Firewall basics

I would like to know how a software firewall application receives and can check all the packet intended for any port?

I mean Is there any special port on which all incoming data is forwarded first? or Firewalls use something like port 0 to receive all data? In anyway please explain in detail which port is used?

Reply to
securitylearner
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What you are referring to is a local packet filter and it works by injecting itself into the network stack.

A port is just an abstract. It's nothing but a number contained in specific network packets to help the system pass on the data to a particular process on the computer.

Wikipedia uses the analogy of the IP address as a building and the port number as a specific apartment or room within that building. Now look at network packets as letters. The packet filter then looks at and eventually discards incoming letters before they are distributed to the specific departments. Somewhat okay analogy, but as always the virtual world does not easily compare to the real. Even though a protocol may allow for 65.536 port numbers - these don't "exist" until used. Ports come and go dynamically.

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BTW, "software firewalls" mostly aren't needed.

Reply to
Straight Talk

What you have running on your computer is not a firewall. It's a machine level packet filter. A FW will have at least two interfaces or NIC(s) if it's a software FW running on a gateway computer. A FW sits at the junction point between two networks. A FW protects from a network usually the Internet, and it protects a network (computers on a LAN).

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This too may help you in understanding FW(s) and what is a FW and what is not a FW.

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Reply to
Mr. Arnold

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