Firewalls
From MEPIS Documentation Wiki
Summary
A firewall is a device or application used to filter data packets from incoming or outgoing network traffic, usually based upon the IP address or type of service (literally, the port number).
MEPIS comes with a software firewall guarddog preinstalled and configured, and it is recommended you use it as a safety precaution. Firewall configurations sometimes need to be adjusted if you add a new network service or change the port of an existing network service on your computer.
Firewall alternatives
Most firewall programs available for MEPIS are merely front ends for Netfilter/iptables, the network filtering module in newer Linux kernels. So, the real difference between different firewalls is how the interface works and what options are available. Here are several alternatives:
- Firestarter: Very easy to use, limited configuration options. Installable from synaptic.
- Webmin: Web based system administration tool. Contains a module to configure the firewall and routing capabilities of the kernel. Very flexible and powerful but somewhat complex.
- Kmyfirewall: a KDE-based firewall tool designed to be relatively easy while providing full-featured control of iptables.
