traffic. Additionally, network firewalls should be regularly updated to stay current or emerging threats.
Speaker 1:They have a host-based firewall, also known as personal firewall. It's a software-based firewall that operates on an individual computer device. Unlike network firewall, which protects an entire network at the perimeter, host-based firewalls focus on protecting the specific device on which they are installed. The primary purpose of a host-based firewall is to monitor and control the traffic to and from that particular device, providing an additional layer of defense against unauthorized access and malicious activities. Key features and characteristics of a host-based firewall includes traffic controls host-based firewalls control incoming and outgoing network traffic on the specific device they are installed. They can block or allow connections based on predefined rules and configurations. Application filtering host-based firewalls often have the ability to block specific applications or services from accessing the network or the internet. This can be useful for preventing unauthorized application on known malware from communicating over the network. Granular rule configuration users can customize the firewall rules on a per-device basis, allowing for more fine-grained control over which connections are permitted and which are blocked.
Speaker 1:Protections against local threats host-based firewalls can provide protection against threats that originate from within the same device, such as malicious software attempting to establish an unauthorized connection. User notifications many host-based firewalls provide notifications to the users when the connection attempt is blocked or when suspicious activity is detected. This can help users become aware of potential threats and take appropriate actions. Operating system integration host-based firewall are typically integrated with the operating systems, allowing them to monitor network activity at a lower level. This integration can make them more effective at a blocking unwanted traffic and personalization. Host-based firewall can be customized to meet the specific security requirements of the individual user or organization. Host-based firewalls are particularly useful for laptops, desktops and servers, as they provide an extra layer of defense for devices that may connect to various networks, including public Wi-Fi, home networks and corporate network. It is important to note that host-based firewalls are not a replacement for network firewalls. Both type of firewalls can work together to create a more comprehensive security posture. Proper configuration and regular updates of host-based firewall, as long as anything else that you have, are essential to maintaining its effectiveness against involving threats.
Speaker 1:Application firewall, also known as web application firewall, is a specialized type of firewall that focuses specifically on protecting web applications and services. Its primary purpose is to monitor and control the traffic between web applications and the clients, typically web browsers that access them. Application firewalls are designed to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities and threats that target web applications, making them a critical component of web application security. Key features and characteristics of application firewall include layer 7 filtering. Application firewalls operate at the op application layer or the layer 7 of the OSI model. This allows them to inspect and analyze the content of HTTP slash ATTPS requests and responses, enabling them to identify and block specific type of attack targeting web applications. Protection against web application attacks.
Speaker 1:Application firewalls are designed to defend against a wide range of web application attacks, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, cross-site request forgery and other attack vectors commonly used to exploit vulnerabilities in web applications. Row-based filtering like other types of firewall, application firewall uses rules to determine how to handle incoming and outgoing traffic. These rules are designed to detect known attack patterns or abnormal behaviors and take appropriate action, such as blocking or learning. Positive and negative security models application firewalls can operate in a positive or negative security model. In a positive security model, only explicitly allowed behaviors are permitted, while in a negative security model, no malicious behaviors are blocked. Security policies application firewalls allow administrators to define security policies that govern how web traffic is handled. These policies can be customized based on the specific needs of the web application. Logging and monitoring application firewall generates logs of web traffic, attacks and other relevant information.
Speaker 1:Dislogging is essential for security analysis, compliance and incidence response. Virtual patching and application firewall can provide virtual patching by blocking requests that are known to known vulnerabilities. To exploit that exploit known vulnerabilities in web applications. This can be critical in situations where immediate patching of the application is not feasible. Application firewalls are commonly used to protect web servers, apis and other web-facing resources. They provide an additional layer of defense along secure coding practice and regular security assessments for web applications. Proper configurations and maintenance of the application firewalls are essential to ensure that it effectively protects against emerging threats and vulnerabilities that will put a bow on firewalls for today.
Speaker 1:Another thing I want to talk about is trying to build this community up more. I know, in the summertime it's a little bit tough because everybody is busy and everybody goes on vacation, just like I did. People have their own things to do. I think, now that it's past Labor Day, this is kind of like a reset for a lot of people who want to use IT, and specifically CompTIA, to change their lives. They may be people who maybe took an exam but never took the exam, or took the class and never took the exam, and maybe now they decide, hey, listen, summer's over, now it's gonna be the time to buckle down and finish what I started.
Speaker 1:If this is something that, if you see yourself like this, as someone who kind of like wants to get over that hump, yeah, I kind of wanna do like a whole question answer sessions. I don't know if I should do it through WhatApp or through Zoom. You know there's a guy who does it, for he teaches anti-money laundering and he does everything through WhatApp, but he's in another country when he does it and he does like these two three hour sessions on anti-money laundering. This is apparently there's a certification for it, and I kind of wanna do the same with A plus number, plus security, plus cloud, plus, whatever it is that you guys wanna do. But I kind of need more input from you guys, right? Is this something that you're interested in? Is this something that you're willing to do?
Speaker 1:You know it's Sunday, like in the afternoon a good time, or you know or Sunday morning a good time. So we, you know we can take an hour and just like run through questions or if there's questions that you have maybe you've taken the test a couple of times and have failed and you need to get over that hump right and we can do some go-overs, like a specific topic. If you having an issue with printers, we can go over printers. If you having an issue with hard drives or RAID, we can go over that. You know, I just wanna be able to. Again, I just wanna help, right, my goal is to help people pass, because you can make a decent living in IT, right, and I just wanna be able to help you guys.
Speaker 1:You know, over the hump and I know there's people that need help. You know I get emails with people helping me and I can see when people log in into my website. You know, and you guys are from all over the, not only from the US, but I got a, you know, all over the world. I got people in London. I got somebody in South Africa who's been logging in almost every day, shout out to you.
Speaker 1:You know, I just, we just want to help, right, that's all I want to do. So if this is something that you're interested in, please email me and, you know, let me know that. Hey, listen, I want to help. I need help passing the exam. I Don't have any issue with that. I just want to. You know there's platform to grow and and and for us to, you know, to be able to help you.
Speaker 1:We want to. I want to be able to help Everybody who wants help. We need to help who wants me to help them. But I kind of want to do. I Myself kind of want to do a better job of how, of how I'm doing it. Yes, this podcast is is one form of how I can help you, but I kind of want to do it Another way. Right, if we can do a zoom class, right? Or you know all through what tap, I'll be more than happy to do that. You know, an hour a week or every other week, right? Or if you just want to, you know, oh, you know, this week we're just gonna concentrate on people who want to take a plus, right, and join me 10 o'clock on a Sunday am and Then I'll throw like 20 questions at you and then you, you know, you try to figure out, we'll go over it, right, you know, and we'll try to find out what are your deficits and what are your strengths. Right, if you failed the exam and you want to send me your, your exam and tell me what your, you know, why you failed, you know it's, it's. You know we can help each other. And if you, you know, if you practice exams, I can say you practice exams, I'm always Waiting to do that All you have to do is email me. You know, let's just build this community. This community needs to build more and you know we need, we need to help. You know I want to help as many of you guys as possible Because I know I'm not too long ago I was in that chair.
Speaker 1:I was sitting there, where you are you, you know, if you're listening to this, it's not that long ago that I was where you were at and, you know, looking to change careers and, you know, looking to make more money. To be honest, make more money. We all want to make more money and you know, I Know how it feels, especially when you get older, right, and then you feel like, oh, I'm getting older. Maybe you know this is not for me or maybe I should do something else. You know I've been in IT for a long time, but I've only been in academia short time. So I went from being a tech to being a college professor in a it. It happened so quick, right so, but I've had a lot of people who helped me along the way, and that's my motivation is to get back and to help people. You know, because there's people out there who helped me.
Speaker 1:So I kind of want to help you guys.
Speaker 1:So you guys need help.
Speaker 1:Please, please, please.
Speaker 1:Do not hesitate To email me, right, professor J rod at gmailcom.
Speaker 1:You know I kind of want to.
Speaker 1:I don't really want to do like I want on one thing.
Speaker 1:I kind of want to do like a five on one thing or a ten on one thing, or even a 20 on one thing and just like go over questions.
Speaker 1:You know, maybe We'll do like every other week, one hour a plus one hour network, plus one hour security, plus one hour cloud plus. You know we can do that, but it's up to you guys. You have to email me and say, yes, I'm interested, yes, I'm interested, yes, I'm interested. If I get enough people who email me and tell me that they interested, I will do it. Right, I will do it and I will let you guys know, because this is again, this is something that I really really Want to do, because I want to. It's time for me to get back. All right, that's gonna put a ball on it today. Thank you so much for listening. Look out for another episode. Really, this has been a presentation, a little chance of productions are by Sarah Music, by Jay com. If you want to reach me, you can email me at professor Jay rod at gmailcom. I'm also on Instagram, professor Jay rod, and Till next time.