My own private firewall
Analysis/Commentary
Since security has become an obsession in the aftermath of last year's e-mail viruses and this year's denial-of-service attacks, software companies have begun to offer personal firewalls. These programs monitor the data packets that go in and out of home network connections.
Firewalls have been used for several years to cordon off internal
business networks, apply password and other controls to networks that
communicate selectively with the outside, and safeguard users dialing
into work from home. In the latter case, a firewall recognizes the
dial-in connection as friendly and lets the user access the internal
network and his or her own desktop.
Personal firewalls come in handy for DSL cable users who have a
static connection to the Net, one that's easier to hack than a
dynamic address, which is common fare for those with dial-up
service and modems. Personal firewalls also protect computers from being turned into zombies, hacked and activated by remote control.
Reading the literature on firewalls for home use, however, a
person cannot help feeling daunted by the sophistication seemingly
required. It all sounds like a crash course in setting time on a
VCR. Software companies have seldom been afraid of causing late-night
crises for consumers; sales people assure consumers their product is
a cinch to load and act surprised when dialog boxes appear that might
intrigue an exorcist. You've got to ask yourself: is it all really
worth it? Are you worth hacking, cracking, or hijacking?
Like early microcomputers, firewalls still tend to represent a
hobbyist's idea of a relaxing afternoon -- but an afternoon in hell
for you and me. For a guy who cringes at undefined acronyms, or has
trouble adjusting monitor settings, does the control panel of Battlestar
Galactica hold any attraction?
The alternative, until an idiot-proof firewall can be designed and
tested, is to rely on traditional safeguards: virus scans, control of
basic desktop content (the more powerful your applications, the more
likely they can be turned against you), and alertness to system and
Internet settings. Though free online services promising privacy protection (like Anonymizer.com) warn me, "Port 139 is unprotected," I say "So what?" I tell myself I have a used PC that was never meant to last forever. (Some people back up files they want to keep, y'know.)
In short, firewalls, a technology of the future, will surely insinuate
themselves into our lives before long. But with some luck, the newfangled
things will arrive dumbproofed and debugged.
March 15, 2000
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