Need to respond to the below two students’ initial posts, and each of these responses should be at least 150 words. The question the students are answering are in bold below.

Indicate what you consider the best type of firewall is and why? In your write-up provide the following:

1. List the type. You can be as specific as naming a brand, but no more general than saying “commercial hardware firewall”.
2. List the reasons you believe this is the best type of firewall.
3. Briefly explain the features, and why these features are important from a security standpoint.

Student one:

Indicate what you consider the best type of firewall is and why?

I am not sure if there is a single firewall that can be considered best for all purposes. Ever since its creation in late 1980s, firewall has drastically evolved to defend sophisticated computer attack. Today, there different types of firewall that are used for different purpose. The kinds of firewall technology currently on the market: “packet filtering, circuit-level gateway, stateful inspection, application-level gateway, multilayer inspection, and UTM.” (Calyptix, 2016).

Packet filtering firewalls: are firewalls that scans packet header than compare to access control list (ACL). If the IP address and port number in the packet header is safe, it passes through network. this type of firewalls is best because it is quick and convenient. However, it is not as secure just by itself.

Circuit-level gateway: are firewall that allows only requested information into the network. it serves just like gatekeeper of incoming traffic. It is best because it hides the IP addresses of computer within the network. it also closes ports that are not requested by user in the network. all incoming Traffic that are not requested by user automatically drops and will not be able to reach the network back.

Stateful inspection firewalls: are sophisticated type of firewall. It can filter the packet header and scan the packet content all the way up to application layer. In addition, it can also scan previous communication patterns of incoming packet and compare to one that was already approved.

Application-level gateway firewalls: these type of firewall is similar to circuit-level gateway firewalls. However, it is application specific, and it can scan the packet all the way to application layer when analyzing incoming traffic.

Unified Management Gateway (UTM) firewalls: these types of firewalls are very complex type of firewall. It is got extra features that typical firewall does not such as anti-malware software, anti-spyware, anti-virus, VPN, and DOS/DDOS protection.

Citations: Calyptix. 2016. Types of Firewalls: The Good, the Minimal, and the Effective. Clayptix security. Retrieved from: https://www.calyptix.com/top-threats/types-of-firewalls-the-good-the-minimal-and-the-effective/

Thanks

Seyar

Student two:

Hello,

Firewalls are one of the most crucial security elements to protect one’s network architecture. It functions as a barrier between electronic devices and the Internet. However, firewalls can be easily susceptible to penetration if Internet users, Layer Eight, are not doing their part to shield their networks from unwanted intruders. A firewall is only one piece of the large complex puzzle of network security (Stewart, 2011). Personally, I have used only two different types of firewalls; McAfee Firewall, which I bought and mainly use to alert me to any malicious breaches to my computer while browsing the Internet. I also use pfSense for additional network protection. For this week’s forum question, I would like to talk about pfSense as being my best personal choice of firewall. This does not mean pfSense is the best firewall out there on the market.

I chose pfSense because of its functionality and versatility. pfSense is a free open source routing and firewall software that filters packets virtually sniffing for vulnerability in one’s network. It is easy to use and quite scalable in a sense that it can be installed in any hardware. Further, pfSense is loaded with add-on packages which make this firewall software versatile. For example, squidGuard on pfSense adds a fully configurable URL to filter HTTP and HTTPS traffic through whitelisting one’s trusted websites or blacklisting them (Cox, 2017). Darkstat functions as Network traffic analysis and performance monitoring. Snort can be used to detect and prevent intrusion.

As for pfSense features, this firewall software fully supports Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Domain Name System, and Network Address Translation, and VPN. In addition, pfSense provides two types of VPN connectivity; IPsec and Open VPN which I, in my humble opinion, feel is a strong SSL VPN solution supporting a variety of client operating systems.

References:

Cox, Alex. (2017, 10). Control your network with pfSense. Maximum PC, , 58-61. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/docview/2072276077?accountid=8289

Stewart, J. M. Network Security, Firewalls and VPNs. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781284107715/

Regards,

Said