[TriLUG] firewall

[Matt Matthews]

On Sun, Aug 25, 2002 at 07:19:19PM -0700, sanjeev rathore wrote:
> When you install RedHat 7.3 there is a step where you can set up your own
> firewall.  If I choose the highest security and also click on eth0 as
> trusted device.  Does that mean that anybody would be able connect to my
> computer and be able to compromise security?  I am not sure what it means to
> be a trusted device as far as firewall is concern.  

I realize that this may be a little late, since you may have already installed
Red Hat 7.3, but there should be a discussion of what "trusted" means in the
panel where you could set up the firewall options. If there isn't, usually
there is a "Help" button around that will bring up the description.

The online guides for Red Hat 7.3 are here:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.3-Manual/
Specifically, you can find the install guide here:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.3-Manual/install-guide/
And more importantly the Firewall instructions here:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.3-Manual/install-guide/s1-firewallconfig.html
There you will read:
"Selecting any of the Trusted Devices allows access to your system for all
traffic from that device; it is excluded from the firewall rules."

So by selecting eth0 as trusted, any of the "high security" rules you've set
up will effectively be ignored for eth0. If that's your only network device
and you've plugged yourself up to the outside world with it, then you might
want to consider disconnecting for now and changing your options.

Regards,
matt

-- 
Matt Matthews     \ ph: 919.660.2811        \ Use GNU/Linux  _o) w00t
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