Firewall Tab

46

Configuring the Firewall (Advanced)

The Edit Advanced Firewall Settings page allows you to configure advanced features on your firewall.

Figure 22. Edit Advanced Firewall Settings Page

Note:

These features should be used only if you are thoroughly familiar with firewalls and

networking.

Firewall Tab

47

Enabling Advanced Security

Your 2Wire gateway firewall already provides a high level of security. You can configure the firewall to provide

advanced security features, including stealth mode, strict UDP

, or block pings.

Stealth Mode

In normal firewall operation, when an unknown remote device makes a request to connect to a user’s

network the firewall does not allow the connection to be made and responds with a “connection not

available” message. This may not discourage a determined hacker, because the message confirms that

there is an active network sending the response. The hacker may then use more sophisticated tools in an

attempt to access your network.

When in stealth mode, the 2Wire gateway firewall does not return

any

information in response to network

queries; that is, it will appear to the hacker who is trying to access your network that your network does not

exist. This discourages hackers from further attempts at accessing your network, because to them it will

appear as though there is no active network to access.

To enable Stealth Mode:

•

Open a Web browser and access the 2Wire gateway user interface by entering

•

Click the

Firewall

tab.

Firewall Tab

48

•

Click the Advanced Settings

link under the tab to open the Edit Advanced Firewall Settings page.

1.

In the Security pane, click the

Stealth Mode

checkbox.

2.

Click

SAVE

.

Firewall Tab

49

Block Ping

Ping is a basic Internet program that, when used without malicious intent, allows a user to verify that a

particular IP address exists and can accept requests. Ping is used diagnostically to ensure that a host

computer you are trying to reach is operating. It can also be used to see how long it takes to get a response

back from a specific host computer.

Hackers can use ping to launch an attack against your network, because ping can determine the number

form of the network’s IP address (for example, 105.246.172.72) from the domain name (for example,

www.mynetwork.com). If you enable Block Ping, your network will block all ping requests.

To block ping:

•

Open a Web browser and access the 2Wire gateway user interface by entering

•

Click the

Firewall

tab.

•

Click the Advanced Settings

link under the tab to open the Edit Advanced Firewall Settings page.

1.

In the Security pane, click the

Block Ping

checkbox.

2.

Click

SAVE

.

Firewall Tab

50

Strict UDP Session Control

Enabling this feature provides increased security by preventing the 2Wire gateway from accepting packets

sent from an unknown source over an existing connection.

Strict UDP instructs the 2Wire gateway to be more restrictive about what packets are allowed to transmit

over an established connection from a local network computer to the Internet. In addition to relying on

information about the destination (3-tuple), the 2Wire gateway will also use information about the source of

the connection (5-tuple).

To enable strict UDP session control:

•

Open a Web browser and access the 2Wire gateway user interface by entering

•

Click the

Firewall

tab.

•

Click the Advanced Settings

link under the tab to open the Edit Advanced Firewall Settings page.

1.

In the Security pane, click the

Strict UDP Session Control

checkbox.

2.

Click

SAVE

.

Note:

The ability to send traffic based on destination only is required by some applications.

Enabling this feature may not allow some on-line applications to work properly.